National Dental Assisting Examining Board
Bureau national d'examen d'assistance dentaire

  • Theory Exam
  • Clinical Practice Evaluation
  • Registration & Licensure
  • Education
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What is the NDAEB?

The NDAEB was established on November 15, 1997 at which time, the responsibility for the administration of the national examination of Dental Assistants in Canada was transferred from the Canadian Dental Assistants’ Association (CDAA).

The NDAEB is an independent Board endorsed by many dental assisting associations and regulatory bodies. The Board has nation wide representatives from the Canadian Dental Assisting Regulatory Authorities (CDARA), the Canadian Dental Assistants’ Association (CDAA), the Canadian Dental Association (CDA), the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC), dental assisting educators from accredited and non-accredited educational institutes, and the public.

The NDAEB Certificate will...

Provide assurance that dental assistants in Canada have met the educational requirements that allow for provincial registration/certification/licensure/listing and help facilitate labour mobility. The NDAEB certificate is a “one time” acquisition that does not require annual renewal.

Is the NDAEB Certificate Required in Every Province/Territory in Canada?

The NDAEB certificate is presently required for all new dental assisting graduates seeking registration/licensure in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Dental assistants are urged to contact the Canadian Dental Assisting Regulatory Authority in the province they intend to work in for details regarding licensure requirements, including the need to hold the NDAEB certificate. (Please refer to the section Registration and Licensure).

Ontario and the NDAEB Certificate

All dental assistants wishing to perform intra-oral duties (Level II ) in the Province of Ontario are required to hold the NDAEB certificate.

Preventive Dental Assistants (PDAs) listed with the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) prior to January 1, 2000, may not require the NDAEB certificate to perform certain intra-oral duties.

For information regarding certification in Ontario, please contact the Ontario Dental Assistants’ Association at info@odaa.org or call 1-800-461-4348.  The Ontario Dental Assistants Association is the Membership and Certifying body for dental assistants in Ontario. ODAA Membership and Certification is recommended.

To confirm the requirement for the NDAEB certificate in your province, you are urged to contact the Dental Assisting Regulatory Authority.

Healing Arts Radiation Protection (HARP): Candidates are advised that the issuance of the NDAEB Certificate does not denote your HARP Certificate in Ontario. The HARP Certificate is a separate provincial requirement in Ontario. Please refer to the section “Registration and Licensure” for more information.

When moving between Canadian provinces, dental assistants are urged to contact the Dental Assisting Regulatory Authority to determine licensing/registration requirements. Please refer to the section Registration and Licensure.

What Formal Training/Education Is Required?

To be eligible for the NDAEB certificate, dental assistants must have successfully completed formal education in the following mandatory skills:

  • Chairside dental assisting (Level I)
  • Exposes dental radiographs
  • Provides oral hygiene instruction
  • Provides nutritional counseling relative to oral health
  • Applies and removes dental dam
  • Performs coronal polishing
  • Applies anti-cariogenic agents
  • Obtains impressions for study models
  • Applies and removes matrix system and wedges
  • Applies treatment liners (no pulpal involvement), acid etch and bonding materials
  • Applies pit and fissure sealants
  • Applies desensitizing agents
  • Applies topical anaesthetic agents
  • Performs vital tooth whitening using trays
  • Performs suture removal

Land Acknowledgement

The NDAEB acknowledges that our offices, located in Ottawa are on the unceded territory of the Anishnaabe Algonquin Nation. We would like to recognize the importance of the lands which we call home. We do this to reaffirm our commitment and responsibility in improving relationships between nations and to improving our own understanding of local Indigenous peoples, their values, and their cultures.

From coast to coast to coast, we acknowledge the different ancestral and unceded indigenous territories of all the First Nations, Inuit, Métis peoples that call this land home.

We acknowledge the effect of residential schools and colonialism on Indigenous families and communities and commit to carrying out our mission always seeking truth, and in a spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.

Mission

The NDAEB's mission is to assure individuals have met the current national baseline standard in the knowledge and skills required by Canadian provincial or territorial regulatory authorities for recognition as an intra-oral dental assistant.

Vision

The NDAEB will strive for excellence in the provision of valid and reliable national dental assisting examinations.

Values

The NDAEB is committed to fairness, transparency and excellence in the services it provides to candidates, stakeholders and the public.

The NDAEB Fall newsletter is now available. Click on the “Read Now!” button below to get updated on the latest news from the NDAEB.

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