DANB Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) certification

CDA eligibility pathways for the GC exam

There are no eligibility requirements for RHS or ICE. For the GC exam, or the full CDA exam that includes it, you need one of these, plus current hands-on CPR, BLS or ACLS:

• Pathway I: you graduated from a dental assisting or dental hygiene program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), or you hold a Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH) license from any state except Alabama. Send a certificate, diploma, dated transcript or program director’s letter. If you’ll graduate within 90 days, your program director can fill in DANB’s Intent to Graduate form instead.
• Pathway II: at least 3,500 hours of dental assisting work over at least two years and no more than four, verified by a licensed dentist on DANB’s Employer Work Experience Statement, plus proof of high school graduation or the equivalent. DANB doesn’t accept employer letters or pay stubs.
• Pathway III: you were a CDA before, or you graduated from or are enrolled in a CODA-accredited DDS or DMD program, a dental degree program outside the US or Canada, or a DANB-accepted post-baccalaureate program of at least 300 hours linked to a US or Canadian dental school.

For CPR, send a copy of the certificate or both sides of the card, showing the issue and expiration dates, the instructor’s name and your name or signature. DANB accepts courses only from its listed providers, and only if the course included a hands-on exam.

The dentist on a Work Experience Statement must confirm you’ve been trained in tasks such as charting, four-handed dentistry, taking vital signs and preventing and managing emergencies. A dentist licensed in any country can verify work done under them in that country.

Ways to take the CDA exams

Every option has a 60-day testing window. DANB’s pages for the single RHS, ICE and GC exams list both a test center and online proctoring. Its pages for the pairs and the full CDA exam list test centers only.