How To Become An Expanded Duty Dental Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is an expanded duty dental assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Aaron Benitez CDA, RDA, RDHAP, MSDH,

Carol Donohue

An Expanded Duty Dental Assistant (EDDA) can perform dental assistant duties, and more. A career in this role has you beginning as a dental assistant and moving up once you obtain the Expanded Duty Dental Assisting Certification. With this, you are qualified to perform more advanced tasks like cavity classification, crown cementation, and bonding.

As an EDDA, you'll also perform a dental assistant's duties, like managing patient records, scheduling appointments, sterilizing instruments, and cleaning teeth. The skills required to become an EDDA include an eye for detail, organization, and interpersonal skills.

You can become a dental assistant by getting a diploma. During the course, you'll study classes like anatomy and dental office management. You can then proceed to the EDDA certificate program and take the final exam.

What general advice would you give to an expanded duty dental assistant?

Aaron Benitez CDA, RDA, RDHAP, MSDH

Dental Assisting Faculty, Articulation Officer, Website

In California, it is an exciting time to be a Dental Assistant. The industry has been gradually adding more technologically advanced procedures like 3-D printing, intra-oral scanning, along with Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistance. A Dental Assistant needs to possess the traditional knowledge to be able to learn these new advanced procedures. In order to make themselves more competitive, the Dental Assistant must possess the knowledge and hands-on experience of these new procedures.
Also, since in California the minimum wage is increasing beyond the amount that a starting Dental Assistant could potentially earn, learning new advanced techniques is more relevant.

ScoreExpanded Duty Dental AssistantUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,095

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.77%

Asian 7.90%

Black or African American 8.35%

Hispanic or Latino 19.93%

Unknown 5.07%

White 57.98%

Gender

female 92.09%

male 7.91%

Age - 36

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 36

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.4

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an expanded duty dental assistant

Explore expanded duty dental assistant education requirements

Most common expanded duty dental assistant degrees

Associate

25.4 %

Certificate

22.4 %

Bachelor's

18.4 %

Start to develop specific expanded duty dental assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	28.02%
OSHA	10.58%
Patient Care	9.83%
Vital Signs	8.35%
CPR	7.53%

Complete relevant expanded duty dental assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New expanded duty dental assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an expanded duty dental assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real expanded duty dental assistant resumes.

Gain additional expanded duty dental assistant certifications

Expanded duty dental assistant certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific expanded duty dental assistant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for expanded duty dental assistants include Dental Assistant (RDA) and Certified Dental Technician.

More About Certifications

Research expanded duty dental assistant duties and responsibilities

Sterilize dental instruments and maintain the clinic according to OSHA guidelines in regard to cleanliness and sterilization protocol.
Place fillings, coronal polish, take impressions and prepare bleaching trays.
Create molds for dentures, retainers, whitening trays, partial dentures, bite guards, etc.
Assist with surgical extraction, impressions for dentures and partials and also with soft and hard reline procedures.

Prepare your expanded duty dental assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your expanded duty dental assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an expanded duty dental assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable expanded duty dental assistant resume templates

Build a professional expanded duty dental assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your expanded duty dental assistant resume.