Virginia Dental Assistant Schools and Salary Guide

Would you like to pursue a career that will not require you to stay in school for three or four years?

Training as a dental assistant will provide you with a decent salary, and you only have to stay in school for an average of one or two years or less.

Licensing requirements to become a Dental Assistant in Virginia

For The Dental Assistant I (DA I)

Becoming a DA I does not require any licensing from the state.

You also do not need any special training if you just want to perform basic assisting duties for a dentist.

Dental assistant II (DA II)

You must obtain a Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) offered by the Dental Assisting National Board to operate as a DA II.

In addition, you have to complete a training program approved by the Commission On Dental Accreditation (CODA).

You also have to apply to the Virginia Board Of Dentistry.

If you do not have a CDA you must have another credential that American Dental Association recognizes.

Additional conditions apply according to DANB, such as remaining in good standing in the jurisdictions where you were licensed.

For All Dental Assistants

Both DA I and DA II require additional training for sedation and anesthesia administration.

The same applies to radiology training.

Before you perform X-rays you must have a certain radiology certification.

5 Dental Assistant Schools in Virginia

1. Centura College

Centura has a certificate program for dental assisting students that takes 12 months to complete.

You can take either the day courses or the night courses when available.

You can concentrate on working in the office.

Otherwise, you can decide to work either in the lab or assist the dentist by the chairside with the patient.

Some dental assistants, however, train for both the office and the clinical portions of dentistry.

As a dental assistant, you will learn a variety of duties from making temporary crowns, bridges, and dentures, to processing patient payments.

You also will become comfortable managing patient records and ordering supplies.

Once you have received proper training, you will become qualified for performing X-rays.

When you take the Centura College certificate training, you set yourself in the direction of possibly becoming an Expanded Function Dental Assistant (EFDA)

2. Fortis

The Fortis college system has several campuses Including one in Virginia.

Make sure you choose the right dental assisting training program because it needs to match up with your state requirements.

This school combines a combination of classroom training and in-person clinical training in a real dental lab.

It also places you in the position of learning firsthand with chairside assisting would be like.

It is through both the book training and the in-person practice that you will learn how to give pre-and post-operative care to patients and perform duties such as disinfecting dental equipment and keeping track of patient records.

3. Germanna Community College

Germanna has a dental assisting program that takes up to two years.

It includes the chairside assistance in the different types of dental therapy that you need to know for helping patients.

It also includes information about materials, and you will receive practice in dental radiology.

Furthermore, it includes a community health class that covers a variety of symptoms, causes, and effects of dental conditions.

Furthermore, you will receive necessary dental office management instructions, which cover topics such as payroll insurance claims, ethics, and inventory control.

4. Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA)

NOVA supplies you with the chairside experience you need to assist dentists.

You also will receive some laboratory experience, and you will practice office duties, such as scheduling appointments and processing patient records.

In addition, you will become acquainted with the different dental materials used and restorative dentistry.

Additionally, you will gain knowledge about preventative dentistry.

This includes acquiring the knowledge you would reveal to patients about how to take care of their teeth and their gums.

The coursework may seem overwhelming at first.

However, it is the real-world practice that puts all that you learned in your classes together.

By the time you are done with this training, your role as a dental assistant will make sense to you, and you can then take the DANB exam.

This dental assisting program will prepare you for a CDA credential.

5. Reynolds Community College

The 44-hour dental assisting certificate program offered by Reynolds will introduce you to the world of both lab and office procedures.

In addition, you become used to preparing impressions and learning how to apply restorative materials.

In addition, you will gain experience taking dental X-rays and learn emergency patient protocol.

Your training will qualify you for the DNB exam, and you will meet the standards set by the Virginia board of dentistry to practice as a dental assistant.

Dental Assistant Schools in Virginia – Summary Table

Salary

In April 2022 an update revealed that the average annual income for a Virginia dental assistant is about $40,564.

Incomes per year range from about $35,977 to $45,009.

If you continue your education you could raise your earnings by $49,057.

You can look for jobs in Alexandria, Ashburn, Charlottesville Harrisburg, or Virginia Beach.

Regional Salary in Virginia