RDAs ….Are You Interested In Expanding Your Scope Of Practice?

RDAEF Program for the Licensed Registered Dental Assistant - Fullerton, California

EFDAA, the professional organization for RDAEFs will be offering a 410 hour program for Registered Dental Assistants who are interested in expanding their scope of practice in restorative dentistry.  Our last graduating class passed the restorative part of the exam

with a 90% pass rate and on the clinical, a 90% ....the highest pass rate of any school in Southern California.

The 410 Hour RDAEF Program trains in the following procedures:

• Conduct preliminary evaluation of the patient's oral health, including, but not limited to, charting, intraoral and extra-oral evaluation of soft tissue, classifying occlusion, and myofunctional evaluation.
• Perform oral health assessments in school-based, community health project settings under the direction of a dentist, registered dental hygienist, or registered dental hygienist in alternative practice.
• Size and fit endodontic master points and accessory points.
• Cement endodontic master points and accessory points.
• Take final impressions for tooth-borne removable prosthesis.
• Place, contour, finish, and adjust all direct restorations.
• Polish and contour existing amalgam restorations.
• Adjust and cement permanent indirect restorations.
• Cord retraction of gingiva for impression procedures.
• Take final impressions for permanent indirect restorations.

Program Information - 2012

EFDAA's 410 Hour RDAEF program will be starting again on October 6, 2012 at our training facility in Fullerton California.  

New Program Requirements

In November 2011, new regulations affecting the RDAEF program were adopted by the Dental Board.  These new requirements add an externship component to the program where students will be placing, contouring and finishing of direct restorations on clinical patients at their own office while being supervised by their dentist.  More information on this exciting new requirement will appear below.

Registration Form

Click here to fill out a registration form for the class.

Why enroll in EFDAA’s EF Program?  The best reason...is that EFDAA's graduates had the highest pass rated of any EF program in Southern California. In addition, the tuition is the lowest in all of California.

EFDAA’s EF program also has the following benefits:

• 100 hours of the mandated hours are conducted in a visual classroom online in the comfort of your own home on Thursday evenings or through assigned taped lectures.
• Course enrollment is limited to 10 students per instructor. This small class size allows you to receive individualized assistance, which is critical to learning these complex procedures.
• Courses are being held in a dental training facility in Fullerton, California, which is central to many Southern California cities and has easy access by freeways.

General Program Information

RDAEF 410 hour program for RDAs will be taught in a series of four individual courses that must be successfully completed in sequence within the program.

• Each course is offered in such a manner that students will have greater flexibility in making their required budgetary and time commitment to complete this program.
• No more than 10 students will be accepted per course.
• Students must pass each course with 75% pass rate before proceeding to the next course. A failure of any course will require that the individual repeat said course for an additional tuition or drop out of the program. 

Program Prerequisites

Prior to entrance into the program, the following pre-requisites must be met. Photocopies of the following documents must be submitted with your registration form, tuition payment for Course 1 and the fee for the student armamentaria kit.

• Valid California RDA license.
• Certifications in coronal polishing, x-ray and pit and fissure sealants.
• Valid CPR Card from American Red Cross or American Heart Association.
• Proof of Liability Insurance Coverage.  (a copy of your employer's malpractice insurance will meet this requirement)

Participants will need to provide many of their own instruments and consumable supplies which are typically found in their dental office.  An “EF Program Issued Armamentaria Kit” will be required for each student.  The cost of this kit will be $1,200.  It will include items such as a “special typodont” required for Dental Board examination, over 125 prepared amalgam/composite teeth; amalgam/composite material, impression material and much more.

Cord Retraction and Final Impression Specific Requirements

In addition to the above described pre-requisites, Course 4 includes performing cord retraction and final impression on patients. The following requirements must be met during this course and performed at the training facility in Fullerton:

• Provide five (5) clinical patient experiences that have a posterior full cast crown preparation.
• For all crown preparations, at least 50% of the margin of the preparation must extend down to the level of the gingival tissue, but be no deeper than 1mm into the gingival crevice.
• Patient must be in good health and the tissue surrounding the preparation must be healthy.
• Patient must be 18 years of age or older.
• For the four clinical practice experiences, there needs to be only one adjacent abutment tooth.
• For the final clinical exam experience, the preparation must have a mesial and distal contact.
• More information on these requirements will be provided in Course 3.
• Four of the five clinical experiences are utilized as practice experiences.
• The fifth clinical experience is used as the final clinical examination.
• All patients must have their crown preparations prepared and temporized with a custom acrylic temporary prior to their scheduled time. No preparations can be done at the training site.
• A supervising dentist is required to be present during performance of said procedures for all of the clinical cord retraction and final impression phase of this course. The dentist will be responsible for administering local anesthesia to the patient.
• Minimal additional supplies will be required for this course.

Supervising Dentist Requirements

All RDAs must have a participating supervising dentist.  If there is more than one assistant from an office enrolled in the program, the dentist may supervise all of his/her staff.  The time commitment for this requirement is attending 2.5 days during Course 4.  On these days the dentist will administer anesthesia to the cord patients.  The exact days and time will be scheduled during Course 1 when all students are present.  In addition to these clinical days, the supervising dentist must attend a 2 hour lecture defining the requirements of the program, as well as RDAEF management protocol. Be sure your dentist is available on the following date:  Supervising Dentist Management Lecture Course:  December 1. 2012 - 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. 

