How to Become a Dental Assistant in New York

What you can do from day one

An unlicensed dental assistant in New York can seat and prepare the patient, obtain records, apply protective garb, prepare instruments and materials, decontaminate and sterilize instruments, trim or mount impressions the dentist took, and take dental x-rays. Chairside assisting is narrower than in most states: NYSED says an unlicensed assistant may act as an extra pair of hands only while the dentist is physically present at the chairside and attending to the patient, so no supportive service may be performed once the dentist steps away.

The wider scope of duties belongs to New York's licensed registered dental assistants, a licence issued by the State Education Department with education and examination requirements. Placing and removing rubber dams, taking impressions, removing sutures, applying topical and desensitizing agents, placing and removing temporary restorations, and placing orthodontic ligatures are reserved to licensed registered dental assistants working under a dentist's direct personal supervision. Doing them without the licence is charged as the illegal practice of a profession.

The X-ray rule in New York

This is the claim most often reported backwards. New York does not require a dental assistant to hold any licence, permit or certificate to take dental x-rays. Public Health Law 3515(4)(c) exempts a person acting as a certified or uncertified dental assistant who operates dental radiographic equipment under a dentist's supervision, and NYSED answers the question directly: "Additional education and certification are not required." Section 89.45 of the public health regulations limits you to conventional dental equipment where the beam at the patient's face is no more than 3 inches across, plus panoramic extraoral equipment, and only for routine dental radiography.

So if a course is sold to you on the basis that you need it before you can legally take x-rays in New York, that is not what the rule says. An employer may still want you trained before it hands you the sensor, and dental x-ray equipment is registered and inspected separately by the health department, so ask the practice what it expects. Confirm the current requirements with NYSED before paying for anything.

The fastest realistic path

Step 1: Start with preparation and an entry-level supportive role. New York City and the state's other metros have a deep dental employment market.

Step 2: Learn the licensed pathway requirements from NYSED while you work. You need to be 18, complete a NYSED-registered or equivalent dental assisting program of about 24 semester hours including at least 200 hours of clinical experience, or an alternate course of study with at least 1,000 hours of relevant work experience, and pass the DANB examinations New York accepts. Years on the job do not substitute for the education requirement; NYSED says every applicant must meet it.

Step 3: Use your working experience and employer relationships to complete the pathway. Many practices support assistants through it because licensed assistants can do more.

Common questions