Certified Dental Assistant

 It is important to meet at least the minimum requirement for a certification to work in the ever popular dental assisting industry. There are many valuable skills that a certified dental assistant will learn in the course of their career and the most important is, in fact, infection control.
In order to become a certified dental assistant (CDA), a dental assistant will need to take the Dental Assisting national Board (DANB) or CDA exams after you have completed your dental assistant program from an accredited dental assisting school.

While you don’t need a license to work as a dental assistant in some States, but getting your certificate as a dental assistant can guarantee you the opportunity of a higher pay over others who may decide not to be certified. Not to mention upon completion of a dental assistant program this can be a chance to experience the wonderful path in the area of dentistry. You can just begin to think about the range of employment opportunities that will present themselves to you as a direct result of getting your license, and the opportunity for better pay and career advancement.

Certified Dental Assistant Exams

There are mainly three parts to the certified dental assistant (CDA) exams in order to become a fully certified dental assistant. The Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) set the normal standards for all the certification for the dental assistant exams, which is also known as CDA. A written test composed of multiple choice questions there are about 120 of them. Now most of these questions are based on the basics of dental assisting. There is also another written portion on infection control that is composed of about 100 multiple choice questions that has to do with various diseases, risks, and mainly how to prevent them. The last part of the test is the 100 multiple choice again about common sense related issues.

Preparing for Certified Dental Assistant exams

In order to prepare for the exam you will need to study just like if you were to enroll in any other programs. You need to study the text book and if you take any notes in class study them as well. It is highly recommend for you to purchase the CDA study guide, and form study group with other peers who are taking the exams as well. Another good source of information is the internet where you can find free practice tests to rehearse with. The exams are giving in one or two forms; you can either take the written format or the computerized format it’s mainly up to you as to which one you prefer.

It is best to schedule the exams right after you complete your online dental assistant program for many reasons; first, people tend to test better right after completing a program the information is very fresh in their mind and not to mention you are still in the learning mentality. Second, once you secure an employment it becomes less and less likely that you will take the certified dental assistant exams. Third, there is less test anxiety involved when the information is fresh and you will more likely know the materials very well. The score tend to be much higher when you just complete a program as opposed to wait, typically the longer a person wait the lower they tend to score in their exams.

Certified Dental Assistant Employment Impact

In many States around the country certified dental assistant has the unique opportunity to perform more advanced duties. In this case you are a very valuable asset to the dentist and your formal employer. You are also likely to get hire in those States as you possess the ability to do more over a dental assistant who is not certified. You are likely also to get better benefits and more pay as well.

It comes down to you, as a dental assistant, to take the CDA test if you choose. Licensing is not a required thing so there is no pressure as far as that goes. So many dental assistant opt out of taking the exams upon completion of their program. Just remember that there is absolutely nothing to lose here. Even in the worst case scenario, let’s say you don’t pass the test you still very much qualified to be a dental assistant when you finish with the program. But the benefits of having taken the test, far out weight those who decided against it. For instance, you get additional pay for doing exactly the same type of work.

Certified Dental Assistant Exams Schedule

Some of the great resources for you to use is your dental assistant program instructor, they can be helpful as far as guidance, and have resources that you can use to assist you in taken the exams. For example they can help you in knowing about what’s required and what is not required. You can obtain a schedule for the certified dental assistant exams through your instructor, your State Dental Board and even from the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc. or (DANB) for when the exams will take place. They are normally schedule each and every month and the cost of the exams are varied by State.