Despite the area’s sluggish economy, California’s Santa Clara County continues to see demand for people trained in various health care specialties, including dental assistants. Everest College’s San Jose campus is working to ensure the area has an ample supply of qualified dental assistants by offering a Dental Assistant career training program that can have students fully prepared to enter the workforce in as little as 10 months.
The dental assistant career field is one of the bright spots in America’s otherwise lackluster economy. While the nation’s unemployment rate continues to hover around 9.5 percent [1], demand for dental assistants is projected to rise 36 percent between 2008 and 2018 [2], according to O*Net, the online occupational information service sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Although the State of California has only made localized employment projections for the 2006-2016 period, the state’s Employment Development Department (EDD) projections for Santa Clara County show a 14.5 percent increase in the number of dental assistant jobs available during this 10-year period [3].
Dental Assistant Career Education in San Jose
The Dental Assistant career education program offered by Everest College in San Jose is a Dental Board of California-approved program where we can prepare students to perform chairside assisting procedures and related office and laboratory tasks under the direction and supervision of a licensed dentist. The small, hands-on training classes include instruction in:
- Dental Office Emergencies and Compliance
- Dental Radiography
- Dental Specialties
- Chairside Assisting
- Laboratory Procedures
- Dental Anatomy and Orthodontics
- Dental Assisting Externship
- And much more
Students enjoy hands-on laboratory experience using tools such as sterilization equipment, digital and standard X-ray equipment, model trimmers, oral evacuation equipment, oxygen tanks, personal computers, front office software (Dentrix), amalgamators, and much more. This experience qualifies them for entry-level positions in a variety of dental office settings, including:
- Dental and specialty dental offices
- Dental supply sales representative
- Hospital dental departments
- Insurance companies
Additional entry-level options include working as dental receptionists, dental insurance clerks, dental supply salespeople and administrative assistants.
About Everest’s San Jose Campus
The Everest College’s San Jose campus is situated at 1245 South Winchester Blvd., in the West Park Shopping Center at South Winchester Blvd. and Payne Avenue, southwest of downtown San Jose. The campus, which has ample off-street parking, can be reached via the Junipero Serra Freeway (I-280) approximately one mile to the north or by Highway 17, approximately a quarter-mile to the east. The campus is also accessible via bus; route 60 runs north-south along South Winchester Blvd.
For more information about the Dental Assistant program at Everest College’s San Jose campus, contact Everest today!
[1] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm - Published August 10, 2010.
[2] O*NET, Dental Assistant - http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/31-9091.00 - Published 2009.
[3] California Employment Development Department - http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/?PAGEID=145 – Published 2009.
