Dental Assisting

Dental assisting programmes train the person working chairside beside the dentist — preparing the patient and the operatory, passing and caring for instruments, mixing materials, taking radiographs where the state permits it, and running the sterilisation and the records. It is the fastest way into a dental practice: most Florida programmes are a certificate of a year or less, and most are taught at technical colleges.

The degrees this program covers

Almost all of this is a CERTIFICATE rather than a degree: of 420 Florida completions in the 2023 federal award year, 410 were one-to-two-year certificates and only 10 were associate degrees, at three colleges. ⚠⚠ The most important thing to understand before enrolling is what it is NOT. Dental assisting is not a shortened dental hygiene programme and does not give advanced standing toward one — an assistant who later wants to be a hygienist enters that two-year programme at the beginning and competes for a place like anyone else. ⚠ What it does do is get you working in a dental practice quickly, at far lower cost, with a clear view of whether the field suits you. ⚠ Florida also regulates specific duties separately, notably dental radiography, so ask any programme which state-recognised certifications its curriculum actually qualifies you for.

Careers this program leads to

No career path has been written for this program yet — which says nothing about the program, only that we have not got to it. Browse all career paths, or look at the programs similar to this one below.

Careers that name this program, but not as a route

Dental Hygienist

⚠⚠ Not a route to this career, despite being in the same offices — the certificate confers NO advanced standing toward hygiene, and a hygienist is a separately licensed clinician at roughly twice the pay. ⚠ It is listed here because it is the commonest way people discover the field, it is available at 28 institutions against 18, and choosing the COLLEGE version over the technical-college clock-hour version leaves you with credit that counts.

Programs similar to this one

Neighbouring fields that share much of the same coursework, and often the same employers. ⚠ Read these before you commit to a major — which doors a neighbouring degree keeps open is the part no catalog tells you, and it is far cheaper to change now than later.

Dental Hygiene 18 Florida schools

⚠⚠ The programme this one is most often mistaken for, and the gap is larger than the names suggest: hygiene is a licensed 88-credit associate degree with chemistry, anatomy, microbiology and nutrition, a limited-access cohort, and three licensing examinations. ⚠ Assisting confers NO advanced standing toward it. If hygiene is the goal, find out now whether the college you are attending also runs the hygiene programme and what its admission actually requires.

Medical Assisting 38 Florida schools

The same shape in a different setting: a short technical-college certificate assisting a licensed practitioner, taught largely at the same institutions. ⚠ Named because students comparing short allied-health certificates are usually comparing these two, and the dental one is smaller and more specialised.

Florida public institutions offering this program

28 institutions awarded a credential in this field in 2023, at these levels: Associate, Certificate (1-2 years). A school appears here if it awards anything in the field, however limited its offering — a technical college teaching only practical nursing has a nursing program. Listed alphabetically, not ranked.

Atlantic Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Broward College

Associate · Certificate (1-2 years)

Cape Coral Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Charlotte Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

College of Central Florida

Associate · Certificate (1-2 years)

Daytona State College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Eastern Florida State College

Associate · Certificate (1-2 years)

Erwin Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

First Coast Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Florida State College at Jacksonville

Certificate (1-2 years)

Gulf Coast State College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Hillsborough Community College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Indian River State College

Associate · Certificate (1-2 years)

Lindsey Hopkins Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Lorenzo Walker Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Manatee Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Miami Lakes Educational Center and Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Northwest Florida State College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Orange Technical College-East Campus

Certificate (1-2 years)

Osceola Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Palm Beach State College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Pasco-Hernando State College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Pinellas Technical College-St. Petersburg

Certificate (1-2 years)

Robert Morgan Educational Center and Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Santa Fe College

Certificate (1-2 years)

South Florida State College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Tallahassee Community College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Traviss Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Source: federal IPEDS completions data for 2023, first majors only — the most recent year published. ⚠ It records what was awarded, which is strong evidence of what is offered, but a program launched since 2023 will not appear here. Check the institution’s own catalog before applying.

Updated 21 September 2026. ⚠ Program pages describe a field of study, not one school’s degree — always read the catalog of the institution you are applying to.