Updated Content 08/13/2025
Are you ready to start a rewarding career as a vital member of a dental care team? East Ohio College (EOC) offers an online Dental Assisting program highlighting key components of oral healthcare. EOC’s dental assisting training is an online/hybrid experience that combines some of the flexibility that online learning provides with in-person lab days. This gives students both the convenience of attending lecture classes online and the hands-on training needed to be successful.
Continue reading this blog to find out if EOC’s Dental Assisting program is the right fit for you!
What is Dental Assisting?
Dental assisting is a career in the dental field where trained dental assistants support dentists in delivering oral care to patients. Dental assistants perform a variety of tasks to ensure dental offices run smoothly and patients receive high-quality care.
Dental assistants are often confused with dental hygienists, but these are two distinct roles that support a dental office in different ways with different responsibilities. Dental hygienists are responsible for teeth cleanings and preventative oral care, while dental assistants provide aid to dentists with various oral procedures such as creating crowns and molds, performing teeth x-rays, and more.
What Do Dental Assistants Do?
Dental assistants are crucial members of a healthcare team, offering support in many areas in a dental facility. Our curriculum covers fundamentals such as:
- Exposing and developing radiographs.
- Assisting a dentist during dental procedures.
- Sterilizing dental instruments and equipment.
- Managing patient records.
- Scheduling procedures.
- Educating patients on postoperative and oral healthcare.
- Developing the leadership skills needed to manage a dental office.
- Taking dental impressions and performing laboratory duties.
- Mixing dental cement.
- Identifying oral pathology.
How to Become a Dental Assistant
With an associate degree in dental assisting, your dream career of being a dental assistant can become a reality. East Ohio College’s online Dental Assisting program prepares students for a rewarding career in a dental office with classes such as dental terminology, dental science, dental practice management, and dental office procedures. All coursework and lectures are completed online, at your own pace. In-person labs occur at the campus five Saturdays throughout the program to provide hands-on, practical experience.
How long does it take to become a dental assistant? You can earn your associate’s degree in just 18 months. EOC’s accelerated class structure allows students to take two, six-week courses at a time. Opposed to a traditional semester schedule, this accelerated timeframe allows students to complete their education in two years or less. Our instructors encourage a student-driven environment with smaller class sizes. This provides adequate laboratory time and helps ensure one-on-one training.
Near the end of the students’ online classes and interactive lab experiences, students are required to complete an externship at general and specialty dentistry offices. This on-the-job training allows students to test the knowledge and skills they cultivated during their coursework and clinicals to further those lessons in customer service and patient satisfaction. After completing this program, graduates are employable in various dental environments, including general dentistry, oral surgery, endodontics, periodontics, and orthodontics.
The Dental Assisting program at East Ohio College does not just provide career training; it also prepares you for the Nationally Registered Credentialed Dental Assistant (NRCDA) certification exam. Earning certifications can strengthen your value in the job market, and successfully completing them enables you to demonstrate your skills and helps you stand out to potential employers.
Become a Dental Assistant with EOC
Is East Ohio College’s Dental Assisting program the right fit for you? Speak with an admissions team member to learn more about this program and start your education journey by requesting information!
*Certification is contingent upon passing this industry certification exam. Required/ Included in Tuition/Fees.
Certifying entities are independent and are not affiliated or connected with East Ohio College in any manner.