How to Become a Dental Assistant in Saskatchewan

The short answer

Complete an accredited dental assisting certificate, pass the national theory exam, and register with the College of Dental Assistants of Saskatchewan (CDAS) — and do not work a single shift until your licence is in hand. Dental assisting is a regulated profession in Saskatchewan. The regulator is the Saskatchewan Dental Assistants' Association, operating as the College of Dental Assistants of Saskatchewan, and registration with it is mandatory. The titles Dental Assistant (DA) and Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) are protected: only people who have completed the College's registration procedures may use them.

This guide is about the Saskatchewan route only. It is a different profession from dental hygiene and dentistry, which have their own programs, exams, and regulators — a dental assisting credential does not qualify you to practise as a hygienist or a dentist.

Step 1 — Complete an accredited dental assisting certificate

Saskatchewan has two accredited programs. Both are accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC), and graduates of either are eligible to write the National Dental Assisting Examining Board (NDAEB) exam. Check a program's accreditation status before you enrol: the NDAEB warns that education from non-accredited programs will not meet the registration requirements of most Canadian provinces.

University of Saskatchewan, College of Dentistry — Certificate in Dental Assisting. A 10-month full-time certificate in Saskatoon, entered directly from high school. The program covers preventive and restorative oral care, radiography, and working as part of a dental team, and the last two weeks are a practicum in a dental office. The College admits 50 students to the program each year. For the fall 2027 intake, applications open September 25, 2026 and close February 15, 2027, with supporting documents due March 1, 2027, and a non-refundable application fee of $108.

Admission requires completion of five Grade 12 courses or equivalents with an average of at least 65 percent: Biology 30, Chemistry 30, Foundations of Mathematics 30 or Pre-Calculus 30, English Language Arts A30 or B30, and one elective from social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, or fine or performing arts at the 30 level. All eligible applicants attend an interview, and selection is based half on academic average and half on interview. All applicants must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants at the time of application. To count as a Saskatchewan resident you must have lived in Saskatchewan for at least four years immediately before September 1 of the year admission is sought; for the fall 2027 intake that means since September 1, 2023. The tuition estimate for 2026-27 is $23,708.66 in total: tuition $19,190, equipment rental $1,687, student fees $1,331.66, and books $1,500.

Saskatchewan Polytechnic — Dental Assisting. A nationally accredited one-year certificate, 40 weeks, at the Regina campus, starting in August, with 65 students accepted each year. The program teaches chair-side support, business and reception procedures, and patient counselling, with hands-on learning in the on-campus dental clinic and four weeks of clinical experience in an actual dental practice. International applicants are not currently considered for admission.

Admission requires Grade 12 with a minimum of 70 percent in Biology 30 and a minimum overall average of 70 percent in a 30-level English Language Arts and Biology 30, plus the highest grade in Foundations of Math 20, Foundations of Math 30, or Pre-Calculus 30. Standard First Aid and CPR Level C with AED are required before the start date and must be renewed annually. Accepted applicants must also provide WHMIS certification, a criminal record check and vulnerable sector check, and proof of immunization. Admission is first qualified, first admitted, and applications open September 1 each year. Tuition and fees for the 2026-27 academic year are $16,190.

Your program must qualify you as a Level II dental assistant. The NDAEB's mandatory skill list includes chairside assisting, exposing dental radiographs, oral hygiene instruction, nutritional counselling related to oral health, applying and removing dental dam, coronal polishing, applying anti-cariogenic agents, taking impressions for study models, matrix systems and wedges, treatment liners, acid etch and bonding materials, pit and fissure sealants, desensitizing agents, topical anaesthetic, vital tooth whitening with trays, and suture removal. If your education missed any of those skills, you will need formal upgrading before the NDAEB will let you sit the theory exam.

Step 2 — Pass the NDAEB theory exam

The National Dental Assisting Examining Board (NDAEB) runs the entry-to-practice exam. Graduates of registered programs — which includes graduates of CDAC-accredited programs such as the two Saskatchewan programs — may apply directly for the theory exam with proof of education. You may apply before you finish your program, with a letter of enrolment from your school confirming your completion date falls before the exam date.

The exam is computer-based: 200 multiple-choice questions, in English or French, with a maximum of four hours and no scheduled breaks. The fee is $730, made up of a $630 examination fee and a $100 non-refundable application fee. The NDAEB does not publish a fixed pass mark — it sets the passing score for each exam form using a standard-setting method, and the score generally falls in the low-to-mid 60s percent range. You are allowed three attempts; a fourth attempt is possible only through a remediation process, with a $50 remedial attempt fee. Results are released within six weeks of the exam date, and the NDAEB certificate follows six to eight weeks after results, once your diploma or final official transcript is on file. Exam sittings are held four times a year, typically in the last week of March, June, and September, and the second week of December.

If you graduated from a program that is not a registered program, the route is different: since January 1, 2026, you must complete the NDAEB Clinical Practice Evaluation (CPE) before you may sit the theory exam. The CPE is a hands-on assessment of nine skills; the full session costs $1,785 including the $100 application fee, and retaking four or fewer skills costs $365 per skill. A credential assessment for graduates of non-registered programs costs $320 and is non-refundable.

