Texas 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.
Dental Assistant Levels and Requirements
Dental Assistant Qualified to Perform Expanded Functions Requirements
To perform expanded functions under the general or direct supervision of a licensed dentist in Texas, a dental assistant must successfully complete the following requirements:
Perform pit and fissure sealant procedures:
1. Work at least two years as a dental assistant, AND
2. Complete a current course in basic life support, AND
3. Complete a minimum of eight hours of Texas Board-approved clinical and didactic education in pit and fissure sealants taken through a CODA-accredited dental, dental hygiene, or dental assistant program and approved by the TSBDE
Perform coronal polishing procedures:
1. Work at least two years as a dental assistant, AND
2a. Complete a minimum of eight hours of clinical and didactic education in coronal polishing taken through a dental school, dental hygiene school, or dental assisting program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) and approved by the TSBDE, or
2b. Earn the national DANB Coronal Polishing (CP) certificate of knowledge-based competence, or
2c. Graduate from a CODA-accredited dental assisting program approved by the TSBDE that includes clinical and didactic education in coronal polishing
Note: Effective September 1, 2017, the pit and fissure sealants certificate and coronal polishing certificate are discontinued. Effective March 18, 2018, the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners has passed the above requirements for dental assistants to be eligible to perform these functions.
