You can start your career in dentistry in as little as 9 months!

Information in this website is designed to assist current and prospective students of the Dental Assisting Program.

The Dental Assisting Program at Lane Community College prepares its graduates for employment in the dental setting, with emphasis on current concepts of clinical chairside assisting. The program is fully accredited, by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), and is recognized by the Dental Assisting National Board 

After successful completion of the three quarter program, students are eligible to take the National Board exams and receive all certificates and licenses needed for employment as an Expanded Function Dental Assistant in the state of Oregon.  If desired, all credits from the nine month program can be applied to an Associates of General Studies degree here at Lane.  This AGS can then be applied to a Bachelors of Associated Science degree at many Oregon 4 year colleges and universities.

A dental assistant may serve as a clinical chairside assistant or work in dental office administration.  Our program focuses on clinical chairside skills, and prepares the student for employment in all areas of dental assisting including the dental specialties of orthodontics, pedodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics and oral surgery.

95 - 100 percent of the graduates find employment in the Eugene/Springfield area. The remaining graduates are able to find employment in other parts of the state. Starting salary in the Eugene/Springfield area averages $16.00 - $18.00 per hour.

To Our Students: Please be informed that Lane Community College Division of Health Professions requires all students to submit appropriate personal information (such as immunization records, federal and state background checks, drug screens and others) to CastleBranch, a company specializing in the collection and storage of student health care information. Submission of required documents must be accomplished prior to the beginning of classes. Both the drug screens and background checks must be clear (e.g. absence of positive results for narcotics, marijuana, alcohol and/or other illicit substances for drug screen) to ensure clinical placements and graduation from Health Profession programs. Specifics on required documents, costs, timelines, and how to access CastleBranch, will be included in the letter of program acceptance and/or discussed at the Mandatory Program Orientation.

Dear Students:
Please be aware that you will be required to have a minimum 2.0 gpa at the time of graduation in order to graduate and receive your certificate or associate's degree from LCC. Please also be aware that only LCC courses count toward your final gpa.

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What's the Dental Assisting program at Lane like?
Get the scoop from students and faculty in this career preview video.

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