Last Updated on July 28, 2023 by Vishnu Nambiar
Do you want to become a Dental Assistant after completing 12th or 10th standard in India? If yes, this article will be of help to you. In this article, I’ve provided details about dental assistant courses available in India. The article covers topics like course details, eligibility criteria, admission process, scope, career prospects and salary details.
Who is a dental assistant? What are his/her tasks? What is it like to become a dental assistant? You will find answers to these questions in the coming paragraphs.
Dental Assistants work under the supervision and guidance of qualified Dentists. They are paramedical professionals who directly assist Dentists. Dental Assistants assist Dentists in performing tasks like examination, treatment and surgery.
Let us check out the common tasks performed by Dental Assistants-
- Communicating with patients and preparing them for examination and/or surgery
- Setting up equipment and instruments
- Sterilization and cleaning of surgical instruments and equipment
- Arranging equipment and instruments
- Prepare materials and equipment for making casts, impressions and restorations
- Take care of pre, intra and post surgical activities
- Assist Dentist in examination and surgery
- Front office clerical work
- Laboratory work
In short, professional dental assistants work under the supervision of a qualified dentists. They assist dentists in performing tasks like diagnosis, treatment, surgery, dental materials and patient education.
Preparing and maintaining dental equipment, materials, instruments and taking care of front end office tasks (patient enrollment, record keeping etc) are also important parts of their job.
A very closely related profession (to dental assistant) is that of the dental hygienist. But dental hygienists are much more qualified than dental assistants. While assistants work under the supervision of dentists, dental hygienists are capable of performing tasks (like cleaning, polishing, whitening etc) independently. In short, though dental assistants and hygienists have many things in common, hygienists focus more on clinical practices. On the other hand, assistants focus more on working alongside and assisting dentists.
Let us check out the course details now-
Dental Assistant courses in India
In India, dental assistant courses are available in two main formats (talking about undergraduate level). They are-
- Diploma course
- Certificate course
Let us check out each course format and find out vital details about them –
1 Diploma courses
Some popular dental assistant diploma courses are –
- Diploma in Dental Assistant
- Diploma in Dental Operating Room Assistant (DORA)
- Diploma in Dental Mechanics
- Diploma in Dental Technician
Out of the courses mentioned above, DORA course is slightly advanced in nature. It focuses extensively on surgical aspects of dentistry.
Course duration: Typical Diploma course lasts for a period of 2 years. Depending upon the institute, course duration may vary.
Eligibility criteria: 10+2 passed from a recognized board is the minimum qualification required. If minimum aggregate marks criteria exists, it is generally around 45-55% aggregate marks.
Admission process: Depending upon the institute, it could be direct admission or merit based admission process. Most institutes follow merit based admission process. Under this process, marks scored by students in board examination are taken into consideration. Deserving candidates are given admission, based on the merit marks scored by them.
2 Certificate courses
Certificate in Dental Assistant is a paramedical certificate course. Though the certificate course is not as valuable as its Diploma counterpart, it is enough to acquire basic dental assistant skills.
Course duration: Depending upon the institute, course duration could be anywhere between 6 to 12 months.
Eligibility criteria: 10th passed from a recognized board is the minimum qualification required.
Admission process: Direct admission or merit based admission process (depends upon the institute).
Career prospects and job opportunities
Dental assistants usually work under the supervision of qualified dentists. They can be seen working at dental clinics, hospitals and community health centres (CHCs), helping dentists.
Government hospitals (Dental department), private hospitals (Dental department), Private Dental clinics, NGOs and Community health centres are places where dental assistants may find work.
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They may also work as instructors at relevant paramedical institutes.
Salary
Starting salary depends upon factors like- profile of the employer, job location and employee skills. Depending upon the above mentioned factors, dental assistants may earn anywhere between 6-8K Rupees per month (at start).
I am Vishnu Nambiar a career and educational blogger from India. I am also a full time educational consultant having more than 12 years of experience in the educational sector.
I share articles related to courses, colleges, careers, exam tips and more here.
I want to start Diploma and Certificate courses for dental assistants in India
My organisation is Accrediated under NABH
And am ex Prof and Head at a dental college