Certified Dental Assistant License Requirements

General Requirements

Any use of the title "Certified Dental Assistant" within New York State requires licensure.  A dental assistant who holds the Dental Assisting National Board credential "CDA" must still apply for a license to practice certified dental assisting.

To become a New York State licensed "certified dental assistant" you must:

• be at least 17 years of age; and
• meet education and examination requirements.

You must file an application for licensure and the other forms indicated, along with the appropriate fee, to the Office of the Professions at the address specified on each form. It is your responsibility to follow up with anyone you have asked to send us material.

The specific requirements for licensure are contained in Title 8, Article 133, Section 6608 of the New York's Education Law and Part 61 of the Commissioner's Regulations. Copies of the relevant sections of NYS Education Law and the Commissioner's Regulations are available upon request from opforms@mail.nysed.gov or 518-474-3817 ext. 320.

You should also read the general licensing information applicable for all professions.

Fees

The fee for licensure is $95.

The fee for a limited permit is $40.

Fees are subject to change. The fee due is the one in law when your application is received (unless fees are increased retroactively). You will be billed for the difference if fees have been increased.

• Do not send cash.
• Make your personal check or money order payable to the New York State Education Department. Your cancelled check is your receipt.
• Mail your application and fee to:
   

  NYS Education Department
  Office of the Professions
  PO Box 22063
  Albany, NY 12201

Partial Refunds

Individuals who withdraw their licensure application may be entitled to a partial refund.

• For the procedure to withdraw your application, contact the Certified Dental Assisting Unit at opunit3@mail.nysed.gov or by calling 518-474-3817 ext. 270 or by fax at: 518-402-5354.
• The State Education Department is not responsible for any fees paid to an outside testing or credentials verification agency.

If you withdraw your application, obtain a refund, and then decide to seek New York State licensure at a later date, you will be considered a new applicant and you will be required to pay the licensure and registration fees and meet the licensure requirements in place at the time you reapply.

Educational Programs

New York licensed 'certified dental assistants' - Programs Registered by the New York State Education Department as licensure-qualifying

1. Dental assistants do not need to be licensed if they will not perform any of the functions listed above or any duties within the scope of practice of a licensed profession. Unlicensed persons may continue to assist a dentist at chairside and take dental x-rays, but they may not perform the functions restricted by law in New York to a New York State licensed "certified dental assistant" or any other licensed professional.
   
   
   Answer: Only students enrolled in dental assisting programs registered by the New York State Education Department as meeting the educational requirement for licensure are exempt from the requirement of licensure while performing the functions listed above as part of their course of study.
   
    
2. How do I know whether the person assisting a dentist is licensed as a New York State licensed "certified dental assistant?"
   
   Answer: In a dental office in New York, every New York State licensed dentist, New York State licensed dental hygienist, and New York State licensed "certified dental assistant" must display his or her current certificate of registration to practice that profession. In hospitals and similar facilities licensed by the New York State Department of Health, such persons must wear tags showing name and profession.
   
    
3. Is it illegal for an unlicensed person to perform the functions limited in New York to New York State licensed "certified dental assistants?"
   
   Answer: Yes. That is the illegal practice of a profession. The Education Law makes it a Class E felony for an unlicensed person (other than a student in a registered dental assisting program, as described in question 4 above) to do so. A Class E felony may be punishable by a fine of double the profit from the crime, up to $5,000, and/or up to four years in prison. Upon the State Education Department's request, the New York State Attorney General prosecutes persons found practicing without a license. Licensees aiding and abetting such illegal practice are also be subject to prosecution and may be subject to charges of unprofessional conduct.

Practice in New York of Certified Dental Assisting

1. What functions may a New York State Licensed "certified dental assistant" perform?
   
   Answer: A New York State Licensed "certified dental assistant" may perform the following supportive services to a licensed dentist under his or her direct personal supervision in the performance of dentistry:
    
   • Provide patient education
   • Take preliminary medical histories and vital signs to be reviewed by the dentist
   • Place and remove rubber dams
   • Select and prefit provisional crowns
   • Select and prefit orthodontic bands
   • Remove orthodontic arch wires and ligature ties
   • Place and remove matrix bands
   • Take impressions for study casts or diagnostic casts
   • Remove periodontal dressings
   • Remove sutures placed by a licensed dentist
   • Take impressions for space maintainers, orthodontic appliances, and colossal guards
   • Remove temporary cement (not including temporary fillings)
   • Apply topical anticariogenic agents to the teeth
   • Apply desensitizing agents to the teeth
   • Place and remove temporary separating devices
   • Place orthodontic ligatures
   
    
2. Supportive services performed by a New York State licensed "certified dental assistant" must be conducted under the direct personal supervision of a licensed dentist. What does a licensed dentist's "direct personal supervision" mean?
   
   Answer: Direct personal supervision means supervision by a licensed dentist of dental procedures based on instructions given by a licensed dentist in the course of a procedure who remains in the dental office where the supportive services are being performed, personally diagnoses the condition to be treated, personally authorizes the procedures, and before dismissal of the patient, evaluates the services performed by the dental assistant.
   
    

   BILL NUMBER: A7369E TITLE OF BILL : An act to amend the education law, in relation to amending the definition of the practice of certified dental assisting PURPOSE : The bill would permit certified dental assistants to perform any non-invasive, reversible supportive procedure to a dentist in his or her performance of dental services authorized under the dental practice act. It would eliminate the need to employ a "laundry list" approach to services performable by assistants. SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS : This bill would amend section 6608 of the education law, as added by chapter 494 of the laws of 1974. Section 1 of the bill eliminated the authorization for the commissioner of education to add to the list of services which a certified dental assistant may perform and grants an authorization to a dentist to allow such assistance to perform any supportive service which is reversible and does not alter hard or soft tissue. The Department would still retain authority to restrict dental assistants from performing specific procedures not deemed appropriate. Dental assisting services will be determined by the dentist provided they are consistent with regulations and not specifically prohibited by the department. Performable assisting duties need no longer be listed in regulation. Section 2 of the bill provides that the law shall take effect 180 days. JUSTIFICATION : Currently, certified dental assistants are only allowed to perform supportive services as delineated on a list provided in Section 6608 and added to by the commissioner. This amendment eliminated the need for a list and allows for greater flexibility on the part of the supervising dentist while expanding the range of services an assistant may perform. To date, the number of assistants being certified has been small and this legislation will increase this number by making certification more desirable. While simplifying the definition of the practice of certified dental assisting, the bill protects the public by forbidding assistants from performing any procedure which is not reversible by the dentist and ensuring that the dentist retains responsibility over any patient care performed. The bill also grants the Education Department the ability to exclude any additional procedure not deemed appropriate for dental assistants to perform. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY : New bill FISCAL IMPLICATIONS : None. EFFECTIVE DATE : One hundred eighty days. Contact Webmaster

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