Guides · Careers · 5 min read
How to Become a Dental Assistant in Michigan
By Elizabeth Carr, DHA · 5 min read
Michigan lets you start dental assisting through on-the-job training with no credential. Taking X-rays requires an approved radiography course unless you hold Michigan's Registered Dental Assistant license, which is earned through an approved program and exam and unlocks a significantly wider duty list at higher pay.
Michigan lets you start dental assisting through on-the-job training, and formalizes the upper end of the career with its registered dental assistant license. That structure gives Michigan assistants one of the clearest growth paths in the Midwest.
What you can do from day one
Entry-level dental assistants in Michigan work without a credential. The rules call this an unregistered dental auxiliary, and R 338.11411 limits what you may do to the procedures marked for a UDA in Table 1, each one delegated by the dentist. Before the dentist may delegate anything, you have to show current BLS or ACLS certification for healthcare providers and proof of at least one hour of infection control training.
Michigan also licenses Registered Dental Assistants. Under R 338.11235 the RDA license takes graduation from a dental assisting program accredited by CODA, passing scores on a board-approved written and clinical examination, and current BLS or ACLS certification. It opens up the wider duty list in Table 1.
The X-ray rule in Michigan
Under R 338.11411, Table 1, an unregistered assistant may operate dental radiographic equipment after completing a course in dental radiography substantially equivalent to one taught in a board-approved program. Michigan issues no permit or card for this; the qualification is the completed course, and your employer keeps the record. For an RDA the coverage sits inside the license, since radiography is examination content under R 338.11239. Practices commonly sponsor the course after hiring.
Verify the current course requirements with the Michigan Board of Dentistry before enrolling.
The fastest realistic path
Step 1: Prepare and get hired as an entry-level assistant anywhere from Detroit to Grand Rapids.
Step 2: Complete the radiography course early in your first year.
Step 3: Pursue the RDA license, Michigan's clearest raise. Experience on its own does not qualify you. R 338.11235 requires a CODA-accredited dental assisting program plus the written and clinical examinations, so plan for the schooling.
Common questions
Do I need a license to start as a dental assistant in Michigan?
No. Entry-level assisting under supervision requires no credential. Michigan's RDA license is a later career step with a wider duty list.
Can Michigan dental assistants take X-rays?
Yes, after completing a course in dental radiography substantially equivalent to one taught in a board-approved program, or under the RDA license. Michigan does not issue a separate radiography card, so keep your course certificate. Confirm current requirements with the Michigan Board of Dentistry.
What is a Michigan RDA?
A Registered Dental Assistant, licensed by the Michigan Board of Dentistry after a CODA-accredited dental assisting program and a board-approved written and clinical exam, permitted an expanded set of duties at higher pay.
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Written by Elizabeth Carr, DHA, Program Director, DentalReady; former Dental Hygiene Department Chair, UMMC School of Dentistry
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