The Right Dental Assistant School for You

A group of happy dental assisting graduates pose under a tree

The Right Foundation

The full dental assistant classes at the Dental Staff Institute provide the basic knowledge and technical proficiency to enter the dental field. This is the firm foundation on which to build your career. Our goal is for our students to quickly achieve the expertise to succeed immediately as a dental assistant upon graduation. All class materials are provided and we utilize the Moodle online learning management system to provide students with a robust and secure learning environment. This is the same LMS used by large universities like NC State and government organizations like the Department of Agriculture. We offer the only dental assistant classes in the area to use this technology.

Our advanced dental assistant continuing education classes help assistants take their career to the next level. Others who move here simply need North Carolina dental assistant certifications to work in the state. These classes are given every few months. We offer them in a convenient format using live online lecture, in-person lecture and hands-on training.

All of our classes exceed the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners requirements. Our focus is to ensure that students leave confident in both their new knowledge and skills.

Dentakl assisting students with dentist getting hands on exercises.

The Right Class Size

Dental assistant class size is small and spaces are limited at the Dental Staff Institute.

We keep class sizes smaller than our competition. On purpose. Frankly, you can’t learn all there is to know about becoming a dental assistant at such an accelerated pace without a lot of personal attention from your instructors.

The typical class size for the dental assistant full course is about twelve students. This enables us to break you into groups of just three or four for clinical exercises and workshops. For many clinical days, we bring in additional instructors to bring the student teacher ratio down and increase your clinical hands-on time. Our dental assistant CE classes typically have no more than four students per instructor.

The Right Instructors

Speaking of instructors, ours are the best in the business.

Our instructors are DA II’s (Dental Assistant Level II) who have decades of experience in the dental assisting field. All lead instructors have sat for the DANB – the Dental assisting National Boards. Your instructors have worked in general dental practices, oral surgery, periodontics, prosthodontics and orthodontics. This diverse background gives our students a well-rounded experience.

Our coronal polishing certification classes are taught by practicing registered dental hygienists. Dental hygienists have focused their training on soft tissue care and treatment. They all have years of experience treating patients and will give students many tricks and “dental pearls” that can only be found at our school.

Our founders and doctors will be there for your clinical wrap-up, exercises in four-handed dentistry and career lectures. We believe it’s important for students to have access to actual doctors. We are there to answer questions and help you put it all together.

dental assistant students taking radiographs

The Right Track

Did you know that many schools simply buy a “canned” curriculum that they are reselling to you (at a big profit)? The goal of many of these dental assistant classes is simply to make as much money “passively” with as little effort as possible. We do not agree.

We created our training programs from scratch. We use our years of experience in the dental field and input from our own dental assistants and instructors.

We have based our curriculum on “Modern Dental Assisting” – the same exact textbook many junior and technical colleges like CPCC and York Tech use for their year-long DA II courses.

We have formulated our own materials to fit the much faster pace. The testing models and skill developments are the same. The result is that you learn what you need without the “fluff”.

We are always finding ways to improve our curriculum. We believe it is the best, most comprehensive dental assistant class, in the area.

Dental Assistant Students doing clinical coursework.

The Right Idea

We genuinely want our students to succeed.

After opening our dental office here in 2005, we hired a few assistants that graduated from other schools. We realized that they were not getting the preparation that they needed to succeed. We started our School in 2008 to fill the need for exceptional dental assistants. Those assistants need to be taught to a higher standard. With the massive growth in the Charlotte area, that need is even greater.

We do everything we can to give our students the tools. With those tools our graduates find success. When they succeed, we do too! In the end, your knowledge and skills are a direct reflection on how well we have done to prepare you.

Our directors and instructors take personal pride in your achievements. After all, your goals are our goals.

All of our instructors have years of experience and are DANB (Dental Assisting National Board) certified. During the week, they work full time in general practice and have experience and exposure to many specialty fields including implants and orthodontics.

In a word, don’t. The pace is very fast and it will be very difficult for you to catch up with only a few exceptions. You have made a commitment to yourself to change your life for the better. Prioritize your studies and make it happen.

