The first thing you will notice is that our program is much shorter and therefore our tuition is less. We focus on hands-on skills and essential knowledge so that you spend your time learning the things you will use every day. We believe your hands on skills and abilities are more important than book knowledge.
Our inspiration for starting GDCA came from serving as a externship site for several of our local technical colleges. Over a 4 year period our office hosted a number of technical school students for externships after they had attended dental assisting classes full time for almost a year. In many cases, the students knew the names of the equipment and instruments but not how to actually use them. Very few of them had ever assisted a dentist actually performing procedures. We felt like they did not have the practical experience they should have had after a year, so we wanted to start a program to focus more on hands-on skills during classes.
Because we provide hands on experience in class, we do not require our students to complete externships. At GDCA, our dentists personally work with all of our students individually during class hours. Any students who would like additional experience are invited to spend time observing and participating in real patient care during business hours in our office and other offices in our area, including several specialty offices.