FAQs

The Winter Saturday Session Starts January 11, 2025. The Saturday Session will run from 8am to 5pm every Saturday for 10 out of 11 consecutive Saturdays. Call us to schedule a time to come by during the week or on a Saturday and see if this program is right for you. You can meet the instructors, talk to current students and pick up a registration form and a catalog.

The Fall Evening Session Starts October 28, 2024. The evening session will be from 5:30pm - 9:30pm Mondays and Wednesdays (just 2 evenings per week). Like the Saturday classes, the evening session will run for 10 weeks and students will be able to do on-the-job training for 4 hours during the week during office hours (students will actually get paid for these on-the-job hours!).

We are centrally located in Clairemont, just a few miles east of La Jolla. Our address is:

There are two pathways to becoming a Registered Dental Assistant. The first is to take a very expensive course that takes 9 - 12 months. It is taught entirely in a classroom followed by a one month unpaid internship. You can take the RDA exam right after the program. The other pathway is through on-the-job training. Once you have 15 months of work experience you are also eligible to take the RDA exam. This is an on-the-job training program. Regardless of which pathway you choose, until you take the RDA exam you'll be classified as a Dental Assistant. Dental Assistants can possibly make $15-$17 per hour to start and RDAs can possibly make $19-$21 per hour to start. Our program has become so popular over the last few years because dental assisting is best learned on the job. We take you out of the classroom and into the dental office...where you earn $$$ while you learn. Many of our graduates get hired by offices before they finish their 10 week program. In a nutshell, we emphasize hours on-the-job instead of hours in a classroom. You do not need any training before you start and the setting is both classroom and actual office.

• On the job training $11.50 - per hour
• Less than 1 year experience $18 - 20 per hour
• 1 - 2 years experience $20 - 22 per hour
• 3 - 5 years experience $23 - 25 per hour
• 5+ years experience $25+ per hour

*many offices offer paid vacations, medical and dental benefits, bonuses and retirement

Look in the paper. The demand for dental assistants in San Diego is high. Upon graduation from San Diego Dental Careers you will receive a certificate in Dental Assisting, a COMDA approved Radiation Safety Certificate (x-ray license) and a CPR certification. You will be well prepared to start your new career. Though we cannot guarantee placement, historically our graduates have done very well finding employment. In fact, many interview and are hired even before they graduate.

Absolutely. Our program offers job experience actually working with dentists. We also have some of the best hygienists in San Diego to work with and learn from. The more experience you have working in the dental field, the better your chances of being accepted into hygiene school and the more successful you will be once you are accepted. Get a head start on your career today. Often our graduates will work as assistants while waiting to start hygiene school because they realize how much on the job training will help them in the long run. Come and tour the school or even sit in on one of our classes and see if it is right for you.

This course is shorter, less expensive and more hands-on. In RDA programs you are not involved in patient care until you have finished the entire course. If you discover it's not what you thought, you will have wasted a lot of time and money. If you want the security of treating patients for the first time in an office familiar to you with your instructors by your side for support and encouragement then this is the course for you. If you want to be paid for on the job training and can't afford to volunteer your time for one month like you will if you take an RDA course, then this is the course for you. This course is designed to prepare you quickly and inexpensively for an entry level position as a dental assistant. RDA programs are not the best option for everyone and with this course, now you have a choice.

Hundreds of dental assistants go on to become Registered Dental Assistants every year. Regardless of which program you graduate from you will need to pass the RDA exam to become an RDA. There are multiple one and two day prep courses throughout Southern California that will specifically prepare you to pass the RDA exam. To be eligible to take the exam all you need is 15 months of experience.

To hold a spot for you in one of our upcoming classes, we need a paper registration form and a $200 deposit. To print out the registration form, please visit our website. Return the registration form and deposit to: SDDC 4690 Genesee Avenue, San Diego, CA 92117, or email it to info@SanDiegoDentalCareers.com. You can pay your deposit online through our payment portal. If you would like to make monthly payments for your tuition, you must complete the arrangements ahead of time. Visit our website to print out the loan application.