Dental Health Professions | Dental Assisting

Faculty Expertise

The faculty serving on Instructional Councils are best positioned to provide consistent, expert evaluation of faculty coursework and credentials so as to determine relevance within a specific teaching field. Therefore, Human Resources, Department/Division Chairs, Deans, VPAAs, and other stakeholders must coordinate with the relevant Instructional Councils to determine if the established minimum qualifications are met by candidates for Faculty (Residential, Adjunct, or Dual Enrollment) positions.

Occupational

For occupational disciplines, a combination of education and/or experience is required to qualify. A faculty may qualify with any of the following:

  • Five years of occupational experience in the field to be taught OR
  • Three years of occupational experience in the field to be taught and a Bachelor’s degree or higher 
Instructional Council (IC)
Dental Health Professions
Faculty Service Area (FSA)
Dental Assisting
Subjects
DAE
Description

All applicants: 

  • Must possess an active credential: Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) acquired through DANB.  
  • CPR (BLS) healthcare provider level certification in good standing or the ability to obtain one from the American Heart Association.
  • Must maintain a valid level one Arizona Department of Public Safety Level 1 fingerprint clearance card. Faculty may also be required to pass a background check and drug testing, based on industry partner requirements.
  • All clinical faculty must meet the health and safety immunization requirements including annual tuberculosis testing, MMR, Varicella, Hepatitis B, Tdap, COVID-19, and annual Influenza vaccinations. Health and safety requirements are subject to change depending on clinical agency requirements.
  • For any faculty teaching in a didactic setting, the faculty must possess or obtain within 3 years of being hired, a Bachelor’s degree.
Rationale

Accreditation standards requires all faculty teaching to meet state minimum requirements for topics in which they may teach. 

Dental Hygienist and Dentist must have graduated from a CODA Accredited Program and be able to possess a license in good standing in order to facilitate didactic and clinical teaching.

Accreditation standards requires all faculty to have an active CDA credential. 

Accreditation standards requires all faculty who teach in a didactic setting to hold a bachelor’s degree within three years of the date of hire. 

All clinical faculty must meet the requirements of campus safety and industry partners. Dental Assistant, Dental Hygienist, and Dentist licensure requires all clinical faculty to be trained in CPR (BLS) procedures to assist in a medical emergency during clinical patient care instruction and to maintain licensure in good standing.

All Maricopa Allied Health employees are required to maintain a valid Level 1 fingerprint clearance card.  Some dental health partners also require access to a pass status for background check and drug testing results.

All clinical faculty must meet the vaccination requirements for health and safety protection from contracting diseases/conditions while working closely with patients and their saliva, blood, along with exposure to aerosol producing procedures. 
 

Occupational Experience

For Dental Assistants: Must obtain any state required certifications for skills that are being taught in clinic or didactic setting. 

For Dentists or Dental Hygienist: Must possess licensure in the state and maintain license in good standing. 

(updated and effective Spring 2025)

Accepted Disciplines/Subfields

Dental Assisting, Dental Hygiene, Dentist