The Indiana University School of Dentistry offers a traditional on-campus program. This program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation.
Dental assisting students are required to take three Dental Assisting National Board exams to become a Certified Dental Assistant (CDA).
Find out what it’s like to be a student hereMichelle Priest, CDA, MBA, EFDA, BS
Director of Dental Assisting
The Campus Dental Assisting Program is a full-time, two-semester program that requires the completion of 30 credit hours. The curriculum consists of 14 required classes that include approximately 1,000 hours of lectures, labs, and clinical experiences. All instruction takes place at the School of Dentistry, located on the IU Indianapolis campus in downtown Indianapolis. Students are required to complete at least 300 clinical hours in order to earn the certificate.
Want to know more about Dental Assisting? Learn about our on campus program by attending an in person Dental Assisting Day or view our latest Dental Assisting Day video below.
The School of Dentistry also offers a dental assisting program at IU’s Fort Wayne campus.
Learn about the IU Fort Wayne programYou must take 14 required courses and earn 30 credit hours for the dental assisting certificate. Upon successful completion of the courses, dental assisting graduates are eligible for the Indiana Dental Radiographer's License. In addition, Coronal Polishing and Caries Prevention certificates are earned by graduates who successfully complete the dental assisting curriculum.
View a list of courses
Qualified students can take the elective course Expanded Restorative Dentistry, a 3 credit hour course offered during the spring semester. Upon successful completion of the course, graduates will receive an Expanded Restorative Procedures for Dental Auxiliaries certificate.
You can apply dental assisting credits to five undergraduate degree programs at IU Indianapolis:
To be eligible to apply to the dental assisting program, you must meet certain admission requirements, which include:
You also must meet certain minimum skill standards.
Learn more about admission requirementsAfter admission to IU Indianapolis, you will submit a separate application for your selected dental assisting program.
Learn how to applyTuition and fee costs vary depending on residency (in state or out of state) and number of credit hours taken each semester. You can use IU Indianapolis tuition and fee estimator as a starting point for figuring out what your costs will be.
However, keep in mind that there are additional program and clinical fees for dental assisting students that may not be included in the estimate. You can search the IU Indianapolis master fee list to find out what fees you’ll have to pay as a dental assisting student.
IU Indianapolis dental assisting students are eligible to receive financial aid. However, upon your admission to IU Indianapolis, you will be classified as a pre–dental assisting student until you are accepted into one of the dental assisting programs. Pre–dental assisting students do not qualify for financial aid, so you will be not be awarded any aid until you have been admitted to one of the programs.
Learn more about financial aidU.S. Department of Education regulations require that we make certain information about this certificate program available to prospective and current students.
