How to become a dental assistant in British Columbia: the accredited program, the NDAEB exam, and the BCCOHP Licensed Dental Assistant licence.
Applies in: British Columbia
In British Columbia, the route is: finish a CDAC-accredited Level II dental assisting program (about 10 months), pass the National Dental Assisting Examining Board (NDAEB) Theory Examination, then apply to the BC College of Oral Health Professionals (BCCOHP) for a Licensed Dental Assistant (LDA) licence. The licence is the step that makes you employable for intra-oral clinical work — without it you are limited to unlicensed chairside support. Budget roughly $730 for the national exam and $538 for the BCCOHP application and first full-year licence fee, plus tuition, and allow about eight weeks for BCCOHP to process your application.
If you have been reading older guides, watch the terminology. On April 1, 2026, BCCOHP's new Licensed Dental Assistants Bylaws came into effect alongside BC's Health Professions and Occupations Act, and the licence category became Licensed Dental Assistant (LDA). The previous designation was Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) — the same role, the same regulator, a new legal title. Job postings, college pages, and older guides still say CDA in places; treat the two titles as the same job and check that any program or posting you read is describing the current BCCOHP licence.
Enrol in a Level II dental assisting program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC). This is the highest-leverage choice in the whole path: graduates of accredited programs go straight to the NDAEB Theory Examination, while graduates of non-accredited programs must first complete a $320 credential assessment and pass the hands-on Clinical Practice Evaluation (Step 3) before they can sit the theory exam.
BC public colleges run the program in about 10 months. Okanagan College's Certified Dental Assistant certificate, for example, is a 10-month, provincially regulated program that is CDAC-accredited and approved by BCCOHP. Its requirements for BCCOHP registration are Grade 12 completion or equivalent, successful completion of the program, CPR Level C current at the time of graduation, and successful completion of the NDAEB exam.
Programs blend theory — dental anatomy, microbiology and infection control, radiography, dental materials, chairside technique — with clinical practice and external placements. Before practicum, schools require placement readiness: immunizations, a criminal record check, and current CPR. BCCOHP advises students of non-accredited programs to contact the NDAEB in advance to confirm their eligibility to take the exams, before they enrol.
The National Dental Assisting Examining Board sets the national competency standard. The NDAEB certificate is required for licensure in British Columbia, and the board's registration and licensure page lists BCCOHP as the BC regulatory authority to contact. The certificate covers the national core skills: chairside assisting plus the intra-oral Level II skills — exposing dental radiographs, oral hygiene instruction, applying and removing dental dam, coronal polishing, applying anti-cariogenic agents, taking impressions, applying matrix systems and wedges, treatment liners, pit and fissure sealants, desensitizing and topical anaesthetic agents, tray whitening, and suture removal.
The NDAEB fee schedule sets the Theory Examination at a $630 examination fee plus a $100 non-refundable application fee — $730 per attempt, with a rewrite at the same fee. A remedial (fourth) attempt request costs $50. The NDAEB also sells a $75 practice examination. Do not register for the exam until you hold your NDAEB eligibility — graduates of non-registered programs need the eligibility letter first, and the eligibility review can take weeks.
If you graduated from a non-accredited program or trained outside Canada, the NDAEB requires the Clinical Practice Evaluation (CPE) before the Theory Examination: nine intra-oral skills performed on a manikin, at up to nine sites across Canada three or four times a year. The BC site is Vancouver, at Vancouver Community College. The CPE page sets the full session at $1,785 including the $100 application fee, with individual skill retakes at $365 per skill plus a $100 application fee — and candidates retaking five or more skills pay the full $1,785 again. The CPE is not available outside Canada.
Graduates of CDAC-accredited programs skip this step entirely — the second reason Step 1's program choice matters so much.
With your NDAEB certificate in hand, apply through BCCOHP's initial licence page. The licence category is for people who graduated from a Level II dental assisting program at an accredited program and hold an NDAEB certificate. The online process has six steps:
The general processing time is eight weeks, and the criminal record check can take four weeks — BCCOHP advises submitting your initial payment and notarized ID as soon as you can, because incomplete applications and missing information delay the process.
The licence is maintained, not finished. BCCOHP's licence year runs April 1 to March 31 — the bylaws charge the half-year licence fee for applications submitted after October 1 — and the annual renewal fee is $166. You are responsible for completing and submitting the renewal form and fee before the deadline. The bylaws also establish a Quality Assurance Program for LDAs, so expect ongoing professional requirements beyond the renewal fee; check BCCOHP's current quality assurance page rather than relying on older continuing-education rules.
If you let the licence lapse, reinstatement depends on how long it has been: under 60 days you can complete the annual renewal form in your BCCOHP account; over 60 days you must complete a reinstatement application package and pay reinstatement fees. If you have been away from clinical practice for 3 to 5 years, BCCOHP may accept an approved refresher program or a guided clinical mentorship of at least 3 months at 20 hours per week; after 5 to 9 years, a refresher program or the NDAEB written and clinical examinations; after 10 or more years, the NDAEB written and clinical examinations.
From another province: LDAs licensed or certified in another Canadian jurisdiction recognized under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement are eligible to apply for an assessment to practise in BC. Complete the Assessment Package for Labour Mobility if you are currently licensed or certified elsewhere, or the Assessment Package if you are not. The assessment fee is $105. After the assessment, and once eligibility is determined, you apply for the LDA licence — with a Certificate of Standing from your current regulator, valid for up to 60 days from signing.
