The Right Dental Assistant School for You
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.
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.
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.
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.
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., 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.”