Oral Health Workforce Education in Washington

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The dashboard below contains program and completion information for dentistry, dental hygiene and dental assisting programs in Washington State. Below the dashboard is a list of educational and training programs for dental occupations.

Use this dashboard to:

  • View locations and numbers of completions (by total, race/ethnicity, and gender) of dental assisting, dental hygiene, and dentistry education and training programs in Washington state
  • Compare trends in gender and racial/ethnic diversity over time by dental occupation
  • View a list of training programs currently operating in Washington state by dental occupation

Completions data from 2023 uses provisional release data. Provisional data are released approximately 9 months after the data collection period closes. These data reflect full quality control procedures, which may include follow-up with institutions, missing data imputation, and data validation. Completions data from 2001-2022 use final release data.

Dashboard updated Sep 2024

Data on institution counts and degree completions by oral health occupation are from the U.S. Department of Education’s national database, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). IPEDS may not capture completions from programs that don’t receive federal funding, or individuals who may have entered the profession through on-the-job training or apprenticeship arrangements.

Dental Assistant Program Data:

Completion and institution counts for “other dental assisting programs” are from data compiled by the Washington Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board from the Web-based Data and Reporting System (WBDRS), are only available for analysis beginning in 2013, and do not include race/ethnicity and gender. To date, these numbers do not include completions from the high school dental assistant programs in the state. The data displayed in the map of dental assisting programs is limited to completions from community and technical college programs.

Washington Education and Training Programs by Occupation

Institution Name

Dentistry Program

University of Washington School of Dentistry

Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE)
2024 RIDE update 
RIDE Program Overview
RIDE Study results poster

 

Dentist – DDS

Pacific Northwest University School of Dental Medicine – Yakima*

Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD)

 

*New program – no completions to-date.

Source: Assembled 2022 via IPEDS and online search

Institution Name*

Dental Hygiene Program

Bellingham Technical College

AAS-T

Clark College

BAS; 25-30 students/cohort, 2-year program

Columbia Basin College

BAS; 25/cohort

Eastern Washington University

BS; 30/cohort, 2-year – includes prerequisites

Lake Washington Institute of Technology

BAS; 25/cohort, 2-year

Pierce College District

BAS; 30/cohort, 2-year

Pima Medical Institute-Seattle

AS; 2-year – includes prerequisites

Seattle Central College

BAS

Shoreline Community College

AAS; 10-12/cohort, 2-year

Yakima Valley College

BAS; 25/cohort, 2-year

*All institutions listed are accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)
Degree Abbreviations
AAS: Associate of Applied Science
AAS-T: Associates Degree in Applied Science-Transfer
AAT: Associate of Applied Technology
AS: Associate of Science
BS: Bachelor of Science
BAS: Bachelor of Applied Science

Source: Assembled 2022 via IPEDS and online search

There are multiple routes to become a dental assistant in Washington State, including: programs at technical and community colleges, private programs, apprenticeship programs, and career/technical education (CTE) programs. 

Dental Assisting Programs at Technical and Community Colleges

Institution Name*

Dental Assisting Program

Bates Technical College

AAS

Bellingham Technical College

Certificate

Carrington College – Spokane

Certificate

Charter College
(6WA campuses)

Certificate

Clover Park Technical College

AAT

Edmonds College

AAS-T

Lake Washington Institute of Technology

Certificate (starting 2023)

Pima Medical Institute – Renton

Certificate

Pima Medical Institute – Seattle

Certificate

Renton Technical College

Certificate; AAS; AAS-T

Seattle Central College

Certificate

South Puget Sound Community College

AAS

Spokane Community College

AAS; Certificate

*All institutions listed are accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)
Degree Abbreviations
AAS: Associate of Applied Science
AAS-T: Associates Degree in Applied Science-Transfer
AAT: Associate of Applied Technology
AS: Associate of Science
BS: Bachelor of Science
BAS: Bachelor of Applied Science

Source: Assembled 2022 via IPEDS and online search

Private Dental Assisting Schools 

Program 

Length 

Location 

Style 

Bellevue School of Dental Assisting

10 weeks 

Bellevue 

In-person 

Bellingham Dental Assistant School

9 weeks 

Bellingham 

Hybrid (in-person 1 day/wk) 