From another country: graduates of US dental assisting programs and internationally trained dental health professionals who hold an NDAEB certificate may be eligible for a BCCOHP licence pending an assessment of their credentials. Complete the Assessment Application Package. Note that the assessment process does not guarantee licensure.
If you need income before the licence comes through, BC dental offices also hire unlicensed chairside dental assistants for basic support work — instrument handling, suction, material preparation, sterilization, and patient management — under the dentist's direction. It is a legitimate way into a practice, and some offices will support your licensing while you work. But the ceiling is real: without the LDA licence you cannot use the title and you cannot be delegated the intra-oral clinical services that define the licensed role, and the pay reflects that. Treat chairside work as a stepping stone to the licence, not a substitute for it.
No wage figure is stated in this guide: no wage figure could be verified on the Government of Canada Job Bank page for dental assistants in British Columbia, so no median or range is quoted here. Before you budget, open Job Bank's dental assistant page for British Columbia and read the current low, median, and high hourly figures for yourself. As a rule of thumb from the structure of the job, licensed LDAs performing intra-oral duties earn more than unlicensed chairside assistants, and specialty practices and public-health clinics tend to pay at the top of the range — but confirm the numbers on Job Bank, not from a third-party roundup.
Three figures are left out rather than stated without an official source. First, the BC wage for dental assistants: no wage figure could be verified on Job Bank's British Columbia page, and the $31-per-hour median quoted on college marketing pages could not be verified against the official page, so no wage is stated. Second, program tuition: tuition varies by institution and by year, and no BC college's current tuition figure was verified — check the college you apply to. Third, NDAEB sitting dates and the Theory Examination's question count and time limit: these were not confirmed on an NDAEB page, so check the current schedule on ndaeb.ca before you plan around a date. The criminal record check fee charged with the BCCOHP application was likewise not stated in the sources linked. Re-check every figure on the official pages linked in Sources before you spend money.
Fees and requirements are as published by BCCOHP and the NDAEB in November 2026. Confirm fees and application steps on the official pages before applying — fees change, and the April 2026 bylaws are the current authority.
| NDAEB Theory Examination | $730 ($630 examination fee plus $100 application fee) |
|---|---|
| NDAEB Clinical Practice Evaluation (only if required) | $1,785 ($1,685 evaluation fee plus $100 application fee) |
| NDAEB credential assessment (non-registered program graduates) | $320 (non-refundable) |
| BCCOHP licence application fee | $372 (non-refundable) |
| BCCOHP licence fee, full year | $166 |
| BCCOHP licence fee, half year (apply after October 1) | $89 |
| BCCOHP annual renewal fee | $166 |
| BCCOHP assessment fee (out-of-province or international applicants) | $105 |
BCCOHP also charges a criminal record check fee when you apply; the amount was not stated in the sources linked, so confirm it on the BCCOHP application page before you budget. Tuition is separate from every fee above and varies by institution.
To work as a Licensed Dental Assistant (LDA) — yes. LDAs must be licensed with the BC College of Oral Health Professionals (BCCOHP) to provide the services of an LDA in BC. You can work as an unlicensed chairside dental assistant doing basic chairside support without a licence, but you cannot use the LDA title or perform the intra-oral duties that belong to the licensed scope.
An LDA holds an active BCCOHP licence, earned by completing an accredited Level II program and passing the NDAEB Theory Examination. A chairside dental assistant has no BCCOHP licence and works under the dentist's direction on basic support tasks. The LDA licence is what lets you be delegated the broader range of clinical services, including the intra-oral skills in the NDAEB's national skill list — exposing radiographs, taking impressions, applying sealants, and polishing teeth.
A Level II dental assisting program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC). BC public-college programs run about 10 months — Okanagan College's certificate is CDAC-accredited and approved by BCCOHP, and asks for Grade 12 completion, current CPR Level C at graduation, and successful completion of the NDAEB exam. Check any program's CDAC accreditation before you enrol: graduates of non-accredited programs face a $320 credential assessment and the Clinical Practice Evaluation before they can sit the theory exam.
The theory exam costs $730 per attempt — a $630 examination fee plus a $100 non-refundable application fee — and a rewrite costs the same $730. A fourth, remedial attempt can be requested for a $50 fee. Withdrawing 15 or more days before the exam costs $210. The NDAEB certificate itself is a one-time credential that does not need annual renewal; it is the BCCOHP licence that renews every year.
BCCOHP states a general processing time of eight weeks, and the criminal record check can take four weeks on its own. The online application must be completed in one attempt — if you log out or close the browser, a partly completed application is not saved — and takes about 20 minutes. Submit your initial payment and the notarized copy of two pieces of photo ID as soon as you can. Once your documents are confirmed and you have paid the licence fee, the confirmation email arrives within three to five business days, and you cannot practise until it arrives.
Yes, through BCCOHP's assessment route. LDAs licensed or certified in another Canadian jurisdiction recognized under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement are eligible to apply for an assessment to practise in BC, and BCCOHP charges a $105 assessment fee. You will need a Certificate of Standing from your current regulator, sent directly to BCCOHP — it is valid for up to 60 days from the date it was signed, so time your application to fit inside that window.