Minnesota Dental Assistant Requirements

Each state has different requirements for dental assistants. This page includes links to all the information you need to understand the requirements for dental assistants in this state. View the different dental assisting levels, along with the requirements for each. You can also view the allowable duties at each level.

Minnesota Requirements

Dental Assistant Levels and Requirements

Radiography

Dental Assistant

Licensed Dental Assistant

Licensed Dental Assistant with Collaborative Practice Authorization

Licensed Dental Assistant Requirements

To earn status as a Licensed Dental Assistant in Minnesota, dental assistants must:

1. Pass the national DANB Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) exam within the last five years, AND

2a. Graduate from a MN CODA-accredited dental assisting program, or
2b. Graduate from a CODA-accredited program in a state other than MN and, upon MN Board review of curriculum, complete additional coursework, AND

3. Pass the MN Dental Assistant State Licensing exam (formerly known as the MN Registration exam) within the last five years, AND

4. Pass the MN Jurisprudence Exam within the last five years, AND

5. Provide  proof of current CPR certification, AND
 

6. Submit to a criminal background check, AND

7. Apply for licensure to the MN Board of Dentistry with accompanying fee and current government-issued identification.

All licensed dental assistants must maintain a consecutive and current certificate in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) at the BLS level.

Note: A dental assistant who received and maintained registration in MN prior to Jan. 1, 2010, can continue to practice as a licensed dental assistant without completing any further requirements. The licensed dental assistant must submit the fee for an original license to the MN board at the time of renewal.

To perform restorative procedures limited to placing, contouring and adjusting amalgam restorations, glass ionomers,

and supragingival composite restorations (class I, II and V) where the margins are entirely within the enamel, and adapting and cementing stainless steel crowns, a Licensed Dental Assistant must have completed a MN Board of Dentistry-approved course in these functions and have submitted proof of completion to the MN Board of Dentistry.

To administer local anesthesia, a Licensed Dental Assistant must have completed the following:

1. at least one year of experience in general chairside dental assisting;

2. a board-approved didactic and clinical course at a CODA-accredited program that requires clinical competency in the administration of local anesthesia;

3. the CDCA-WREB-CITA local anesthesia exam or any other board-approved, nationally recognized local anesthetic exam; and

4. application for a local anesthesia certification through the board.