Non vocational courses

Admission Requirements

High School diploma  AND;

Dental Assisting Level II, RPN, RN, or RDH, or DDS diploma/degree OR a minimum of 3 years professional experience in a dental office*

*Supporting documents must be provided.

Course Outcome

This course introduces the intra-oral dental assistant student to the basic science of radiation including its discovery, history, safety and regulatory requirements and modern use within the dental profession.

Students are introduced to the equipment and supplies required for the various types of films and images that are utilized in the dental profession. The course will provide the student with the skill to critique x-rays that have been exposed, clarifying the cause and effect of various equipment and armamentaria adjustments.

Patient management will include gaining patient cooperation using a variety of techniques used in the exposing of films intra and extra-orally.

Students will learn how to expose and process films in a safe compliant manner. Students are expected to correctly mount radiographs using anatomical landmarks. 

Quality assurance and the As Low As Responsibly Acceptable (ALARA) principle are also addressed. Federal and Provincial Regulations dealing with radiation are addressed. of radiation

Within the dental lab setting, the dental assistant will expose digital radiographic images using Paralleling and Bisecting techniques on radiography manikins under the direct supervision of the HARP Approved Clinical Instructor.