Dental Assisting

Dental assistants play an integral role in the flow and efficiency of dental care.

Dental assistants not only help the dentist during dental procedures, but they also prep the patient, sterilize and disinfect instruments, set up instrument trays, prepare materials during procedures and support office management.

MCC's Dental Assisting program is the most established program in the area and accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation in the KC area. It has a good reputation for quality graduates and consistent 100% success rates on the national dental assisting board exam.

Program highlights

• The only affiliated program with UMKC Dental School. Our students have a unique opportunity to work in integrated clinical setting alongside dental students as well as faculty members.
• Trains DA students in Missouri permitted advanced chairside skills
  • Expanded Functions in Restorative I (placing amalgam & composite fillings)
  • Orthodontics (placing and removing bands, brackets etc)
  • Removable Prosthetics and Fixed Prosthetics courses.
• Hands-on training to operate state-of-the-art Dental Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) which is an extraoral dental radiography machine.
• Classes and hands-on preclinical training are held at the MCC-Penn Valley Health Science Institute and 300+ hours of hands-on clinical training
  • By rotations through UMKC School of Dentistry (during the fall semester) through specialty areas (orthodontics, endodontics, periodontics, oral surgery and pediatric dentistry), and
  • through community-based and private-practice clinics throughout Greater Kansas City MO and KS areas (during the spring semester).

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Learn more about
MCC's Dental Assisting program with these options:

Observe a lecture or lab

Join MCC Dental Assisting program students in class and observe an in-class lecture or lab. Open sessions are available in most dental assisting classes and labs.

Learn more and register

DENA 100 - Introduction to Dental Assisting

This introduction course introduces students to basic dental terminology, the roles of the dental assistant and members of the dental health team, scope of dentistry, and the legal and ethical responsibilities of a dental health care worker.  

View class schedule

Attend the Bootcamp in January

The bootcamp is held January 23, 2024 and will help you understand the roles of a dental assistant through a look at the knowledge, essential skills, interpersonal communication and abilities needed to be successful in the industry

Learn more and register

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Program accreditation

The program in dental assisting is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and has been granted the accreditation status of “approval without reporting requirements.”

The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at 312.440.4653 or at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611. The Commission’s web address is: coda.ada.org. 

The Dental Assisting Program is a three-semester program that begins in June and accepts approximately 18 students per class.

Careers

According to the O-Net online, annual wages for entry level dental assistants is $59,200. A certified dental assistant who have passed national board exam can practice as Expanded Function Dental Assistants in Missouri can receive more salary annually than entry-level DAs due to their advanced skills sets.

Visit Occupational Information Network (O*NET) to view salary information, employment outlook and personal characteristics needed for this career.

Past students