What Classes Should You Take to Become a Dental Assistant?

Can anyone be a dental assistant? In most states, yes, there's no degree required to get your foot in the door. But "no degree required" doesn't mean "no classes matter." The right classes are what take you from an entry-level assistant sterilizing instruments to one who's certified, trusted with more responsibility, and paid accordingly.

Here's a breakdown of the classes worth taking, in the order that actually makes sense for your career.

Start With a Dental Assistant Program

If you're brand new, your first move is a foundational dental assistant program that covers the basics: chairside assisting, sterilization protocols, dental terminology, and office workflow. This is what most people mean when they search for dental assistant classes or dental assistant programs, and it's the fastest way to walk into your first job already knowing what you're doing instead of learning everything cold.

Dental AssistEd's 8-Week Become a Dental Assistant Program is built exactly for this: hands-on training that gets you job-ready in weeks, not months, and covers what most on-the-job training only teaches you piecemeal over your first several months of employment.

Radiation Health and Safety Certification

Taking X-rays is one of the most common duties dental assistants are asked to perform, and it's also one of the few areas where formal certification tends to be required, either by the state or by individual employers. A Radiation Health and Safety certification class teaches you the safety protocols, positioning, and equipment operation needed to legally and safely take dental radiographs.

If your role involves X-rays, or you want to be a more competitive candidate, Dental AssistEd's Radiation Health and Safety course covers exactly this.

Coronal Polishing Certification

Coronal polishing certification is one of the most searched-for classes among working dental assistants, and for good reason: it's usually the first expanded function you can add, and it's often a prerequisite for other expanded functions down the line, including EFDA restorative work. The class covers proper polishing technique, instrumentation, and the scope of what you're legally permitted to do once certified.

This isn't a day-one class, though. In Illinois, for example, you need to be at least 18 years old and meet one of the following before you can enroll: 1,000 hours of practical clinical experience, completion of a CODA-accredited dental assisting program, or CDA certification plus a course in the specific expanded function. So this is a class to add once you've built up some hands-on experience, not one to start with.

Dental AssistEd offers coronal polishing certification (often bundled with pit and fissure sealants) for both Illinois and Indiana assistants.

EFDA Certification

If you're searching for "EFDA classes" or "EFDA programs near me," you're looking at the next tier up: Expanded Functions Dental Assistant certification. EFDA classes authorize you to perform restorative work, placing, packing, and finishing composite restorations under a dentist's direct supervision, which is a meaningfully bigger scope than basic or single-function assisting.

EFDA certification isn't an entry-level class, and it has the steepest prerequisites of the group. Most states require significantly more clinical hours than coronal polishing alone, typically around 4,000 hours of clinical patient care, plus a completed coronal polishing and sealants course before you can enroll. In other words, this is a class you work toward over time, not one you add right away. But it's also the class with the clearest payoff: expanded function assistants consistently out-earn assistants without the credential. Dental AssistEd's EFDA Restorative Certification course walks you through the full process once you meet the prerequisites.

Other CE Classes Worth Considering

Beyond the core path, ongoing continuing education classes keep your skills current and, depending on your state, may be required to maintain certification. Topics worth exploring include infection control, HIPAA compliance, OSHA training, and nitrous oxide monitoring. You can browse the full list of online CE courses to see what applies to your state and career stage.

The Bottom Line

You don't need a class to start working as a dental assistant, but the right classes are what move you from entry-level to certified, and from certified to expanded functions. A logical order looks like this: start with a foundational dental assistant program, add radiation health and safety certification if you'll be taking X-rays, get coronal polishing certified, then work toward EFDA if you want to take on restorative work.

Ready to start or add to your certifications? Explore Dental AssistEd's full course catalog or contact us to figure out which class makes sense for where you are right now.