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Careers
> Health & Services > Dental
Health Technology
 The
Dental Assisting program in the SUN Area Technical School began in
1970. The people responsible for getting the facilities up and running
really were forerunners of the needs of this community. We have had an
impressive placement record for graduates who want to join the
workforce after completing the program, but probably more impressive
is that approximately one third of our students go on to higher
education and use their knowledge gained at SUN as stepping stones to
advance their careers.
We have a spacious instructional area that contains a classroom
setting that can accommodate 24 students. We also have a computerized
front office practical area, three fully operational dental
operatories complete with x-ray units, a darkroom, a student
laboratory practice area, a full scale dental laboratory. Adjoining
the classroom is an actual dental practice operated by a local
dentist. The dentist’s staff consists of two full-time hygienists, an
office manager, a receptionist, and two expanded duties assistants.
The students spend approximately 1000 hours in the dental assisting
program with the emphasis on theory hands-on and practical
application. A benefit for having the clinical site adjoining the
classroom is that the students are exposed daily to a multitude of
dental procedures and a very diverse population.
We utilize a one-year delivery system, but incorporate Tech Prep.
We have an open door admission policy, which allows students (adults,
seniors, or juniors) to spend their time indulged in dental curriculum
that will benefit their career goals. Some options that they may
choose from are cooperative education, dental assistant, front office
manager, receptionist, sales representative, and lab apprentices.
Those choosing to go on to higher education are extremely successful
because they have been exposed to all aspects of dentistry and know
and understand many of the benefits involved in the field of
dentistry. In the future we hope to be articulated to accelerate these
students’ careers.
To maximize students’ education we also bring clustering to the
program. This supports SUN Tech’s Technicians Curriculum so that
students can be cross-trained in certain areas within the Health and
Services Cluster. Our goal is to produce life-long learners that have
multiple career options and flexible skills that enable them to change
as the employer’s needs change.
We utilize task lists to monitor student outcomes. We also
encourage students to go through career exploration and set some
career goals that will lead them into successful futures.
Click these links below for video describing our Cosmetology Program.
These video's use windows media as a player.
56k Video
150k Video
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