Clinical Requirements - Externship

As part of the clinical requirements for the program, each student will be required to place, contour and finish at least twenty (20) direct restorations in prepared permanent teeth with the following requirements:

• At least fifty (50) percent of the experiences shall be Class II restorations using esthetic materials.
• At least twenty (20) percent of the experiences shall be Class V restorations using esthetic materials.
• At least ten (10) percent of the experiences shall use amalgam.

These procedures will be performed near the completion of the program when the student has demonstrated laboratory competency.  All procedures must be performed under "direct supervision" of a dentist.

Program Dates and Payment Schedule - 2012

All students enrolled begin their online and taped education in October 2012.  This instruction runs from 7:00 to 9:00 PM on selected Thursday evenings or when assigned.

Classroom Instruction - Schedule for Courses 1, 2, 3 and 4
Time: 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM each day

Enrollments are based on a first come first serve basis, so enroll early to ensure a seat!

Course 1 

Payment for Course 1 Due no later than September 5, 2012

October 6 and 7
October 20 and 21
November 3 and 4
November 17 and 18

December 8 and 9

December 15

Course 2

Payment for Course 2– December 15

January 5, 6

January 19, 20

February 2, 3

Course 3

Payment for Course 3 – February 1

February 16, 17

March 2, 3

March 23, 24

Course 4 – For RDA Students Only

Payment for Course 4 –  January 15

February 9, 10

February 23, 24

March 9, 10

Program Length

The externship component part of the program will start when the student has maintained laboratory proficiency.

A mandatory 2 days of instruction will be scheduled after the classroom instruction; externship and prior to practical/clinical examination administered by Dental Board. 

Tuition costs for 2012

Course 1 - $3,400
Course 2 - $2,400
Course 3 - $2,400
Course 4 - $2,400
Mandatory Student Kit - $1,200
*It is highly recommended that students acquire lighted loupes for this course.

Payment Requirements

Payments for each course must be received by the office no later than the deadline for payment listed above for each course.

What is included in the tuition and “student armamentaria kit”

Tuition provides students with all instruction, instructional handouts and many supplies, such as rubber dam instruments, bench mounts; use of pediatric typodont, etc.  The student kit provides students with dental materials such as amalgam, composite; adult typodont with cheeks; over 125 specially prepared teeth for amalgam and composite; impression material; light cured base material; simulated endodontic teeth; etc. that are usually listed by other course providers as required items. Instead of asking students to buy these products through a retailer provider, EFDAA has secured these products at a discounted rate and packaged them for student’s use.

When do I receive information on the additional instruments and supplies that I will need to bring from my office?

Upon receipt of your registration form, payment and acceptance into the program, we will e-mail you a supply list, in addition to other critical information about the program requirements.

When can I enroll in Course 1?

The tuition of $3,400 and mandatory student kit fee of $1,200 are due the time of enrollment. Payments are made in the form of a cashier’s check, credit card or dentist’s check. We take MasterCard and VISA only.

Cancellation Policy

Due to the complex nature of this program, no cancellation with a refund can be given to a student after application deadline date.  In addition, no refunds can be given for the $1200 student armamentaria kit after it has been paid.

Financial Aid

To our knowledge there are no institutions providing financial aid for this short of a program.  We will be accepting several credit cards and money orders for tuition payment.  You will only need to pay for one course at a time.  It is extremely important to create a budget that includes plans for the entire program tuition.

What is needed to participate in the virtual online and taped classroom instruction?

You will need a computer with a sound card and speakers. Most computers today have these two features.

Attendance Requirements

Attendance to classroom instruction is mandatory and any missed day must be made up at an additional cost to the student.  Participating in the online/taped lecture series is also mandatory when assigned.

Homework

In addition to preparing for examinations, after you have gained skill in placing restorations, you will be asked to practice these skills outside of class to gain even more proficiency. These projects will be critiqued by the instructor. Practicing procedures accurately not only is enjoyable, but contributes to competency and success.

Written and Practical/Clinical Examinations

Written examinations will be given online. Practical and clinical examinations will be given throughout the course to prepare you for the practical/clinical state Board examinations. Your continued study and practical application is the key to successfully becoming an RDAEF.

The Program Instructor is an experienced dentist educator who will be providing the majority of instruction for this program. A qualified RDH and RDAEF faculty member will also be providing additional instruction.

RDAEF Board Examination Information

All RDAEF graduates will be required to sit and pass a Dental Board administered written/practical and clinical examination. This examination will include:

• Successful completion of two of the following procedures on a simulated patient head mounted in appropriate position and accommodation an articulated typodont in an enclosed intra-oral environment, or mounted on a dental chair in a dental operatory
  • Place, condense and carve an amalgam restoration
  • Place and contour a nonmetallic direction restoration
  • Polish and contour an existing amalgam restoration
  • Placement of retraction cord and taking a final impression of a crown preparation on a patient provided by the candidate.
• Sit and pass a clinical examination on a patient consisting of placement of retraction cord and taking a final impression of a crown preparation.
• Passage of a state administered written examination.

How do I reach EFDAA if I have any questions?

The easiest and most efficient way to contact us is via the e-mail system. Contact us at efdaa4u@earthlink.net. If you wish to reach us by phone, call 760-200-2851.