Connecticut

To perform expanded functions under the direct or indirect supervision of a licensed dentist in the state of Connecticut, a dental assistant must earn Expanded Function Dental Assistant (EFDA) status. To qualify as an EFDA, one must:

1. Maintain current DANB Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) or Certified Orthodontic Assistant (COA) certification

AND

1. Successfully complete an expanded function dental assistant program at a higher education institution accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) that includes educational courses related to didactic and laboratory preclinical objectives and at least four hours of education in ethics and professional standards for dental professionals and a comprehensive clinical exam administered by the higher education program at the conclusion of the program

AND

III. Pass DANB’s Certified Preventive Functions Dental Assistant (CPFDA) certification exam and DANB’s Certified Restorative Functions Dental Assistant (CRFDA) certification exam

Note: The EFDA provisions above are part of a new law passed by the Connecticut legislature in 2016. Additional details related to the EFDA education curriculum and allowable EFDA functions are under development.

Effective July 1, 2018, any EFDA must show successful completion of DANB’s infection control (ICE) exam or an infection control competency assessment administered by a CODA-accredited dental education program in Connecticut.

Current Connecticut dental assistants who have not passed the DANB ICE exam prior to July 1, 2018 have until October 1, 2019 (fifteen months) to receive on-the-job training by a licensed dentist to prepare for and pass the exam.

New Connecticut dental assistants hired after July 1, 2018 have nine months from the start of employment to receive on-the-job training by a licensed dentist to prepare for and pass the exam, if they have not done so already.

Note: The DANB’s Infection Control (ICE) exam became a component of the Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) certification on June 1, 1993. The ICE exam became a component of the Certified Orthodontic Assistant (COA) certification on June 1, 1994. Dental assistants who earned CDA certification before June 1, 1993 or who earned COA certification before June 1, 1994 and who have not subsequently taken the CDA, COA or ICE exam after these dates will be required to take the ICE exam prior to April 1, 2019.