Schools and Departments

Schools/Departments

Welcome to Dental Assisting. Use the following buttons to navigate to view all Dental Assisting Courses, the Dental Assisting Certificates/Degrees offered, the faculty page and to visit the Dental Assisting program page that reflects our catalog information.

The Dental Assisting application opens April 1st, 2020 and closes May 1, 2020.

Apply Now

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, and the cancellation of our March 23rd Information Session, you may submit your application to the Dental Assisting Program before you have completed an Information Session. 

Upcoming info sessions:
April 15th, 2020 @ 6pm
April 25th, 2020 @ 10am

Two prerequisites for the Dental Assisting program will be required to apply for the Fall of 2020.

The two prerequisites are:

• DENA 050 – Dental Communications
• DENA 056 – Basic Dental Science

These courses will be offered during the fall and spring semesters so that they may be completed in time for the next application cycle.

Career Education

This is a Career Education Program. According to the California Department of Education, Career Education is a program of study that involves a multiyear sequence of courses that integrates core academic knowledge with technical and occupational knowledge to provide students with a pathway to postsecondary education and careers.

Students enrolling in the Dental Assisting Program at San Diego Mesa College will experience courses in the state of the art Allied Health Building (opened 2009). The program utilizes classrooms designed to give the student relevant dental experience and personal attention. The dental assisting classrooms include a dental clinic with modern dental chairs and equipment such as intra-oral cameras, CAD/CAM dental system and dental software, a dental laboratory classroom where students have their own lighted work area, a radiography room with digital x-ray equipment, a lecture classroom and a computer laboratory classroom.

The San Diego Mesa College Dental Assisting Program:

• Is accredited by the Dental Board of California (DBC) and the Commission of Dental Accreditation (CODA) of the American Dental Association.
• Is recognized by the local dental community and personnel agencies for skilled dental assistants.
• Ranks among the top 10 dental assisting programs statewide for passing the California RDA State Board Exams.
• Enables dental assisting students to immediately apply for the RDA and CDA examinations upon successful completion of the program.
• Includes required certification courses for the dental assistant and registered dental assistant such as Basic Life Support (BLS), Infection Control, CA Dental Practice Act, Radiography, Coronal Polishing and Pit and Fissure Sealant Placement.

Information Session dates and times: Information sessions for the class of 2019-2020 have concluded.  Please check back in the fall for the specific dates and times for upcoming sessions for the class of 2020-2021.

For enrollment: Special Admissions Contacts (click on email address)- James Arnegard: jarnegar@sdccd.edu,
Dulce Carolina Lopez: dlopez@sdccd.edu or Karina Sandoval:ksandoval@sdccd.edu
Special Admissions, I4-102   Telephone #: 619-388-2682 / 619-388-5713

For program information: Claudia Perkins, C.D.A., R.D.H, J.D., Acting Program Director, cperkins@sdccd.edu, 619-388-2697 or Karen Wait, C.D.A., R.D.A, B.S., Faculty, kwait@sdccd.edu, 619-388-5884.

Third Party Comments Link- Dental Assisting Program

Complaints Link

Public Comment Procedure Link