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Isothermal Community College

Dental Assisting

The diploma program is a three-semester, full-time, day-time program. A cohort of up to twenty-four students is chosen annually. The program consists of four general education courses and ten dental courses. Upon completion, the students become Dental Assistant I's and can begin employment in a dental office. The weekly schedule varies from semester to semester. The online portion of the program is minimal due to the need for hands-on practice and exposure in the dental assisting profession.

General admission requirements for the college must be completed by the deadline date.

  • Complete the online college application process (including residency determination)
  • Use major code A55280D - General Occupational Technology-Dental.
  • Submit official high school equivalency transcripts to the Admissions Office.
  • Official college transcript(s) may be submitted to the Admissions Office for transfer credit evaluation. Transfer credit may be awarded for courses that reflect a grade of "C" or better.

The DA program admission requirements must be completed by the deadline date.

  • To meet requirements for Dental Assisting program for English, students who place below a 2.8 HS GPA or have a GPA older than 10 years can take the ENG 111 with the required coexisted. Test scores (placement, SAT, ACT, etc.) can be used to place into ENG 111 without the coexisted.
  • The Program’s minimum required cumulative average GPA is 2.0 for college and high school students.

 

Student’s exposures to pathogens and infectious diseases

Students will be exposed to bloodborne pathogens and other infectious diseases in this program. Infection control is mandatory before working with patients and all precautions must be taken to minimize exposure. Failure to follow proper infection protocols and procedures could lead to dismissal from the program. 

General Education (non-dental assisting) courses

Students are encouraged to take the required general education (non-dental assisting) courses before entry into the Dental Assisting program:

  • ENG 111 Writing & Inquiry
  • PSY 150 General Psychology
  • Natural science elective (BIO 110 Principles of Biology, BIO 111 General Biology or BIO 168 Anatomy and Physiology I)
  • ACA 122 College Transfer Success

PSB Exam (Optional)

The PSB exam information will be sent to the students by the College Navigator.

To ensure measures of access, applicants have the option of taking the Psychological Services Bureau (PSB) exam to attempt to counterbalance a low GPA.

  • Note that the PSB exam is OPTIONAL. This means it is NOT required to be accepted into the program.
  • Students will gain points based upon the score they achieve to use towards the point system total.
  • Students may choose to take the PSB exam. If students choose to take the PSB exam, they should email the Testing Coordinator, Tina Porter, at tporter@isothermal.edu or call 828-395-1621 for information.
  • Students must complete the registration process within 24 hours before the test date & payment will be due at the time of the exam.
  • The cost is approximately $70.00.

The PSB includes five sections of Academic Aptitude, Spelling, Reading Comprehension, Natural Sciences, and Vocational Adjustment.

Information on PSB, as well as exam preparation, may be found at www.psbtests.com and you may purchase a study manual at amazon (health-occupational-Secret –Study-Guide)

Other important information

While background checks, drug screening, and vaccines are not required by Isothermal Community College for either general college admission or entrance into the Dental Assisting Program, students should be aware that this information may be required by the students' future clinical locations. Failure to provide this information to a clinical site in a timely fashion could result in a cancellation of your clinical site arrangements. Failure to complete clinical requirements will result in program dismissal.

Personal health insurance is the responsibility of the student. The college, nor the clinical agency, provides health insurance coverage for students. Any illness or injury incurred during class, lab, or clinical during the program will be the financial responsibility of the individual student. Supplemental accident insurance through the college is available to DA students in the event of an accident while performing functions in the college or clinical settings.

Didactic and lab classes will be held in the Business Sciences Building on the College’s main campus (286 ICC Loop Rd. Spindale, NC 28160) with clinical rotations being based at various dental offices, in the service area, as arranged by the dental assisting director. Students are responsible for arranging their transportation to, and from, all required course meetings.