We are here to assist you. Don’t get overwhelmed with all our options and this amazing opportunity.
Fill out the contact form above to download our e-book and learn more about what’s included in our program.
We don’t accept federal financial aid, but we have some pretty great reasons why! The founder of our school, Dr. Nuhfer decided that he/she wanted to create an amazing opportunity for those who desire to enter the field. He/she believes that students not only deserve a great education, but also an affordable and convenient option. Rather than opting to make our school 9 monthhs long with price tags averaging $18,000 in order to allow for federal financial assistance, Dr. Nuhfer chose to implement affordable tuition prices; providing our students with the opportunity to graduate with little to no student loan debt. If none of our payment plan options work for you, please give us a call. We are more than happy to customize a plan!
As most dentists will tell you, it certainly does not take 9 months. Our curriculum is 12-weeks long and fully prepares students to start working as a Dental Assistant.
OcenPointe Dental Acadmy of North East Pennsylvania Dental Assistant School is a work-based ‘hands-on learning program.’ We take a different approach from traditional education. Our classes take place in a real dental office, with real dentists, rel equipment, and real patients, rather than a classroom. There is a hands-on component to every part of our course. Our classes begin with a lecture/class discussion, but the majority of the class time is spent in labs and patient clinicals learning the essential techniques of Dental Assisting. When our students graduate and begin their career, they are at home in a dental office.
As a newly hired Dental Assistant, your employer will have an expectation that you will know the basic skills of Dental Assisting. It’s those fundamental skills that we focus on teaching our students. Our custom designed curriculum sets students up for success in knowing exactly what dentists will expect them to know; from radiology perforing full FMX’s (series of 18-20 x-rays), making great alginate impressions, taking patient vitals, to assisting with simpe to complex dental procedures. You’ll also graduate with CPR and DANB Radiology Cettifications.
When you graduate from any dental assisting school you receive a certificate of completion. Many students ask if they can expect to make a higher starting salary if they attend a longer program. The starting salary for a Dental Assistant does not have anything to do with how long you spent in school or how much you paid for your schooling.
The median annual wage for dental assistants is $38,690 per year as of May 2017. For more information, please visit https://www.bls.gov/oes/2017/may/oes319091.htm.
With experience, you can earn significantly more, especially if you become certified in Expanded Functions or become an office manager.
Our program consists of 2 classes per week (4 hours each) for 12 weeks, and 2 additional full-day Saturday classes for certification training in Radiology and CPR. In these sessions, we will provide ample competency-based training hours in the following subject matters:
The balance of the courses such as specialty dentistry areas are covered in sufficient detail to familiarize you with these areas, but the core of our training hours are focused on getting you competent, confident, and pass national exams for certification in the core skills dentists are looking for in dental assistants.
Most 10 to 12-week programs vary in range from 80-140 hrs, with 40-50 of those hours in externships and labs outside of the learning classroom counted as part of the curriculum. You’ll do one hour of lecture theory, and two hours of labs in a particular topic in the operatory, then in the subsequent class, move on to a new topic. The end result is too much information in too little time, making it difficult to become proficient in the critical competencies that Dentists are looking for.
That’s why our course consists of almost 200 hours, so you get the best training and most value for your education investment.
Also, our national brand has standardized program requirements from each independent, dentist owned campus, assuring quality control measures are kept and maintained.
We have a 10-member dentist board of top experts to assure ongoing competency and outcomes-based curriculum.
Our curriculum has been utilized at major public institutions to train dental assistants and thoroughly vetted by their instructional review teams for quality before any University places their logo on our program. Universities such as – The University of Texas, University of Florida, Kansas University Medical Center, New Mexico State University, and West Texas A&M University have utilized our curriculum. Not many Dental Schools can claim this.
Real patient experience. Students commit at least two hours, once per week to come into the dental practice during actual patient hours to participate in actual procedures with real patients. You’ll gain real verifiable work experience before landing your first dental assisting position.
Soft Skills. We include a strong soft skills training aspect to get you comfortable explaining each procedure in a manner that helps reduce the patient’s anxiety because of your prior training in those areas.
We are proud to provide the most comprehensive dental assisting program nationwide, our students receive the knowledge from prestigious members of the dental community and practice hands-on with state of the art equipment at each of our locations. We take your future seriously.
OceanPointe really prepared me to be at a dental office. Thanks god and the academy for this amazing opportunity.
I just felt it was time for me to find a stable career…but I actually felt in love with the industry.
OceanPointe Academy is such a great vocational school and with 100% certainty would recommend it.
From the beginning I felt really good about the program…everything they were saying fit my situation !
OceanPointe has made my transition into the dental field a smooth one. Can’t wait to see what the future holds !
I love it! Very hands on and teaches you a lot by actually doing and seeing the stuff we are learning.