How to Become a Dental Assistant in Kentucky

Who can apply

• Kentucky does not issue a dental assistant license, and you do not apply to the Board to start working.
• Your employing dentist must register you with the Board by listing you on their dental license renewal application (201 KAR 8:571, Section 3).
• You must keep a current CPR certification that meets or exceeds American Heart Association guidelines. Your dentist keeps a copy in your personnel file.
• You work under the direct supervision of a Kentucky-licensed dentist at all times during patient care, and you may only do reversible procedures the dentist delegates.

Step by step

1. Get CPR certified (meeting American Heart Association guidelines) and give your employer a copy.
2. Start work; your dentist trains you and keeps a signed statement of your competency on delegated duties from the Board's Delegated Duties List.
3. Your dentist adds you to their list of dental assistants when they renew their license (every two years).
4. To take x-rays, complete a 6-hour dental radiography safety course plus 4 hours of radiography technique (a course or in-office instruction from your dentist).
5. To do coronal polishing, complete the 8-hour course at a CODA-accredited dental school or program and get its certificate.
6. Give copies of all course certificates to your dentist for your personnel file. The Board does not issue a permit for these duties.

Training and exam

Training: No training program is required to work as a basic dental assistant. Expanded duties have set training: x-rays need 10 hours (a 6-hour radiography safety course and 4 hours of radiography technique, which can be a course or in-office instruction by your employing dentist); coronal polishing needs an 8-hour course at an institution accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA); starting IV access lines needs a Board-approved course and a dentist who holds a sedation or anesthesia permit.

Exam: Kentucky has no state exam for dental assistants and does not require DANB certification. The required coronal polishing course includes a written exam (75% or higher to pass) and a clinical competency exam on a live patient supervised by a licensed dentist.

What it costs in Kentucky

Fixed amounts are set by the state. Items marked “your quote” are priced by private sellers, so enter what you’re quoted.

Keeping your credential

Renewal: There is no assistant renewal with the Board. You must keep your CPR certification current, and your employing dentist updates the list of dental assistants each time they renew their license every two years.

Good to know in Kentucky

EDDA, EFDA and RDA titles: Kentucky does not recognize Expanded Duties Dental Assistant (EDDA) or Expanded Function Dental Auxiliary (EFDA) titles, and they give no extra privileges by themselves. Qualifying education from those programs can count toward Kentucky's polishing, x-ray or IV training. 'Registered Dental Assistant' just means your dentist has registered you.

Moving from another state: There is no license transfer. You can start work without contacting the Board. An out-of-state x-ray certificate is not required or accepted as a substitute; you need the 6 hours of radiography safety and 4 hours of technique.

Not allowed: Dental assistants may not practice dental hygiene or use instruments that remove deposits from teeth, diagnose, treatment plan or prescribe, do anything that irreversibly alters oral anatomy, or give injectable medication or anesthesia unless otherwise authorized by law.

Polishing and display rules: Coronal polishing is limited to a rubber cup on a slow-speed handpiece or a cordless dental hygiene polisher. Your registration must be displayed in a conspicuous place in the dentist's office (KRS 313.045, as amended effective April 13, 2026).

Sources

• Kentucky Board of Dentistry - Dental Assistants
• 201 KAR 8:571 - Registration of dental assistants
• KRS 313.045 - Administrative regulations governing dental assistants (effective April 13, 2026)