Dental Assistant

This short but intensive Dental Assistant program provides you with experience working in a modern dental lab learning from Instructors who are actively practicing in the field.

Our convenient class sizes ensure the individual attention required for you to learn and master the skills you need to be successful in today’s dental clinics.  

Graduates of Sprott Shaw’s fully accredited Dental Assistant program will have specialized knowledge, critical thinking and decision-making skills and will have developed and mastered all the technical, professional and interpersonal skills needed to perform within their clinical and administrative scope of practice.

Working as part of a dental team students will learn how to assist with dental procedures, provide quality oral care, maintain equipment and supplies manage patient records and ensure that clinical and office procedures run efficiently and effectively.

Dental Assistant graduates will be able to work in general and specialty dental practices, hospital dental clinics, community health agencies and educational institutions.

Our program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC), in consultation with its partners, CDAC develops and approves requirements for educational programs educating and training.

This program has been designed to meet the regulations governing certified dental assisting practices as defined by the British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals (BCCOHP).

Upon completion of the program, graduates will be eligible to write the National Dental Assisting Board examination (NDABE).

Dental Assistant Program Mission Statement

As future dental assistants the students will learn to collaborate, build trusting relationships and work in partnership with other health care professionals to provide clients/patients quality dental care through teaching, guidance, and support of emotional, physical, and dental health.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Support a dental practice by providing a variety of supportive and direct patient care dental procedures
• Understand and work within the bylaws associated with provincial regulations
• Prepare and support patients for treatment by practicing universal precautions and infection control, organizing armamentarium, attending to patients’ comfort and collecting and updating health histories
• Assist with preventive, restorative, dental specialties and intraoral procedures
• Provide oral self-care, disease prevention, post-operative care, nutritional counselling and health education to patients and constituent groups
• Work collaboratively as part of a team to provide quality oral care for dental patients
• Perform routine maintenance of instruments and equipment so that patient care is delivered safely and effectively
• Perform fundamental practice management procedures including inventory control of dental supplies, patient bookings, and payment collection

Why Pick Sprott Shaw For Dental Assistant Training? 

• The Lower Mainland’s Best Dental Clinic for students was opened in 2020, designed from the ground up to provide the best place to learn the skills required to become a Dental Assistant using the same modern equipment and procedures you’ll find in dental labs across the province.
• Our Dental Assistant program is short but intensive and we are proud of our low attrition and high graduation rates
• Industry connections you won’t get anywhere else thanks to our Instructors being actively practicing in the field today. The dental industry is a tight-knit community that we’re proud to be a part of!
• Lifetime access to dedicated Employment Services Specialists (ESS) who can help you with resume and cover letter writing, interview skills, and the overall job search after graduation 
• Lifetime tuition-free access to course refreshers if you ever need to retrain and update your skills 
• Practicum opportunities with recognized organizations across BC 
• Certificates including Standard First Aid Level C
• Multiple start dates so you can start your education when you want to without the wait 
• Career and professional development success courses to help create a career development marketing plan, learn the cardinal rules of professionalism, and identify the target markets and employment resources in the counselling field 
• Preparation and orientation courses to teach you how to find credible research, write papers, create proper citation formats including APA, and study effectively for exams 
• All-inclusive program costs where what you see is what you pay. Our costs include registration fees, assessment fees, tuition, textbooks, supplies, course materials, uniforms, certificates, graduation fees, practicum fees, and much more 
• Grant and scholarship opportunities are available to help you save on tuition. Up to $4000 in scholarships and grants are open to recent high school graduates, Sprott Shaw alumni, military veterans, and more! Click here to browse our full list of grants and scholarships.