There are many great schools in the Miami area that offer dental assistant programs. The Department of Labor estimates that jobs available for Dental Assistants in the United States are going to increase by 29% by 2016.  This is a great reason to study to become a dental assistant in a dental assistant school in Miami. There are not many schools within the central Miami are but there are some good schools in easy commuting distance. Listed below are three top schools in the Miami area to consider when looking for dental assistant training programs and getting a career as a dental assistant.

Lindsay Hopkins Technical Education Centre, Miami Dade College

This is the only certified dental assistant programs in the Miami area. It is accredited by the American Dental Association and certified by the Dental Assistant National Board. The program is made up of theory, labs and clinical experience.

The students have access to a simulator in the clinical facility and also get hands on experience at the Community Smiles Dental Clinic which is located on the campus. They get to first work with the human patient simulator learning all aspects of dental care and then they are allowed to have hands on patient experience in the onsite dental clinic.

The course runs for approximately 13 months and after completion of this course the students have the option of taking the exams required in the state of Florida to become certified dental assistants. The students will complete this course with a certificate, and they will be able to work in dental clinics under the supervision of a licensed dentist.

Lindsay Hopkins was the first technical and career based centre to be built in the Miami area. This school has more than 9000 students a year in many fields of learning. They have a specific school designed for the health science education careers and it is in this part of the college that the dental assistant program is completed.

Sanford Brown Institute, Fort Lauderdale

When considering dental assistant schools in Miami that offer the dental assistant program a school that is highly recommended is the Sanford Brown Institute located in Fort Lauderdale. This program is designed to help students to assist in many different dental office situations.

Students undertaking this course will receive training in the key areas required for assisting dentists in a dental clinic. These areas include dental anatomy, pathology and terminology, dental instruments and materials, radiography, sterilization principles and office duties. All the skills required for the tasks a dental assistant may be required to fulfill in their daily working environment.

The training in this program is split into three components, a lecture component, a laboratory component and clinical experience, which is included in an externship at a dental clinic. At the end of this course students will be able to obtain employment as an entry level dental assistant. They will be required in the state of Florida is sit the Certified Dental Assistants (CDA) exam.

Sanford Brown offers a diploma in dental assisting with expanded functions. It can take as little as 17.5 months to complete in full time enrollment. Sanford Brown offer flexible learning schedules so this is why the course can take longer to complete if a student can’t study full time due to other commitments.

Sanford Brown is committed to helping people make their dreams a reality. They offer flexible programs that work to balance life with study. They offer flexible learning schedules in day, night, weekend or online classes that best suit the need of the student. Sanford Brown also offer great externship sites for practical, real life experience with patients.

One of the unique qualities of Sanford Brown is the established network they have with hospitals and community facilities. This is where they offer great externships with quality establishments to give one of the best hands on dental assistant programs in Miami.

Lincoln College of Technology, West Palm Beach

Lincoln College offers over 65 years of experience in the field of education. The Campus at West Palm Beach is specifically designed to give students marketable skills and career specific knowledge. They are an institution that is firmly enclosed in careers that assist America, which enables them to have a close professional bond with local businesses and organizations.

This is one of the best hands on training schools for dental assistant training in Miami. This school offers students the chance to learn on a patient simulation mannequin. This program allows students to learn through labs, lectures and simulated scenarios so that they are ready at the completion of the course to sit their Radiation Health and Safety (RHS) and their Infection Control (ICE) portions of the CDA exam.

The campus labs are designed to look like actual dental offices and sterilization rooms, just like they would be found in the workplace. They also offer a chance to work in clinical externship, getting to meet real patients under the supervision of a licensed dentist. The instructors for this course are all certified dental assistants and have worked in this field for many years, offering varied fields of expertise and experience.

Lincoln offers the unique quality of giving the students the opportunity to get a true feel for working with dental instruments in simulated dental class settings. This means that at Lincoln you will get a chance to do the things real dental assistants do before you start your first job. This is a great way to start a career already having hands on knowledge of what is required from the role.

This course is a 12 month course with 870 contact hours and gaining 56 credits, at the end of which students will earn a diploma. The student will complete 160 hours of this program in the dentist externship, which is to work in a dental practice to complete these hours. Completing the externship gives the students the opportunity to learn a wide range of expanded duties and this gives them an expanded duties certificate along with their diploma. At the end of the course students are then able to sit the required exams to gain dental assistant certification in Miami.