A dental assistant is a vital member of the dental health care team, functioning like a “dental nurse” to support the dentist and provide direct patient care. Dental assistants enjoy a broad range of exciting and challenging duties, including assisting for diagnostic, preventive, and operative procedures, delivering oral hygiene instruction, performing instrument and treatment room decontamination, and dental laboratory and business office procedures. Minnesota licensed dental assistants also perform a group of special duties called expanded functions, which includes procedures such as mechanical polishing, taking dental x-rays, applying dental sealants, tying in orthodontic wires, fabricating temporary crowns, and administering nitrous oxide sedation.
The Dental Assistant program is designed to provide the student with the technical knowledge, manual skills, clinical experiences, communication skills, and positive attitudes toward work required to make the graduate a valuable member of the dental healthcare profession. The Dental Assistant program may be completed in one year as a full-time student, or in two years as a part-time student.
Graduates are eligible to sit for the Minnesota licensure exam, Minnesota jurisprudence exam, and the national certification exam for dental assistants.
Program Options
Special Admittance Program: Admission into the Dental Assistant program is based on a rolling admissions system of accepting applicants who meet eligibility criteria. Applicants must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA for the part-time 2yr option and a 2.75 cumulative GPA for the accelerated 1yr program option. All applicants must meet college level reading/writing requirements and have taken Biology with a ‘C’ or higher within the past five years, calculated from the Fall Semester in which you plan entry into the Dental Assistant Program. Click Admission for more information about admissions requirements. Admissions window opens in January for fall start.
Special Admittance Program: For entry into this certificate program, the applicant must currently be a DANB Certified Dental Assistant, must have graduated from a CODA accredited dental assisting program, and must hold a current healthcare provider level CPR/AED Certificate from the American Red Cross or America Heart Association. Upon successful completion of the certificate requirements, the student is eligible to take the Minnesota Licensure Examination for Dental Assistants. Click Admission for more information about admissions requirements. Admissions window opens in January for fall start.
Special Admittance Program: Admission into the Dental Assistant program is based on a rolling admissions system of accepting applicants who meet eligibility criteria. Applicants must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA for the part-time 2yr option and a 2.75 cumulative GPA for the accelerated 1yr program option. All applicants must meet college level reading/writing requirements and have taken Biology with a ‘C’ or higher within the past five years, calculated from the Fall Semester in which you plan entry into the Dental Assistant Program. Click Admission for more information about admissions requirements. Admissions window opens in January for fall start.
Dental Assistant Program may be completed in various timelines
- One year as a full-time student *if general education requirements are completed
- Two years as a part-time student *if general education requirements are completed
- Two years as a full-time student *if general education requirements are NOT completed
Samantha Schendzielos, Program Advisor
SS 135 • samantha.schendzielos@dos5.net • 507-285-7469
Current Students 
New Students
