The Dental Assisting accredited program prepares students for employment in various positions in today's dental offices. The Dental Assisting program provides learning opportunities that introduce, develop, and reinforce academic and occupational knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for job acquisition, retention, and advancement. Additionally, the program provides opportunities to upgrade present knowledge and skills or retrain in dental assisting. Graduates of the program receive a Dental Assisting diploma and are eligible to earn the Georgia Expanded Duties certification and may take the Dental Assisting National Board examination.
Students are accepted every semester for core courses based on course and space availability. A competitive admission process is used to select students for occupational coursework.
Occupational course cohorts begin each Summer semester.
Students must complete ALL COURSES with a grade of “C” or higher in order to graduate with a Dental Assisting diploma.
This program is eligible for the Pell Grant and may be eligible for Institutional and State Financial Aid.
Contact a Financial Aid Counselor for eligibility requirements and application materials.
Admissions Requirements
Must be 17 years of age.
High school diploma or GED is required prior to admission.
(Official transcripts or GED scores must be submitted from all colleges and/or high schools attended for credit.)
ACCUPLACER Testing, or submit SAT, ACT, COMPASS, or ASSET test scores.
Dental Assisting Admissions Policy
GETTING STARTED
When applying to the college, students will request the Dental Assisting program as their program of study. The admissions department will accept students at that time into the Health Care Assistant Technical Certificate of Credit (TCC) to begin taking their core classes.
Students are required to attend one (1) dental assisting program information session. Students are given a Dental Assisting occupational coursework application at the end of the information session. Students are instructed to complete the document and return it as soon as possible. If there is a tie between students for the last spot, the program administrator will accept the final student according to first occupational coursework document submission.
HOW STUDENTS ARE ACCEPTED
The Dental Assisting program accepts a maximum of 21 core complete students using an objective competitive admissions policy. Students should refer to the dental assisting admissions calculation sheet for additional information related to the competitive admissions process. Following acceptance, the admissions department will send a second letter to inform students of their acceptance into the Dental Assisting program. Accepted students should expect to receive this letter by the middle of the spring semester prior to beginning the program.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCEPTANCE
To compete for a spot in the program, students must attend a mandatory information session AND submit their occupational coursework application before the end of the fall semester. Information sessions are held between April and November each year. Students should refer to the information session calendar on the dental assisting webpage for the dates of the upcoming sessions. Competitive admissions criteria are evaluated at the end of the fall semester.
Students must be CPR certified in American Heart Association Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers. Students will submit a copy of their CPR card on the first day of class.
Students must complete five (5) core courses before graduating from the Dental Assisting program (ALHS 1011, ALHS 1040, ENGL 1010, PSYC 1010, and MATH 1012).
Students must complete ALHS 1011, ALHS 1040, and ENGL 1010 before the beginning of the spring semester to compete for a spot in the dental assisting program. These three core courses are used as part of the competitive admissions process.
Students should complete the remaining two core courses (PSYC 1010 and MATH 1012) before the start of the summer semester. Students who do not get into the program must attend another information session to reapply for admittance.
Students must have a minimum cumulative Lanier Technical College GPA of 2.0 before the summer semester. The student’s cumulative Lanier Technical College GPA will be used in the admissions process. The cumulative Lanier Technical College GPA is inclusive of all college grades regardless of whether the attempted course was related to dental assisting courses.
NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE
Students will be notified of their acceptance by e-mail prior to the middle of the spring semester. Students accepted into the program will be required to attend a program orientation before starting the Dental Assisting program. The program administrator will send an e-mail to the accepted students informing them of the date and time for the program orientation.
*Meeting the minimum program criteria does not guarantee acceptance into the program.
Curriculum
Basic Skills – Total of 9 Hours
Program-Specific Core – Total of 45 Hours
Total Credit Hours: 54
Graduation Plan
Semester One
| ALHS 1040 | Introduction to Healthcare | 3 |
| ALHS 1011 | Structure/Function- Human Body | 5 |
| ENGL 1010 | Fundamentals of English I | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 11 |
ENGL 1010 - Pre-Req: Test Scores – See Advisor
Delete
Semester Two
MATH 1012 - Pre-Req: Test Scores – See Advisor
Semester Three
Semester Four
Semester Five
Apply for Graduation
Total Credit Hours: 54
This plan is for informational purposes ONLY. It is not a substitute for meeting with a program advisor each term.
**Program requires 50 hours; however, the Human Anatomy Requirement option, ALHS 1011, adds four credit hours, for a total of 54 credit hours.
Program Accreditation
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 https://coda.ada.org/en.
PROGRAM ACCREDITATION COMPLAINT PROCEDURE:
The Commission on Dental Accreditation will review complaints that relate to a program’s compliance with the accreditation standards. The Commission is interested in the sustained quality and continued improvement of dental and dental-related education programs but does not intervene on behalf of individuals or act as a court of appeal for treatment received by patients or individuals in matters of admission, appointment, promotion, or dismissal of faculty, staff or students.
A copy of the appropriate accreditation standards and/or the Commission’s policy and procedure for submission of complaints may be obtained by contacting the Commission at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611-2678 or by calling 1-800-621-8099 extension 4653.
CODA Third Party Comments:
The Dental Assisting program continually strives to provide quality education through program evaluation and improvement. As part of this process, the Commission on Dental Accreditation will be visiting Lanier Technical College in October to evaluate the program. The third-party comment request allows third-parties to make comments and recommendations about the program as they relate to the Commission’s standards.
The Commission on Dental Accreditation requests that parties interested in making comments concerning the Lanier Technical College Dental Assisting program send comments no later than sixty (60) days prior to the program’s site visit. All comments must relate to accreditation standards for the discipline and required accreditation policies. Additional Information.
Additional Program Information