Go Back-to-school for Radiography Certification

Education opens so many doors and can help people grow personally, in their careers and in their earning capacities. Dental assistants can join the back-to-school movement by seeking certification in radiography. The easiest way to become certified to expose radiographs is to take the Florida Dental Association’s (FDA) online radiography training course.

About the course

Why is it easy?

l It’s completely online! You can study at your convenience, at home or in the office, on a desktop, tablet or smartphone, any time, any day, and for as long as you want. l No travel, no classroom, no health risks. l Enroll at any time and work at your own pace. l It’s affordable for your employer. Online tuition is only $285 for FDA member dentists. l Once you’ve earned your FDA radiography certificate, you simply apply to the state of Florida for your license. Once licensed, you will have new skills to contribute to your team, greater job satisfaction and more diverse tasks.

The training consists of nine modules, each with a quiz to test the student’s learning in preparation for the final test. The final test covers the online course material and must be passed. Multiple retries are permitted. After the test is passed, the dental assistant must expose a series C A L L I N G A L L D E N T A L A S S I S T A N T S of full-mouth radiographs, including four bitewings, with no more than five retakes permitted. The radiograph exposures must be under the direct supervision of the dentist.

Final steps

How to get started

A dentist who wishes to make the FDA’s radiography training available to employees first needs to create an account at mydentalradiography.com/FDA and complete a short tutorial that explains the supervising dentists’ responsibilities. By state law, only dentists without any current or historical licensing actions are allowed to be supervising dentists for this training. When the tutorial is completed, the supervising dentist is assigned an identification number and can 58

purchase and assign vouchers to staff members. The dental assistant who is to take the training receives a “welcome” e-mail and can create an account and get started learning right away. When the online coursework is complete, the test is passed and the full-mouth radiographs have been taken and approved, FOR YOUR DENTAL TEAM the supervising dentist logs back into his or her account and signs off on the student’s certification. A certificate of completion is produced, which can be printed. The dental assistant then applies to the state of Florida to be licensed to take radiographs. STILL NOT TRAINED Once the state approves the application, radiographs can be exposed under the general supervision of a dentist. IN RADIOGRAPHY? This training is also available to dentists who are not members of the FDA. The cost for non-member dentists is $385 IT’S TIME TO FIX THAT. per voucher. This is still another way that FDA members receive value for their membership. For more information about the radiography program, RADIOGRAPHY TRAINING THAT MAKES contact the FDA at 850.350.7114 and speak with Lywanda Tucker or email her at ltucker@floridadental.org. BACK TO SCHOOL COOL AGAIN How’s this for an amazing back-to-school experience for your staff? No travel. No time away from work. They train online, at their own pace. The Florida Dental Association (FDA) Online Radiography Training Program provides your team the formal training they need, with the professional development they want. Enrich career paths while contributing a vital service to your patients and dental team. It’s the most convenient and economical way to get the radiography training required by Florida law. It’s affordably priced, too — just $285 per student* for FDA members!