A Guide to CDA Services
May 2018
This document explains how certified dental assistant services are
governed under the CDSBC Bylaws – as well as the conditions that
must be in place in order to perform them.
• Under the CDSBC Bylaws, the services a CDA can perform will depend on the type
of certification they hold and whether the service is considered a “restricted activity,”
*
which means it poses a higher risk and can be performed only by a professional to
whom government has granted authority.
• The two charts that follow outline the services that a CDA in each class of certification
can perform. They also list the services that can be delegated by a dentist and the
services that must be authorized and supervised by a dentist.
• Above all, it is the dentist’s responsibility to delegate only to a person they know is
competent to perform the service – and to ensure that any service provided is carried
out appropriately and effectively. It is the CDA’s responsibility to provide only the
services they have the knowledge, skills and competency to perform.
Contents
2-3 CDA Services
2-3 Classes of CDAs
4 rosthodontic Module
P
Services
4
Orthodontic Module
Services
* As outlined in the Health Professions Act Dentists Regulation
Classification NOT RESTRICTED DELEGATED BY A DENTIST
These procedures have a CDA must provide the service within 60 days of the
minimal risk of harm and service being prescribed. Dentist does not need to
are therefore not regulated. be in the office / facility.
PRACTISING CDA 3 3 3
TEMPORARY CDA 3 3 3
LIMITED CDA 3 3 3
DENTAL ASSISTANT 3
Chairside assisting, oral hygiene Removing extrinsic stains Exposing dental radiographs
instruction, sterilization, fluoride not associated with calculus on
varnish application, developing the enamel of teeth using an
radiographs appropriate hand instrument or
slow speed rotary instrument,
i.e. coronal polishing /prophy
Does not include the
use of a Prophy-Jet®
or similar device
Services Does not include scaling
Applying anti-cariogenic agents,
i.e. topical fluoride
* If the dental assistant has completed a Dental Radiography module
Services may be restricted until formal training has been recognized by the CDSBC
Classes of CDAs
In British Columbia, only those Level II dental assistants who are certified by the College of Dental Surgeons of BC
(CDSBC) may provide the services of a certified dental assistant (CDA) as outlined in the CDSBC Bylaws under the
Health Professions Act.
The exceptions to this are qualified Level II dental assistants who have been granted conditional certification by CDSBC
in order to obtain employment and perform the services of a CDA in B.C. while completing the certification process, e.g.
writing the National Dental Assisting Examining Board (NDAEB) exam or completing additional education in skills specific to
B.C. that are beyond the national core skills.
Practising Certified Dental Assistant – CDA
A Level II dental assistant who has been formally trained and has successfully completed all certification requirements may
perform all services as outlined in Part 8 of the CDSBC Bylaws, which may include expanded services in Orthodontics and
Prosthodontics if they have the designation indicating successful completion of the specific module.
2
AUTHORIZED AND SUPERVISED BY A DENTIST
Can only be performed as authorized and under the supervision of a dentist who is in the
office/facility and who is available at all times while the service is being provided.
3 3 3 ***
3 3 3
3 3 **
3
Dispensing restorative materials Obtaining impressions and Applying desensitizing agents, Intra-oral fabrication of single
into a prepared cavity occlusal records (not restricted acid etch, antibacterial agents, unit extra-coronal provisional
to alginate products) chemical cleansers, primer and restorations, including try-in,
Applying topical anaesthetic bond, and treatment liners adjusting occlusion extra-orally,
Placing and removing matrices (without pulpal involvement) temporary cementation, removing
Placing and removing dental and wedges provisional cement, and removing
dams and dental dam clamps Applying and adjusting fissure provisional restorations, provided
sealants with an appropriate hand that provisional restorations are
Supporting and removing instrument or slow speed rotary assessed by a dentist before
impression materials after the instrument cementation and again after
dentist has placed them removal of provisional cement
Using and maintaining coronal
*Exposing dental radiographs whitening systems where the Gross removal of supragingival
concentration of bleaching agents permanent cement using an
poses minimal risk of patient appropriate hand instrument
harm (at dentist’s discretion) excluding the use of dental
e.g. Zoom!® handpieces
Removing sutures, periodontal
dressings and retraction cord
Performing pulp vitality tests
*** May be performed by practising certified dental assistants who have a minimum of
one year of full-time clinical experience or the equivalent, and have received training
that will allow them to provide the service competently and safely
Temporary Certified Dental Assistant – CDA (T)
Graduates of BC Level II dental assisting programs that have been accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada
(CDAC) may hold this certification which allows them to provide the services of a Practising CDA in accordance with Part 8 of the
CDSBC Bylaws while waiting to complete the NDAEB written examination.
Limited Certified Dental Assistant – CDA (L)
Graduates of dental assisting programs who hold valid and non-restricted certification, registration or licensure, or who have been
practising as the equivalent in another Canadian jurisdiction where certification, registration, or licensure is not required, and who are in
good standing with their regulatory authority, may hold Limited Certification allowing them to work while completing the requirements
for certification as a practising CDA.
Dental Assistant
A dental assistant is a person other than a certified dental assistant or a dental hygienist who assists a dentist in the provision of
services while under the supervision of the dentist. Dental assistants are not a “class” of CDA as they are neither certified nor
regulated by CDSBC.
3
SERVICES PROSTHODONTIC MODULE ORTHODONTIC MODULE
to be performed only by a Practising CDA to be performed only by a Practising CDA
who has successfully completed a who has successfully completed an
Prosthodontic Module Orthodontic Module
DELEGATED Not applicable Instructing in the use and care of orthodontic appliances
BY A DENTIST
Applying appropriate materials to irritating components
CDA must provide
or removing irritating components
the service within
60 days of the
service being
prescribed.
Dentist does not
need to be in the
office / facility.
AUTHORIZED Fabricating and trying-in provisional restorations intra-orally, Placing and removing orthodontic separators
& including intra-coronal direct provisionals, and adjusting
SUPERVISED occlusion extra-orally, followed by assessment by a dentist Preparing teeth for bonding or cementing of orthodontic
before cementation attachments or bands
BY A DENTIST
Can only be
performed Temporary cementation of provisional restorations and Fitting, placing, and light curing orthodontic bands or bondable
as authorized removal of temporary cement followed by assessment by attachments, with a dentist’s assessment after fitting and again
and under the a dentist before light curing. Attachment by self-curing materials must
supervision of only be done by a dentist, and must not be delegated or
a dentist who authorized to be performed by a person who is not a dentist.
is in the office/
facility and who
Performing non-surgical gingival retraction techniques Removing excess adhesive material using appropriate hand
is available at all
excluding the use of epinephrine instruments, or ultrasonic or slow speed rotary instruments,
times while the
following banding / bonding or debanding /debonding
service is being
procedures
provided.
Removing temporary and permanent cements using an Fitting and adjusting orthodontic appliances and archwires
appropriate hand instrument and excluding the use of dental followed by assessment by a dentist
handpieces
Removing provisional restorations Placing and ligating archwires after assessment
by a dentist
Removing ligating materials and archwires
Removing orthodontic bands and bonded attachments using
appropriate hand instruments
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Vancouver BC Canada V6J 5C6 Toll Free 1 800 663 9169
www.cdsbc.org
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