Dental Assisting

 

Graduates of the Wallace State Community College Dental Assistant program will be prepared to perform the numerous duties required to work in dental offices, hospitals, and clinics.

Admission Requirements and Curriculum

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Dental Assisting

Dental Assisting

Wallace State’s programs boast a top-notch reputation with outstanding licensure and job placement rates, small class sizes and an award-winning faculty.  Choose Wallace State’s Dental Assisting certificate or degree for a career in a highly-rewarding, high-demand field at a fraction of the cost of attending a university.  And if you do choose to continue your education, you’ll be two years ahead on an advanced degree, with employment potential and cost savings to boot.  

Discover your story in Dental Assisting at Wallace State!

Graduates of the Wallace State Community College Dental Assistant program will be prepared to perform the numerous duties required to work in dental offices, hospitals, and clinics.

About the Program

A dental assistant helps with the direct care of patients under the supervision of a dentist.

Dental assistants perform a variety of patient care, office, and laboratory duties. They work chairside as dentists examine and treat patients. They make patients as comfortable as possible in the dental chair, prepare them for treatment, and obtain their dental records. Assistants hand instruments and materials to dentists and keep patients’ mouths dry and clear by using suction or other devices. Assistants also sterilize and disinfect instruments and equipment, prepare trays of instruments for dental procedures, and instruct patients on post-operative and general oral health care.

Some dental assistants prepare materials for impressions and restorations, take dental x-rays, and process x-ray film as directed by a dentist. They also may remove sutures, apply topical anesthetics to gums or cavity-preventive agents to teeth, remove excess cement used in the filling process, and place rubber dams on the teeth to isolate them for individual treatment.

Those with laboratory duties make casts of the teeth and mouth from impressions, clean and polish removable appliances, and make temporary crowns. Dental assistants with office duties schedule and confirm appointments, receive patients, keep treatment records, send bills, receive payments, and order dental supplies and materials. Upon successful completion of the Wallace State program, graduates will be prepared to function as Dental Assistants in dental offices, hospitals and clinics.

DENTAL ASSISTING PROGRAM INFORMATION

Dr. Sharon Alley, BS, DMD, M.ed.
Clinical Dentist

256-352-8025
Sharon.Alley@wallacestate.edu
Health Science Building, room 125
B.S., University of Alabama
D.M.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham 

Ms. Susan Brewer, BS, RDH
Clinical Instructor

256-352-8328
Susan.Brewer@wallacestate.edu
Health Science Building, room 214
B.S., University of Alabama at Birmingham 
M. ED, Athens State University

Ms. Halli Melton, RDH, BS, CDA
Clinical Instructor

256-352-8026
Halli.Melton@wallacestate.edu
Health Science Building, room 205
B.S., University of Alabama at Birmingham
R.D.H., C.D.A., A.S., Wallace State Community College

Ms. Stephanie Eisner, BS, RDH
Clinical Instructor

256-352-8019
Stephanie.Eisner@wallacestate.edu
Health Science Building, room 126
A.S., R.D.H. Wallace State Community College
B.S., Athens State University
M. Ed, Athens State University

Dr. Tammye Whited, BS, DMD
Clinical Dentist

256-352-8381
Tammye.Whited@wallacestate.edu
Health Science Building, room 114
B.S., University of Alabama at Birmingham
D.M.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham

Corey Weeks
Secretary

256-352-8300
corey.weeks@wallacestate.edu
Health Science Building, front desk
A.S., Wallace State Community College

*Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and The Caring Foundation provided equipment in support of this program.

Program Overview

Dental Assisting


Degrees/Awards Offered

AAS, C


Availability

  • Day

Dental Assisting


Curriculum: Program of Study

Pathway Maps: Associate in Applied Science, Certificate

 

Career Outlook

View Gainful Employment Information