Registered Dental Assisting w/ Radiology

Registered Dental Assistant Course with Radiology  meets for 10 weeks + orientation and consists of the following:

189 contact hours as follows: (includes an 8 hour orientation/CPR certification)

*93.5  hours of weekly in person clinic sessions are one session a week – you can choose from the following session options:               
– Tuesdays 8am-5pm with a 30 min lunch from 12:30-1pm
– Wednesdays 8am-5pm with a 30min lunch from 12:30-1pm
– Thursdays 8am-5pm with a 30 min lunch from 12:30-1pm
– Fridays 8am-5pm with a 30 min lunch from 12:30-1pm
– Saturdays 8am-5pm with a 30 min lunch from 12:30-1pm

*27.5 hours of synchronous zoom or google meet lectures at 7pm and will last approximately 2.5 hours. (This lecture will be on Sunday evenings during the summer and fall sessions and Monday evenings in the Winter and Spring Sessions) 

*20  mandatory shadowing hours at a dental office(s). Students are required to secure dental offices for shadowing. The Dental Staff School of Tennessee does NOT have any agreements or affiliate contracts with dentist to provide these shadowing hours to the student. Students must locate their own offices to complete the 20 hours of shadowing.

*48 hours of directed e-learning  throughout the 10 weeks (this will include 5 hours of nitrous monitoring administration certification)

-online coursework consists of online proctored weekly testing, homework assignments, videos and exercises presented through google classroom that coincide with your e-book.

 Registered Dental Assisting with Radiology Admission Requirements:

-Student must be 18 years old to apply for RDA licensure in the state of TN
-Complete a tour of the school in person or virtually
-Receive a copy of the course syllabus and course catalog
-Complete the transferability of credits disclosure and the pre-enrollment checklist
-Complete the Enrollment Agreement prior to attending your first session
-Have an original High School Transcript , GED Completion form or post secondary transcript (must show HS graduation date) sent to us directly from the school. This needs to be in your student file to complete your enrollment and start the program.

This can be emailed to:  info@dentalstaffschooltn.com

We offer 4 sessions each year.

The Registered Dental Assisting Program is held four (4) times each year. We ask students to make sure the class dates they chose are a good time for their schedule.  Our 2025 Sessions are as follows:

WINTER Session 2026 (REGISTRATION IS OPEN)
Orientation and CPR will be held on December 27th- 30th (1 day from 8:00am-4:30pm with lunch 12:30-1:00pm required. Exact date will depend on student course day selection)

Session runs from January 6th  – March 14th (students meet on their selected day of the week from 8am-5pm with lunch 12:30-1:00pm)

Weekly Evening Synchronous Lectures via zoom (2 hours 45 minutes) – students will attend the Monday evening session each week from 7pm-9:45pm

**No holiday closure during winter session

SPRING Session 2026 (REGISTRATION IS OPEN)
Orientation and CPR will be held on March 9^th– 12^th (1 day 8:00am-4:30pm with lunch 12:30-1:00pm required. Exact date will depend on student course day selection. Friday and Saturday students will need to choose M,T W, or Th for orientation as we do not hold orientation on that Friday or Saturday)

Sessions runs from March 17th– May23rd (students meet on their selected day of the week from 8am-5pm with lunch 12:30-1:00pm)

Weekly Synchronous Lectures via zoom (2 hours 45 minutes)- students will attend the Monday evening session each week from 7pm-9:45pm

** No holiday closure during spring session

SUMMER Session 2026 (Registration will open on January 10th, 2026)
Orientation and CPR will be held the week of June 24th-28th  (1 day  8:00am-4:30 pm with lunch  12:30-1:00pm required. Exact date will depend on student course day selection)

Sessions runs from July 8th-September 12th(students meet on their selected day of the week from 8am-5:00 pm with lunch 12:30-1:00pm)

Weekly Synchronous Lectures via zoom (2 hours 45 minutes)- students will attend the Monday evening session each week from 7pm-9:45pm

** Holiday closure on Tuesday, July 2nd-July 6th, 2024 will be observed. There will be no school for students that week.

 FALL Session 2026 (REGISTRATION will open on March 15th, 2026)
Orientation and CPR will be held on September 7th-11th  (1 day required and day will depend on student course day selection- Friday and Saturday students will need to choose S,M,T W, or Th for orientation as we do not hold orientation on that Friday or Saturday)

Sessions runs from September 16th– November 22nd (students meet on their selected day of the week from 8am-5:00pm with lunch 12:30-1:00pm) Evening class session will meet on Tues 6-9pm/ Wed 6-8:45pm/ Thur 6-8:45pm

Weekly Synchronous Lectures via zoom (2 hours 45 minutes)- students will attend the Monday evening session each week from 7pm-9:45pm

Dental Staff School of Tennessee Observes the following holidays
-New Years Eve
-New Year’s Day
-Memorial Day
-4^th of July
-Labor Day
-Thanksgiving Day
-Day after Thanksgiving
-Christmas Eve
-Christmas Day

The cost of the Registered Dental Assisting program is $5,495.00 

-Tuition Program Fee ($4850)- includes radiology certification

-Books & supplies Program Fee ($500)- includes e-book, online activities account, google classroom account and CPR Course

– Mandatory program uniform fee( $110). This fee is non-refundable as scrubs are customized for each individual

– Optional  graduation fee ($35) if planning to participate in the graduation ceremony.

