DA I certification
You finish qualified to work chairside as a Dental Assistant I — the credential North Carolina practices hire for.
Holly Springs, North Carolina
The Accelerated Academy for Dental Assistants — a 15-week program
Earn your DA I certification — with Radiology and CPR certifications included — in a single accelerated term, taught in small groups by clinicians who still work chairside.
Enrollment is open
Our next cohort starts September 15, 2026
What's included
No hidden add-ons. Your tuition covers your DA I certification — and the clinical hours that make it mean something.
You finish qualified to work chairside as a Dental Assistant I — the credential North Carolina practices hire for.
Dental radiography is built into the program, not sold as a separate add-on later. You graduate cleared to take x-rays.
Your CPR credential is included in tuition and completed alongside your clinical coursework.
We deliberately cap each cohort. Small groups mean your instructor knows your name and your hands are never idle.
You'll shadow working dental professionals in a live practice and watch real appointments run start to finish.
Real instruments, real chairside procedure. You practice the workflow until it's second nature — not just read about it.
Marcela Alvarado, MBA School Director
Our story
Our founders spent decades in dentistry before deciding to do something about a quiet frustration: too many assisting programs were long, expensive, and disconnected from the way real practices actually run.
So we built the school we wished existed — an accelerated academy that respects your time and your wallet. A focused 15-week curriculum, taught in small groups by clinicians who still work chairside, designed to make you genuinely useful on your very first shift.
Beyond the fundamentals, our mission is to grow confident professionals — people who show up prepared, adapt with skill, and bring real care to every patient. That's the difference between memorizing a checklist and mastering a craft.
The opportunity
Pay varies by practice and by region, but dental assisting offers real benefits — paid time off, health coverage, and room to grow as you build experience.
Dental assisting is a steadily growing healthcare role, with demand projected to outpace the average occupation.
Most dental practices keep predictable daytime hours — no overnight shifts, just steady, humane scheduling.
You'll help people through anxious moments and leave every patient healthier than they walked in. The work genuinely matters.
Our accelerated program gets you trained, certified as a DA I, and career-ready in a single term — not years.
Ready to start?
Your seat in the next cohort could be a five-minute application away.
Request info →
Why us
Our instructors are working dental professionals who teach from the chair, not from lecture notes alone. Everything you learn is drawn from real practices, so you walk into your first job already fluent in the workflow.
Beyond clinical skills, we help you build a strong resume and guide you through your job search — practical support as you look for your first chairside role.
We keep tuition honest and the program short, because a new career shouldn't start with a mountain of loans.
Shadowing & chairside practice
Reading about a procedure is one thing. Doing it — with a mentor beside you — is what actually builds confidence.
You'll shadow working dental professionals in a live practice, watching real appointments run start to finish. Then you'll take the chair yourself: hands-on, chairside practice with real instruments, covering assisting, radiography, infection control, and patient communication until the motions feel like second nature.
Because we teach in small groups, you're not waiting your turn behind twenty other students. By graduation, the clinic won't feel foreign — it'll feel like home.
Convenient & affordable
We designed every part of this program to remove the excuses between you and a better job.
By the numbers
Good questions
Yes. Dental Concepts Academy operates under state education oversight and prepares you to be certified as a Dental Assistant I (DA I).
Our next cohort begins September 15, 2026 and graduates December 18, 2026. The last day to enroll is September 8, 2026 — seats are limited because we keep groups small, so it's worth reaching out early.
You'll be certified as a Dental Assistant I (DA I), and both Radiology and CPR certifications are included — you don't pay for those separately.
It's an accelerated 15-week program of instruction. Our next cohort begins September 15, 2026.
We run small groups on purpose. Smaller cohorts mean more chairside repetitions per student and an instructor who actually knows how you're progressing.
Both. You'll shadow working dental professionals in a live practice and get hands-on, chairside practice with real instruments — the classroom work exists to make that clinical time productive.
Tuition is kept deliberately affordable. Send us your details through the form below and we'll call you with the exact numbers.
Dental Concepts Academy is owned by Dr. Jenine Giles and Dr. Tara Wiggins. Marcela Alvarado, MBA serves as our School Director, overseeing admissions, curriculum, and student support — and she's happy to talk with prospective students directly.
You'll need to be at least 18 with a high school diploma or equivalent, plus a one-page essay telling us why you want to become a dental assistant. No prior dental experience is required — we teach you everything.
We help you build your resume and guide you through your job search. We don't place graduates into jobs directly, but you'll finish with the credential and the support to apply with confidence.
No — we don't accept transfer credits from other programs. Every student completes the full Dental Concepts Academy curriculum.
Let's talk
Leave us your details and we'll call you back — to answer questions about cost, scheduling, or what your first day looks like. No pressure, just answers.
Marcela Alvarado, MBA · School Director