North Carolina Dental Assistant II Guidelines

Dental assistants in North Carolina are not certified by any governmental agency. Instead, an individual's education and experience are used by their employer to determine if they have reached dental assistant I or dental assistant II standards.

Education

• The dental assistant II standard can be awarded to an assistant who has successfully completed an American Dental Association (ADA) accredited dental assisting program or completed one or more years in an ADA-accredited program. North Carolina also recognizes the completion of the Dental Assisting National Board exam (DANB). All qualifications must be accompanied by a current cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certificate.

Experience

• For an employer to classify an assistant in the dental assistant II category, an individual must have completed 3,000 hours of chair assisting time over a five-year period under the supervision of a qualified dentist. Other experience that can be taken into account includes the completion of a three-hour sterilization and infection control course.

Radiography

• Dental assistants in North Carolina are permitted to produce and use dental X-rays if they have attained an ADA-accredited dental assisting qualification or have DANB certification. Dental assistants without these qualifications can complete an equivalency exam after showing evidence of seven hours of educational training in radiography.