– Optional Add on Certifications with RDA student discounts (Registration through Brentwood Clinic Location is required)

-Coronal Polish Certification taken at our Brentwood Clinic ($250)

-Online Nitrous Oxide Monitoring taken online by registering through our Brentwood Clinic ($100)

-Sealant Application Certification if already hired and in a dental office taken at our Brentwood Clinic ($200)

These fees above are all paid directly to Dental Staff School of TN

Third Party Fees (These fees below are NOT paid to the Dental Staff School of Tennessee)

$37.15 background check fee paid to Identogo when scheduling your background check

$160 RDA license application fee paid the the TN Board of Dentistry that will be required if the student chooses to apply for licensure with the state of Tennessee.  ($20 is also charged PER additional certification you are applying to add to your license. Total licensure Fee’s could be $180- $220)

Tuition Refund Policy (Cancellation and Refund Policy)

1. A student who at any time withdraws, is withdrawn (including expulsion) by the institution, or otherwise fails to attend class is entitled to a full refund of any fee, regardless of whether the fee is included in tuition, paid to the institution for tangible goods or services not delivered to or fully provided to the student.

2. In addition, if a student fails to begin class on the program start date as written in the enrollment agreement or as amended by the institution, the refund shall equal the sum of all refundable fees paid and, if the student has institutional loans, forgiveness of the amounts owed by the student, less an administrative fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00)

3. In addition, if after the program has commenced and before expiration of twenty percent (20%) or less of the period of enrollment for which the student was charged, a student withdraws, is withdrawn (including expulsion) by the institution, or otherwise fails to attend classes, the refund shall be a pro rata portion of refundable fees, less an administrative fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00). If applicable, the refund shall include forgiveness of institutional loans. For example, if a student’s last day of attendance equals ten percent (10%) of the period of enrollment for which the student was charged, the institution is entitled to retain only ten percent (10%) of the refundable fees charged for the period of enrollment as well as one hundred dollars ($100.00). However, in no instance will the institution be responsible for any refund in excess of the amount paid by or on behalf of the student for the period of enrollment for which the student was charged.

4. If after expiration of twenty percent (20%) of the period of enrollment for which the student was charged, a student withdraws, is withdrawn (including expulsion) by the institution, or otherwise fails to attend classes, the student may be deemed obligated for one hundred percent (100%) of the refundable fees charged by the institution up to the last period of enrollment charged.

5. For a student who cannot complete one (1) or more classes because the institution discontinued such a class during a period of enrollment for which the student was charged, the institution shall refund the sum of all refundable fees paid and, if the student has institutional loans, forgive the amounts owed by the student.

Last Day of Attendance:

When computing refunds pursuant to the above refund policy, the last day of attendance for the students who meets the definition of enrolled, shall either be (a) the recorded date of the students last day of attendance or (b) when applicable, the date the student failed to return from an approved leave of absence.

The Dental Staff School of Tennessee will train you to prepare the patient for treatment, take X-ray examinations and obtain dental records. Dental Assistants also provide the dentist with the proper instruments and materials during a patient examination.

The Dental Staff School of Tennessee’s Dental Assistant classes will prepare you to:

• Sterilize and disinfect instruments and equipment
• Prepare tray setups for dental procedures
• Assist your dentist in 4-handed dentistry
• Provide postoperative instruction
• Instruct patients in oral health care
• Prepare materials for making impressions and restorations
• Taking Alginate and Digital Impressions and making temporary crowns
• Digital X-rays
• Expose radiographs
• Monitor Nitrous Oxide in a dental setting

The following subjects are covered in depth from both a didactic and practical clinical experience. We offer hands-on training with all the equipment, instruments, and materials used in our dental office:

Legal Aspects of Dental Assisting

1. Ethics and the Law
2. Legal Aspects of Dentistry
3. Patient Records
4. Dental Healthcare Team

General Anatomy and Physiology

1. Structures of the Head and Neck
2. Landmarks of the Face and Oral Cavity
3. Oral Embryology and Histology
4. Overview of Dentitions

Oral Health and Prevention

1. Student & Patient Education of Casey
2. Education of Dental Caries & Oral Health and Prevention
3. Oral Pathology
4. Health History

Sterilization Techniques and Infection Control

Sterilization theory & terminology, Autoclave, and Ultrasonic operation

1. Instrument and equipment sterilization, disinfection, & biologic monitoring
2. Treatment room disinfection & asepsis techniques
3. Disease Transmission

Dental Theory and Terminology

1. Dental and oral anatomy, tooth-numbering system
2. Instrument nomenclature and identification for all aspects of General Dentistry
3. Dental Terminology
4. Equipment operation, chair positioning, assistant equipment usage.
5. Tissues of the teeth

Four-handed Dental Assisting

1. Instrument transfer techniques, chair-side assisting and suctioning.
2. Chair-side doctor-patient-assistant positioning.

Use of instruments and materials in assisting for

1. General and Cosmetic Dentistry
2. All Specialties – Oral Surgery, Endodontics, Pedodontics, and Orthodontics
3. Hand-piece care and maintenance

Radiology

1. X-ray theory and technique
2. Intraoral, bitewing, panoramic, and endodontic methods
3. Digital radiography
4. X-ray safety and precautions.

Impressions and Model Trimming

1. Impression materials and practice of there use
2. Digital Impressions practice with Impressions Scanner
3. Model pouring and trimming
4. Making bleaching trays with instructions on how to use different products

Job Interview Techniques and Marketing Skills

1. Provide guidelines for interviewing process
2. Resume Building Project

Overview of Curve Hero Dental Software

1. Charting
2. Treatment Planning
3. Scheduling
4. Clinical Notes in Curve Hero Dental Software