Dental Assisting Requirements

Arkansas

To work as a dental assistant in Arkansas, you must be a Registered Dental Assistant (RDA).

Required

Registered Dental Assistant

Submit Within

6 months of dentist signing

Jurisprudence Exam

Within 30 days of Board email

What You Need to Know

To get registered, an Arkansas-licensed dentist has to confirm your dental assisting skills are ready.

Attending in Arkansas? After clinic 10, you'll receive an RDA application signed by an Arkansas dentist if you:

Confirm all information on your application is correct. We send it after clinic 4, and you must confirm it by clinic 7.
Meet our graduation requirements for grades and attendance.

Don't Miss This

You only have 6 months to submit your application once the dentist signs it.

After you submit, the Board will email you when it's time to take your Jurisprudence Exam. You have 30 days from that email to complete it. Miss it and you lose your fee and have to start the whole process over.

Your Step-by-Step

Get your signed RDA application. After clinic 10 if you attend in Arkansas, or from an Arkansas dentist if you trained elsewhere.
Submit it within 6 months. The clock starts when the dentist signs.
Take the Jurisprudence Exam. The Board emails you when it's time. Finish it within 30 days.

Trained in Another State?

If you attended outside Arkansas, you'll need to get a signed RDA application on your own. You can:

Get hired in Arkansas and have your dentist complete it, or
Ask an Arkansas dental office if you can shadow or observe, and have that dentist sign off on your skills.

On the Board's applications page, look under Assistants for "Application for Registration of Dental Assistants."

Optional

Grow Your Career

Nitrous Oxide certification. It's not required for your RDA, but many employers want it, so we highly recommend it. Two options:

UAMS online Nitrous Oxide course ($150). Fully online and always available, with 6 continuing education units. You get two attempts to pass with 80%, and attempts can't be reset, so review the content and practice exam first.
Lynle Toler, RDH (about $100). A board-approved dental hygienist who has certified our students for years. She teaches in person. Phone (479) 366-5732 or email lynlesue@icloud.com.