For single concept classes, you should need little, if any, time at home since all the concepts will be reviewed during class. We are always available for questions and clarifications and our instructors are always happy to hear from their students!

For the MDA class, you should expect to spend at least several hours per week reading and studying. The first few weeks are the hardest! There is a lot of material being thrown at you and it is like learning a whole new language. Our best advice is to get your books as soon as possible and start to read your materials before class. Preparing at home will make your Saturdays a lot more productive. Once you have seen the material in class, make sure you review it as well as moving on to the following weeks reading. Try to stay ahead so you don’t fall behind!

Your information is on file with us, however, you must supply proof to your employer that you have obtained your certifications. Online reprints can be found in the portal if your class was online. Signed reprints of analog courses are available at a cost of $20.00 and take 3-5 days to process and mail. You worked hard for your certifications – please keep them safe!!

Yes. The MDA program provides you with everything you need to legally work as a dental assistant in North Carolina. If you are planning to work in another state, you should check with that state’s dental board to see if your certificates will be valid.

Single concept classes provide certification that meets or exceeds the guidelines for North Carolina. As long as you attend the mandatory class hours and pass your exams, you are able to bring back your new skills to the office the very next day.

The North Carolina Division of Proprietary Schools strictly prohibits schools from offering job placement as an incentive to enroll. Our advice is that if a technical school promises you this, run. No one is immune to unemployment and no one can promise you a job.

That being said, our belief is that your success is our success. We are proud of our reputation and the quality of our instruction. We are one of the only dental assisting schools that conducts a pre-enrollment interview to determine if you have the maturity and commitment to finish the course of study for the MDA program. We use the many relationships that we have in the dental community to help you set up a clinical externship at the end of your class to prepare for your real world experience. We also point our students to many untapped resources to consider when looking for a job.

These, combined with individualized instruction and small class size, have helped our graduates achieve a high rate of employment.

Dental assisting is a great career choice. You should also understand that because it is a great career choice, dental assisting is a very competitive field. You will need to go the extra mile to obtain even an entry level position. As you gain experience, though, you will have perspective on why you prepared yourself for a career and not just a job.

Subsidized financial aid programs are generally not available from the government to provide for technical training. Through NCWORKS, certain programs and persons may be eligible for the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). You can find more information through ncworks.gov.

We understand that tuition can be very expensive. We offer several in house payment and layaway plans to help our students afford the educational opportunities they desire. Your best bet is to plan ahead and leave yourself plenty of time to spread out your payments and find the most comfortable arrangement.

A note on third party finance companies: Some schools are using their CareCredit accounts through their dental offices to finance their student’s tuition. CareCredit loans are specifically used to finance medical and dental care. Alternate uses of these loans – like to buy a car or finance your tuition – are fraudulent. You should not risk your valuable credit by applying for a loan under false pretenses no matter what you are told.

Our school is licensed by the North Carolina Division of Proprietary Schools and we abide by a strict set of regulations for our day-to-day operations. Our curriculum is approved by the North Carolina Board of Dentistry and has been designed to exceed the minimum requirements for our state.

The American Dental Association (ADA) does NOT accredit schools. Rather, the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) oversees accreditation for the US Department of Education. The CODA process is designed primarily for Dental Schools and Hygiene Schools from which actual licenses are earned. CODA also oversees community colleges offering degree programs and programs providing credit hours. You do not need a degree (other than a high school diploma) to become a dental assistant.

Technical schools (like proprietary schools) are not overseen by CODA. Our course provides all of the necessary certificates for you to be employed as a dental assistant in North Carolina.

No. You do not need any prior dental experience to take the Modern Dental Assisting course. While some experience or familiarity will help, you should be able to understand and pass all of the units successfully with old-fashioned hard work and studying.

For the single concept classes, you will need to already be a DA I or equivalent for the Nitrous Oxide Monitoring class. You should be a DA I-in-training or equivalent in order to take the Coronal Polishing or Advanced Laboratory sessions.