Step 3 — Register with the College of Dental Assistants of Saskatchewan

Registration with the College is mandatory, and the College sets the requirements. The College's published fee list gives the current costs: an initial registration fee of $100 for Saskatchewan-trained graduates, or $125 for out-of-province trained applicants, and an annual licence fee of $225 for a full practice licence, or $130 for a half year.

New graduates who have not yet passed the NDAEB theory exam can register on a Temporary Restricted Practice licence, which the College's annual report describes as the licence class for those who have not yet passed the NDAEB theoretical exam. It costs $225 for a full year, or $130 for a half year. Once you pass the exam and hold the NDAEB certificate, you move to a full practice licence. A non-practice licence, for registrants who are not practising, costs $110 a year. The licence year runs February 1 to January 31, and the licence must be displayed at your place of employment.

Contact the College directly to get its current registration application and the list of documents it requires, and confirm the steps before you apply. The College's office is at 307-845 Broad Street, Regina, Saskatchewan, phone 306-252-2769.

Step 4 — Keep your licence current

Holding the licence is not a one-time step. The College requires every licensed dental assistant to:

• complete 36 professional development credit hours per three-year cycle, with a minimum of 20 hours in Dental Assisting Clinical Practice and at least 16 hours in Other Clinical Care or Skills Based Training, with evidence submitted annually and within 90 days of the training;
• complete 300 practice hours per three-year cycle;
• hold a current CPR certificate;
• complete one approved infection control training program each year; and
• for a full practice licence, hold a valid professional liability insurance certificate.

The College also sets a limit on time away from practice: a maximum of three years of non-practice or lapsed registration without proof of passing the NDAEB Clinical Practice Evaluation skills to confirm safe hands.

What the job pays

Job Bank, using Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey, puts the Saskatchewan wage for dental assistants at a median of $30.00 an hour (low $22.00, high $37.00), updated November 19, 2025, for the 2023–2024 reference period. The Canada-wide median is $27.00 an hour. Pay varies by region — the Saskatoon–Biggar median is $29.00 an hour — so check the region where you will work, not just the provincial figure.

What the opened pages do not state

The College's website publishes its fees and its annual licence requirements, but it does not publish a step-by-step application checklist for new graduates, a list of the documents a new graduate must submit, or a processing time for registration, so this guide gives none of those; contact the College for its current application. The opened pages do not state how many dental assistants are licensed in Saskatchewan in total, so this guide gives no count; the College's 2024 annual report states only that 113 of its 140 new registrations that year were new graduates.

Related guides:

• How to Become a Dental Assistant in Alberta — the Alberta route, where registration runs through the College of Alberta Dental Assistants.
• How to Become a Dental Assistant in British Columbia — the British Columbia route, where registration runs through the BC college.
• How to Become a Dental Assistant in Ontario — the Ontario route, where dental assisting is not a regulated profession and certification runs through the ODAA instead of a college.
• How to Become a Dental Hygienist in Canada — the separately regulated hygiene profession, with its own accredited program and national certification exam.
• How to Become a Dentist in Canada — DDS/DMD, DAT, NDEB Certification, and Provincial Registration — the dental degree and National Dental Examining Board route.

Sources

• College of Dental Assistants of Saskatchewan, Home — the College as the regulatory body, the current fees (initial registration $100 Saskatchewan-trained and $125 out-of-province, full practice licence $225, Temporary Restricted Practice licence $225, half-year licences $130, non-practice licence $110), and the office address and phone number.
• College of Dental Assistants of Saskatchewan, Regulation — mandatory registration, the DA and RDA titles, the annual licence, the 36 credit hours and 300 practice hours per three-year cycle, the CPR and infection control requirements, the liability insurance requirement, and the February 1 to January 31 licence year.
• National Dental Assisting Examining Board, Fees — the theory exam fee of $630 plus a $100 application fee, the $1,785 Clinical Practice Evaluation session, $365 per-skill retakes, and the $320 credential assessment fee.
• National Dental Assisting Examining Board, Theory Examination Candidate Handbook — the 200-question computer-based exam, the four-hour limit, the three-attempt rule and the remedial fourth attempt, results within six weeks, the certificate six to eight weeks after results, and the Clinical Practice Evaluation requirement for non-registered program graduates since January 1, 2026.
• National Dental Assisting Examining Board, Home — the NDAEB certificate as a requirement for new graduates seeking registration in Saskatchewan, and the written exam sittings in March, June, September, and December.
• University of Saskatchewan, Dental Assisting — Admissions — the 10-month certificate, the fall 2027 deadline of February 15, 2027, the $108 application fee, the five required Grade 12 courses at 65 percent, the interview, the 50/50 selection weighting, the four-year Saskatchewan residency rule, and the $23,708.66 tuition estimate for 2026-27.
• Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Dental Assisting — the 40-week Regina program, the 65 students accepted each year, the 70 percent admission requirements, the First Aid, CPR, WHMIS, criminal record check, and immunization requirements, the $16,190 tuition for 2026-27, and CDAC accreditation.
• Saskatchewan Dental Assistants' Association, Annual Report 2024 — the Temporary Restricted Practice licence for graduates who have not yet passed the NDAEB theoretical exam, and 113 new graduates among 140 new registrations in 2024.
• Job Bank, Dental Assistant in Saskatchewan — Wages — the Saskatchewan median wage of $30.00 an hour (low $22.00, high $37.00) and the Canada median of $27.00, updated November 19, 2025, reference period 2023–2024.