Bremerton Dental Assistant School

12 weeks 

Bremerton 

Hybrid (in-person 1 day/wk) 

Cascadia Tech Academy

1 year (optional 2nd year advanced class) 

Vancouver

In-person

Central Academy of Dental Assisting

4 weeks 

Tacoma

In-person

Dental Assistant Training Center

11 weeks  

Kenmore 

In-person 

Elite Dental Assisting Academy

13 weeks 

Vancouver 

In-person 

Emerald School of Dental Assisting

12 weeks 

Federal Way 

In-person 

Institute of Advanced Dental Assisting

13 weeks 

Seattle  

In-person 

Moses Lake Dental Assistant School

12 weeks 

Moses Lake 

Hybrid (in-person 1 day/wk) 

National School of Dental Assisting

12 weeks  

Puyallup or Bellevue 

Hybrid 

North West Dental Assisting School

10 weeks 

Lakewood 

In-person (1 day/wk) 

Ocean Pointe Dental Assisting Academy

12 weeks 

Poulsbo

Hybrid  

Olympia Dental Assistant School

9 weeks 

Tumwater 

Hybrid (in-person 1 day/wk) 

Pacific Northwest Dental Assisting School

12 weeks 

Camas 

In-person  

River City School of Dental Assisting

10 weeks 

Spokane 

In-person (1x/wk) 

Seattle Dental Assistant School

12 weeks 

Mill Creek or Seattle  

Hybrid (in-person 1 day/wk) 

Smokey Point Institute of Dental Assisting

15 weeks 

Arlington 

In-person (2x/wk) 

Spokane Dental Assistant School

9 weeks 

Spokane 

Hybrid (in-person 1 day/wk) 

Tacoma Dental Assistant School

12 weeks  

Tacoma or Puyallup 

Hybrid (in-person 1 day/wk) 

Tri-Cities Dental Assisting School

13 weeks 

Kennewick 

In-person 

Vancouver Dental Assisting School

10 weeks  

Vancouver 

In-person (1x/wk) 

Viking Dental Accelerated Dental Assisting Professional Training

10 weeks 

Poulsbo 

In-person (1x/wk) 

Washington Academy of General Dentistry Dental Assistant School

4 weeks 

Seattle 

In-person (5x/wk) 

Washington School of Dental Assisting

10 weeks 

Renton 

In-person 

West Coast College of Dental Assisting

18 weeks  

Bothell 

Hybrid (class 2x/wk) 

Source: Completion and institution count data on ‘Other dental assisting programs” compiled by the WA Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board from the Web-Based Data and Reporting System (WBDRS), and is only available for analysis beginning with 2013. Accordingly, total lines only reflect when both technical and community college DA program data and other DA program data were both available for analysis, 2013-2021.

Dental Assistant Apprenticeship Programs

CHAS Health Dental Assistant Apprenticeship Program 

  • 12-month 
  • 2000 hours 

Washington Association for Community Health Dental Assistant Training Program 

  • 12-month, cohorts begin in May and November 
  • 2000 hours on-the-job training 
  • Self-paced, online coursework 

Career/Technical Education (CTE) Programs

Through the Washington Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction (OSPI), high school programs are able to offer CTE programs for dental assisting. Below are some examples of these dental assisting programs:  

Updated January 2023

Source: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries Apprenticeship Registration and Tracking System (ARTS)

Institution Name 

Program

Skagit Valley College  

Dental Therapy – AAS

Degree AbbreviationAAS: Associate of Applied Science

Source: Assembled 2022 via IPEDS and online search

Institution Name 

Program 

Bates Technical College 

Dental Lab Technician – AAS 

Degree AbbreviationAAS: Associate of Applied Science

Source: Assembled 2022 via IPEDS and online search

Institution Name 

Program

Bates Technical College

Denturist – AAS

Degree AbbreviationAAS: Associate of Applied Science

Source: Assembled 2022 via IPEDS and online search

Institution Name 

Program  

Columbia Basin College  

EFDA – Certificate  

Seattle Central College  

EFDA – Certificate  

South Puget Sound Community College  

EFDA – Certificate 

Spokane Community College  

EFDA – Certificate  

Source: Assembled 2022 via IPEDS and online search

Page updated: Sep 2024