MCC Extends Registration for Fall Dental Certification Assistant Program

Applications are still being accepted for the Dental Assistant certificate program that begins this fall.

A dental assistant is the dentist’s right hand, performing a variety of duties, including helping the dentist during procedures, exposing x-rays, taking impressions and overseeing the sterilization of instruments. According to the field’s national board and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an entry-level dental assistant can expect to earn, on average, about $17 an hour in Connecticut.

MCC’s program was created in 2012 in response to a high demand throughout eastern Connecticut for dental assistants in a rapidly growing field. Classes are taught in a state-of-the-art three-chair training facility on the MCC campus. The program was created with the support and guidance of dentists in Manchester and elsewhere, and the college invested about two years’ time to develop the curriculum and set up the lab. To view the curriculum, visit the MCC website.

The program puts students on the path to becoming certified by the Dental Assisting National Board – a professional benchmark dentists look for when hiring assistants. The 31-credit curriculum includes courses on chair-side dental assisting, infection control, dental radiology, dental materials, dental practice management, oral anatomy and pathophysiology.

Students may elect to enroll in the academic portion of the program on a full- or part-time basis, completing the academics in as little as eight months. Training also includes a full-time, 300-hour semester of clinical practice in a local dentist’s office.

In addition to completing the MCC Students Application, students are required to fill out a separate Health Career Program Application . Call the Admissions office at 860-512-3210 if unable to download from the website. The original March 1 deadline has been extended. For more information, contact Kathleen Jeffries, program coordinator, at 860-512-2705.

Prospective applicants must have a high school diploma and have completed courses in basic college English and math.