How to Become a Dental Assistant in Manitoba

The short answer

To work as a registered dental assistant (RDA) in Manitoba you must be registered with the Manitoba Dental Association (MDA) and hold a licence from the Association. The MDA regulates both dentists and dental assistants in Manitoba, and the title Registered Dental Assistant is protected: only a person registered with the MDA may use it.

The route for a graduate of an accredited Canadian program, in order, is: graduate from an accredited dental assisting program, pass the National Dental Assisting Examining Board (NDAEB) written exam, complete a CPR program with a hands-on component, and apply to the MDA for registration with your graduation certificate, your NDAEB certificate, and your CPR certificate. If you are a recent Manitoba graduate still waiting to write the exam, provisional registration lets you work while you complete it, with a nine-month limit.

Step 1 — Graduate from an accredited dental assisting program

Complete a dental assisting program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC). Registered dental assistants receive their formal education through academic programs at technical and community colleges, and graduates usually receive certificates. The MDA states that the majority of these programs take nine to eleven months to complete, although some schools offer accelerated, part-time, or distance programs. CDAC has accredited approximately 27 registered dental assisting programs in Canada.

Check your program's accreditation status with CDAC before you enrol. Accreditation matters at the next step: graduates of accredited programs go straight to the NDAEB written exam, while graduates of non-accredited programs must also complete the NDAEB Clinical Practice Evaluation.

Step 2 — Pass the NDAEB written exam

You must complete and pass the NDAEB written exam to be eligible for registration and certification with the MDA. The MDA describes the written exam as 200 multiple-choice questions. Apply through the NDAEB website, which publishes the application form, exam locations and dates, fees, and the candidate handbook. The exam costs $730 in total: a $630 examination fee plus a $100 non-refundable application fee. A rewrite costs the same $730, and withdrawing 15 days or more before the exam date costs $210. Graduates of non-accredited programs, who must also complete the Clinical Practice Evaluation, pay $1,685 for the evaluation plus a $100 application fee.

The NDAEB is a national examining board, not the Manitoba regulator. Passing its exam does not by itself register you in Manitoba: you still have to apply to the MDA, as set out in Step 4.

Step 3 — Complete a CPR program with a hands-on component

Complete a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) program that includes a hands-on component, from a program the MDA recognizes. The MDA lists programs approved by Manitoba Health, including St. John Ambulance, the Canadian Red Cross, Life Saving Society Standard First Aid, Criti Care, Emergency Rescue Response Service, Southern Manitoba Academy of Response Training, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba, Life Life E.R.T., and Prepared First Aid Training. Keep your CPR certificate current: a copy of your valid CPR certificate goes with your registration application.

Step 4 — Apply to the Manitoba Dental Association for registration

Apply for full registration with the MDA. The MDA registration page lists the documents to send with your application form:

• A copy of your graduation certificate from your dental assisting program. If you have changed your name, provide a certified copy of a legal document verifying the change, such as a marriage certificate or name change decree.
• A copy of your NDAEB written exam certificate, if you graduated after December 31, 2006.
• A copy of your valid CPR program certificate.
• If you are currently licensed in another jurisdiction, or have ever been licensed in another jurisdiction as a registered dental assistant or as another health care professional, an original letter of good standing from that regulatory authority, showing your membership category, your status, the expiry date of your licence, and any disciplinary action.

The registration fee and the annual licence fee are set out in the MDA fee schedule, Schedule A. Mail or hand-deliver your application form, required documents, and fees to the Administrator of Registration, Licensing and Corporations, Manitoba Dental Association, 202-1735 Corydon Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3N 0K4. The MDA phone number is (204) 988-5300.

If your application is approved, the MDA mails you a receipt for your application fee, a receipt for your annual licence fee, and your registration certificate. If it is not approved, the MDA mails you information about what you need to do to become registered, and does not cash your cheques.

Step 5 — Provisional registration while you wait to write the exam

If you are a recent graduate of an accredited dental assisting program in Manitoba and you are registered to write the NDAEB written exam, you can apply for provisional registration instead of waiting. Provisional registration is only available to recent graduates of accredited Manitoba programs who are registered to perform the NDAEB written exam. You have a maximum of nine months from your graduation date to successfully complete the exam and receive an NDAEB certificate. If you do not receive the certificate within nine months, you are removed from the MDA registry. Once you receive your NDAEB certificate, apply for full registration by completing the Dental Assistant Change of Status Application Form.

What the opened pages do not state

The MDA registration pages refer to Schedule A for the registration fee and the annual licence fee without printing the amounts, and the MDA checklists on its own site give different figures for those fees, so this guide prints no Manitoba registration or licence fee; check Schedule A with the MDA before you pay. The MDA page that estimates the whole process at up to 1,890 dollars labels those costs as 2013 dollars, so that figure is not printed here either. The opened pages do not list the accredited Manitoba programs by name, so this guide names none; confirm your program is accredited with the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada before you enrol. This guide gives no advice on whether you qualify — that is the MDA's decision when it assesses your application.

Related guides:

• How to Become a Dental Assistant in Alberta — the Alberta route, also through an accredited program and the NDAEB exam but under a different regulator.
• How to Become a Dental Assistant in British Columbia — the British Columbia route, through the BC College of Oral Health Professionals and the NDAEB exam.
• How to Become a Dental Assistant in Ontario — the Ontario route, where registration is not required but the NDAEB certificate is needed for intra-oral duties.
• How to Become a Dental Assistant in Nova Scotia — the Nova Scotia route, through the Nova Scotia Regulator of Dentistry and Dental Assisting and the NDAEB exam.
• How to Become a Dental Hygienist in Canada — the dental hygienist route, a separate regulated oral health profession with its own regulator in each province.

Sources

• Manitoba Dental Association, Graduate of Domestic Accredited Registered Dental Assisting Program — the accredited-program route, the nine-to-eleven-month program length, the NDAEB written exam requirement, the recognized CPR programs, the required documents, the Schedule A fee reference, and the Winnipeg mailing address.
• Manitoba Dental Association, Becoming Registered and Licensed in Manitoba — the four-step process, the 200-question NDAEB written exam, the Clinical Practice Evaluation for non-accredited graduates, and the 2013 cost estimate.
• Manitoba Dental Association, Provisional Dental Assistant Certificate Registration — provisional registration for recent Manitoba graduates, the nine-month limit, and removal from the registry if no NDAEB certificate is received.
• Manitoba Dental Association, Graduate of Domestic Non-Accredited or International Registered Dental Assisting Program — the non-accredited and international route, and that only the MDA can determine whether you qualify in Manitoba.
• National Dental Assisting Examining Board, NDAEB — the national examining board, and that the NDAEB certificate is required for new dental assisting graduates seeking registration in Manitoba.
• National Dental Assisting Examining Board, Fees — the theory exam fee of $630 plus a $100 non-refundable application fee, the same fees for a rewrite, the $210 withdrawal fee, and the Clinical Practice Evaluation fee of $1,685 plus a $100 application fee.