DANB Mission & Ends

DANB Mission

DANB's mission is to promote the public good by providing credentialing services to the dental community. We accomplish and measure the success of this mission through the creation of valid dental assisting exams, recertification requirement integrity, and valuable, visible, and accessible DANB exams, certificates and certifications.

We also provide testing services to the oral healthcare community, and information services and resources related to dental assisting credentialing to support DANB'S mission. In order to accomplish these critical outcomes, DANB is committed to a properly governed, financially secure, and administratively sound organization.

DANB Stakeholders

Public

Certificants - Current, Emeritus, Lapsed

Other dental assistants - Dental assisting students; non-DANB Certificants or candidates; assistants who have passed a DANB national or state exam in the past, but who never were DANB Certificants; current DANB exam candidates; dental assistants outside of the U.S.

Registered Dental Hygienists

Educators - CODA-accredited dental assisting programs, non-CODA-accredited dental assisting programs, CDE Course providers

Regulators - State boards of dentistry, state departments of environmental protection, bureaus of radiological health, state legislators, federal legislators

Organizations - National oral health care-related associations, state oral health care-related societies/associations

Federal agencies - Military, Public Health Administration, Department or Labor, Indian Health Services, Veterans Administration

Dentists/Employers

Dental insurance industry

Dental manufacturing industry

International countries

Volunteers - DANB Board members, DANB consultants (ie: test construction committee members, item writers, etc.)

DANB staff

Vendors under contract with DANB (psychometric consultants, computerized test administration agencies, etc.)

Guiding Principles for DANB Employees in Their Relationships With DANB Stakeholder Groups

Trust
We are committed to quality, ethics and best practices in the development of DANB testing and credentialing related services, including meeting all national exam development and credentialing standards.

Communication
Providing information to DANB stakeholders is a priority. We seek to provide full attention as active listeners and proactive problem solvers while providing accurate, and timely information in an easily accessible format.

Respect
We are committed to valuing each stakeholder with equal consideration of his or her needs or position, no matter how big or small.

Initiative
We are committed to continuously promoting the dental assisting profession by seeking to develop new solutions, services, and resources for the oral healthcare community as these relate to DANB’s mission.

Teamwork
We are committed to working together with representatives of our communities of interest to develop and exchange ideas that promote the public good and enhance the oral healthcare community as a whole.

DANB History

DANB is the nationally-recognized certification and credentialing agency for dental assistants. When you become DANB-Certified, you join an elite group of over 30,000 Certified Dental Assistants (CDAs) nationwide. The DANB CDA and/or Radiation Health and Safety (RHS) and/or Infection Control (ICE) examinations are required or recognized as meeting regulatory requirements in over thirty states.

Since 1948, DANB, a nonprofit organization, has worked within, and has the support of, the dental community. The American Dental Association recognizes DANB as the national certification agency for dental assistants. This recognition is supported by the Academy of General Dentistry, the Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, the American Academy of Dental Practice Administration, the American Association of Dental Examiners, the American Dental Education Association, and the American Dental Assistants Association.

For those dental assistants who meet the eligibility and examination requirements, certification may be earned in one or more of the following areas:

Certified Dental Assistant – CDA
Certified Orthodontic Assistant – COA

In addition to these two national credentials, DANB offers an examination in Radiation Health and Safety (RHS) and an Infection Control Examination (ICE). Passing either or both of these examinations allows a dental assistant to demonstrate competence in these two areas that are very important to the health and safety of dental health care workers and patients alike. The RHS and ICE examinations are components of the CDA exam. ICE is also a component of the COA and (the former) Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Assistant (COMSA) examinations. Individuals have the opportunity to take these components separately and earn separate certificates, which make an impressive demonstration of personal achievement.

The American Dental Assistants Certification Board, Inc. was founded August 4, 1948, by the American Dental Assistants Association (ADAA) as a separate and distinct nonprofit agency “to advance the vocation of dental assistants by providing qualifying examinations.” Certification gained American Dental Association (ADA) approval in 1960 and the Board changed its name to the Certifying Board of the American Dental Assistants Association, Inc. the same year. As the “National Board” evolved over the years, the general public perceived the need for independent licensing and certification agencies in order to protect the public’s interest.

Dental assisting leadership acknowledged that need and restructured the Board and modified policies in order that the credential “CDA” would continue to be known as the standard of competence in dental assisting. The name of the organization was changed to the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc. (DANB) in 1980 when the composition of the Board of Directors was modified to include dentists/employers. DANB bylaws were further modified in 1989, opening up the Board's decision-making process to other segments of the dental community.

In June 1985, DANB developed a separate Radiation Health and Safety (RHS) component for the Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) examination to enable individual states to easily comply with requirements contained in the Consumer-Patient Radiation Health and Safety Act of 1981. In June 1993, DANB further developed the CDA exam by adding the Infection Control (ICE) component exam due to the continuing importance of infection control in the field of dentistry. The ICE is intended for voluntary use, to discern proficiency in infection control including OSHA requirements, as well as recommendations from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and the ADA for personnel performing procedures in the dental office.

DANB completed the introduction of its specialty certifications in 1986, after four years of development. Its CDA credential was supplemented by credentials for Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Assistant (COMSA), Certified Orthodontic Assistant (COA), and Certified Dental Practice Management Assistant (CDPMA). Effective January 1, 2000, the COMSA examination was discontinued due to low participation. Effective May 31, 2008, DANB also discontinued accepting applications for the CDPMA exam in order to update the program and ensure that all DANB certifications reflect current practice. However, current COMSAs and CDPMAs can continue to renew their credential(s) annually by meeting DANB's Recertification Requirements.

For a printable copy of the general information brochure, DANB Measuring Dental Assisting Excellence, Click Here!