The Dental Staff Institute Team

Dr. Malz & Dr. Woodman


The founders of our school both grew up in Long Island only 15 minutes from each other, but we never met! It was not until dental school in Philadelphia that we became a pair. We were married in 1997 and have one son, Jonathan. After practicing dentistry in New York for ten years, we decided to relocate to Charlotte, North Carolina for the wonderful weather, warm-hearted hospitality and great quality of life. We started our dental practice in Matthews and soon realized that there was a shortage of properly trained dental assistants. In response, we formed the Dental Staff Institute to give students the opportunity to enter the dental profession armed with everything they would need to succeed. We threw out the canned curriculums and designed ours from scratch working with the North Carolina Dental Board and the North Carolina Proprietary School systems. We are proud to have thousands of graduates. We have a reputation for top quality and that helps our graduates easily obtain entry level positions in our area.

Stephanie B., DA2

Stephanie is a native of Mecklenburg County and has been an orthodontic/dental assistant since 2005. She has also been an instructor with Dental Staff Institute since 2020. Her background includes completing a program in orthodontic assisting at the Orthodontic Assisting School of Atlanta as well as completing a program in dental assisting in North Carolina. Stephanie enjoys being able to see positive impact that dentistry has for the patient’s appearance and self esteem. She also enjoys teaching dental assisting skills to students planning a career in the field of dentistry. When not at work, Stephanie is busy with her daughter, Kendall, who is a competitive dancer and her son, Kaidyn who is involved in martial arts.

Kayce H., DA2

Kayce is a Charlotte native, that enjoys the outdoors and all things fitness! She’s happily married to her teenage crush and has a beautiful baby boy, Tegan. In her down time she enjoys spending time with family, going to the beach, & lifting weights. In 2015 she graduated from DSI.
“Not only do I enjoy educating patients about oral health and prevention, but I enjoy educating our students at Dental Staff Institute. Teaching is an outlet to be able to help share what I’ve learned over the years of dental assisting. In this field we are learning new things everyday and I can’t wait to help students begin their journey in the dental field!”

Lisa H., CDA, EDDA

Lisa received her EDDA from the University of Louisville Dental School. She moved to Charlotte and met the docs in 2006. She enjoys all aspects of the dental field and is currently the lead instructor for the Dental Staff Institute. 
She loves seeing her students grow into wonderful assistants. Between helping patients and new assistants she truly loves her dental career.
If she is not working you may find her traveling with her steel tip dart league in NC and SC. When ever she has a free weekend she may be in Kentucky seeing her daughter Kylie at UK or at a horse show. She loves every day coming home to her fabulous flunkey Cedric! 

Laura K., RDH


Laura graduated from Ferris State University in 2001 where she obtained her Associate of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene. Laura has been an instructor with Dental Staff Institute since 2016. She loves being able to see the spark in the students eyes when it all clicks and they have grasped the concept of learning something new. Also, she will be the one dancing in the hallways during the radiography classes with her snazzy moves! 
Laura is a Michigan native and relocated to Charlotte in 2013. In her free time, Laura enjoys hiking, traveling and trying out new restaurants and breweries in Charlotte.

Amica M., RDH

Amica is a Registered Dental Hygienist of 13 years and an Instructor with Dental Staff Institute since 2013. “I have a passion for sharing my studies and level of expertise with people that have an interest in the dental field. This industry has so much to offer and I’m glad to be able to assist with its continued growth.” Amica’s other passions include exercising, reading and spending time with family.

Amber S Bio Picture

Amber S., CDA

Amber graduated from Fayetteville Technical Community college in 2010 as a Certified dental assistant. Shortly after graduating she learned that pediatric dentistry was her passion as she loved helping children, especially in underserved communities.  After getting married and having two children of her own she is now a facility director of a dental surgery center. Being able to be an instructor feeds her passion to help future dental assistants understand what great opportunities can come from this career and to help students realize their greatest potential. Her favorite quote is “I never lose. I either win or I learn.”