Delaware

Delaware Dental Assisting Requirements

Below are the Dental Assistant requirements for the State of Delaware. To confirm that you meet these requirements or if you have any questions, please reach out to the Delaware dental board.

Disclaimer: This data is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Radiography

A dental assistant must hold a state certificate as a Dental Radiation Technician or a state certificate recognizing DANB Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) certification from the Delaware Division of Public Health/Office of Radiation Control (Delaware ORC). To qualify, one must:

Pass the DANB national Radiation Health and Safety (RHS) exam, OR
Hold current DANB CDA certification AND THEN C.
Submit a completed state certificate application (Form R16-N) to the Delaware ORC AND
Be at least 18 years of age to receive the state certificate

Currently, the State of Delaware has no provisions for recognizing certificates issued by other states. To obtain Form R16-N, contact the Delaware ORC, Jesse Cooper Building, 417 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901; phone (302) 744-4546; or visit the website: http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/hsp/orc.html Note: The Delaware ORC has discontinued the Delaware Dental Radiologic Technology (DDRT) exam, which was a state-specific exam equivalent to DANB’s RHS exam offered prior to December 31, 2015. As of January 1, 2016, individuals who wish to become certified as Delaware Dental Radiation Technicians and who do not hold DANB’s CDA certification must apply to DANB to take the DANB RHS exam. Candidates who passed the DDRT exam prior to December 31, 2015 may still use their DDRT exam passing result to qualify for the Dental Radiation Technician certificate. Former certificate holders who took the DDRT exam and who have let their Dental Radiation Technician certificate expire must take DANB’s RHS exam to reinstate the Dental Radiation Technician certificate. (If you are enrolled at a Vocational Technical High School, you may be eligible to have your state certification application fee waived; contact the Delaware ORC for more information.)

Dental Assistant

In the state of Delaware, competency of dental assistants in specific duties is determined by the supervising dentist.

The dentist is given full responsibility in deciding the scope of work to be allocated to the dental assistant.

Adequate training of dental assistants is solely the responsibility of the dentist.

In summary, the Delaware Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene places full responsibility for the work done by dental assistants directly upon the dentist.