Dental Assisting
Central Oregon Community College
Public · Community college
Combines chairside, radiography, expanded-functions and administrative preparation. Required preparation includes health-science mathematics, writing or business communication, and first aid/BLS.
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Three useful next steps
Review the exact program ↗
Check the award, entry checklist and next start.
Build your full budget ↗
Include preparation, supplies and travel.
Explore the connected career ↗
Compare duties, Oregon wages and required preparation.
PLAN YOUR PATH
Preparation, time and schedule
Before you apply
Review the entry checklist, BLS expectations and clearances needed before a dental placement.
Your complete timeline
70-73 credits; one-year certificate sequence after prerequisites. One-year certificate after prerequisites. Allow separately for prerequisite preparation, selection and the clinical start date.
Plan around the schedule
Campus-based; confirm the current timetable. Ask for the actual days, start times and required travel from Bend. Online coursework does not necessarily make laboratories or placements remote.
Application and selection
Use the official Dental Assisting page to review the current entry checklist. Ask whether a separate department application, selection process or cohort start applies before committing to enrollment.
Details checked September 16, 2026. Confirm current requirements with the provider.
Questions to take to an advisor
Which preparation, timetable and complete budget apply to my Dental Assisting plan?
- Which required courses or placements are offered only once per year?
- Can you give me a written estimate covering every required term and practical expense?
- Which employment, transfer or licensing requirements remain after this award?
Published program length is not a personal completion estimate. Transfer credits, prerequisites, selection and course availability can change the timeline.
After the program
Dental-assistant duties and expanded functions have distinct credential requirements. Confirm which examinations the program prepares you to take.
Cost and outcomes
Published components; build your full budget
The catalog lists approximately $1,000 for national board examinations, with additional uniforms, immunizations, BLS, background and drug-screening costs. Tuition and course charges are additional. Request an updated itemized estimate for your cohort.
Published tuition or budget base
2026-27 tuition is $130 per credit for in-district residents and $185 for out-of-district Oregon residents and qualifying border-state residents. Course, lab and other fees are additional; Oregon residency alone does not establish the in-district rate.
Official tuition and cost information ↗ · Checked September 16, 2026
A tuition rate or annual allowance is not a complete program price. Confirm your residency, course load, program fees and financial aid before comparing costs.
Open the cost planner →No verified exact-program earnings figure.
Historical College Scorecard earnings for a related certificate/diploma field are available below. These can combine multiple programs and institutional branches; they are not exact-program or current starting-pay estimates.
Historical related-field earnings
$42,864 median annual earnings 5 years after completion, in 2022 dollars.
Central Oregon Community College · Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (CIP 51.06) · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma. Cohort: 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic-year completers; earnings measured in 2020 and 2021.
College Scorecard covers federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled. This related field can combine programs and institutional branches; it is not an exact-program, campus-specific or current starting-pay figure. It is not directly comparable with Census outcomes because the population and dollar year differ.
U.S. Department of Education field-of-study data (ZIP) ↗
Data dictionary and cohort dates (Excel) ↗ · Checked September 16, 2026