Professional Development and Community Service

Dental Assisting students are required to complete 12 hours of community service or professional development to graduate.

Students provide more than 300 hours of community service each year through such events as Give Kids a Smile, local blood drive donations, the American Heart Association yearly Heart Walk event and other community activities.

The Dental Assisting program has partnered with Wake Smiles, a nonprofit, volunteer dental organization in Raleigh, since 2016, providing students the opportunity to serve patients who otherwise would not have access to dental care.

Wake Tech offers various professional development events to registered full-time Dental Assisting students.

Service learning

Service learning integrates community engagement projects with student learning to provide real-world experiences that foster cultural and classroom understanding, critical thinking and civic responsibility.

Students who participate in service learning develop stronger chairside skills and are better prepared for Spring semester clinical rotations. A student who completes 30 hours of volunteer time outside the classroom receives a service-learning cord for recognition upon graduation.

Professional organizations

• Dental Assisting National Board (DANB)
  The DANB is recognized by the American Dental Association as the national certification board for dental assistants. More than 34,000 dental assistants hold DANB certification, and each year, DANB issues nearly 50,000 certificates to those who pass its national and state exams.
   
• North Carolina Dental Assistants Association (NCDAA)
  NCDAA represents dental assistants, business and office personnel and educators throughout North Carolina. Membership in our national organization, the American Dental Assistants Association, includes membership in NCDAA and local organizations.
   
• American Dental Assistants Association (ADAA)
  The ADAA provides continuing education to dental assistants through home study courses, professional journals and local, state and national meetings with educational agendas. It encourages education, registration and certification for dental assisting professionals while providing a network of personal services for its members.