Dental assistants are an integral part of all dental care teams. They are responsible for providing patient care and assisting dentists with procedures like teeth fillings and extractions. Whether you want to advance in your dental assisting career or need help securing your first job, completing a dental assistant program can be helpful.This article shares tips to choose high-quality dental assistant programs, explains their cost, and lists some of the best ones available. How to choose the best dental assistant program? When looking for a dental assistant program, the first thing you must do is shortlist programs accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, or CODA. That’s because CODA-accredited programs have high education quality and are valued in the dental field, making it easier for students to secure a good job or grow in their career. CODA is the national programmatic accrediting agency that employs a rigorous, collaborative peer review accreditation process to assess the quality of numerous programs in dental education. Note that graduating from a dental assisting program accredited by CODA also helps make students eligible for Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) certification. How much does a dental assistant program cost? Several factors dictate the total cost for a dental assistant program. These include location, type of school, length of the program, and whether the program offers a diploma, an associate’s degree, or a certificate. In general, diploma and certificate programs last anywhere from 6 months to 15 months and cost between $3,000 and $30,000 approximately, while an associate degree requires about two years to complete and costs between $6,000 and $50,000. Best schools for accredited dental assistant programs Here is a list of top schools that offer CODA-accredited dental assistants programs: Ozarks Technical Community College Ozarks Technical Community College, located in Springfield, Missouri, is one of the best schools in the country for dental assisting. The school offers two types of dental assistant programs: a 40-credit certificate program and a 62-credit Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree program. These programs are available in both traditional (on-campus training) and hybrid (combination of online and on-campus training) formats. Fox Valley Technical College This school offers a full-time dental assistant diploma program for the duration of 18 months at its Appleton campus in Wisconsin. At the end of the program, students should be able to provide chairside assistance, disinfect and sterilize dental instruments, understand different dental procedures, equipment, and radiographs, record dental histories and vital signs, and even manage dental and medical emergencies. Carrington College Carrington College is spread across the nation and provides dental assisting programs in 15 locations. They usually offer certificate and diploma programs, both of which have a comprehensive curriculum covering both theoretical and practical aspects of dental assisting. The certificate program consists of 36 credits and can be completed in less than nine months, while the exact length of the associate degree program depends on whether you choose a science or non-science course. Sinclair Community College Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, is an excellent school to enroll in for a certificate in dental assisting. The program comprises 17 credit hours and equips students with skills required to manage a dental office, assist in radiography, and more. Students will also get one or two days of laboratory experience per week and spend sufficient time improving their soft skills. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis IUPUI offers a traditional on-campus certification program in downtown Indianapolis. It’s a full-time, two-semester program that requires students to complete 30 credit hours to earn a certificate. The curriculum features 14 classes with approximately 1000 hours of lectures, labs, and clinical experiences.