How to Become a Dental Assistant in Minnesota

Who can apply

• An assistant without a license may do only the limited supportive tasks listed in Minnesota Rules 3100.8400 (for example retracting tissue, suction and placing isolation materials while the dentist treats the patient, applying fluoride varnish, digital impressions and photographs).
• To be a Licensed Dental Assistant (LDA), you must be of good moral character and have graduated from a dental assisting program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).
• LDA applicants must pass the Board's state licensing exam, a national dental assisting board exam and the Board's jurisprudence exam, each within the past five years.
• You need current CPR certification and a criminal background check.

Step by step

1. Graduate from a CODA-accredited dental assisting program.
2. Pass the Board's state licensing exam and a national board exam for dental assisting.
3. Pass the Board's jurisprudence exam on Minnesota dental laws and rules.
4. Get current CPR certification.
5. Apply to the Board with government-issued ID and the $115 application fee, and complete the criminal background check.
6. Keep a professional development portfolio and renew every two years with 25 hours of professional development.

Official application →

Training and exam

Training: The LDA license requires graduation from a CODA-accredited dental assisting program. A dental assistant who is not an LDA and wants to take dental x-rays under a dentist's general supervision needs a Limited Radiology Registration, which requires a Board-approved dental radiology course offered through a CODA-accredited school. The dentist must make sure unlicensed assistants complete a CPR course and follow current infection control practices.

Exam: LDA applicants must pass the Board's state licensing exam, a national board exam for dental assisting, and the Board's jurisprudence exam, all within the five years before applying. If you fail any part of the state licensing exam twice, you must complete additional education from a CODA-accredited institution or a Board-approved instructor covering the areas you failed before retaking it. Limited Radiology Registration applicants must pass a Board-approved nationally recognized radiation exam and the jurisprudence exam within the past five years.

What it costs in Minnesota

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: LDA licenses and limited radiology registrations renew every two years (the statute caps the LDA renewal fee at $150 and the radiology registration renewal at $24). Late renewals pay a 25 percent late fee. LDAs must complete 25 hours of professional development each biennial cycle (at least 15 fundamental hours and no more than 10 elective hours) and keep a professional development portfolio. An infection control course is mandatory every cycle. Extra hours do not carry over.

Good to know in Minnesota

Limited Radiology Registration: To take x-rays under general supervision without an LDA license, you need a Limited Radiology Registration: a Board-approved radiology course through a CODA-accredited school, a Board-approved national radiation exam, the jurisprudence exam, current CPR and a background check. People registered to take x-rays before January 1, 2021 are grandfathered.

Nitrous oxide: An LDA who wants authority to administer nitrous oxide inhalation analgesia must meet the extra requirements in Minnesota Rules 3100.3600, subpart 15.

Licensure by credentials: A dental assistant may apply for licensure based on an evaluation of education, experience and performance record instead of completing a Board-approved expanded functions program, and may be interviewed by the Board. You must still be a CODA-accredited program graduate or currently DANB certified, and meet the expanded functions curriculum equivalency of a Minnesota Board-approved program (Minn. Stat. 150A.06, subd. 8). The credentials application fee is $71.

Restorative procedures: After a Board-approved course on the specific procedures, an LDA may place, contour and adjust amalgam, glass ionomer and composite restorations and adapt and cement stainless steel crowns, if a dentist or advanced dental therapist authorizes it and is available in the clinic (Minn. Stat. 150A.10, subd. 4, as amended by 2026 c. 115).

Sources

• Minnesota Rules 3100.1300 - Licensed Dental Assistant
• Minnesota Rules 3100.1320 - Limited Radiology Registration
• Minnesota Rules 3100.8400 - Assistants Without a License
• Minnesota Rules 3100.5100 - Professional Development
• Minnesota Statutes 150A.06 - Licensure
• Minnesota Statutes 150A.091 - Fees
• Minnesota Statutes 150A.10 - Allied dental personnel (subd. 4 restorative procedures)
• Minnesota Session Laws 2026, chapter 115 (art. 7, sec. 30)