Duties of a CDA

Please note that dental practice standards are set by the British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals, the regulatory body in British Columbia. Please contact them should you have any questions or concerns about your duties as a CDA.

National Occupational Analysis 2014 

The CDAA's 'Supervision of Intra-oral Dental Assisting Practice in Canada' document provides an exploratory comparative analysis of how intra-oral dental assisting procedures are supervised in Canada.

Please also refer to the Canadian Dental Assisting Legal Scope of Practice by Province - 2018, which lists in detail the allowable skills in each province. 

These documents are for reference only.

A Guide to CDA Services in BC

This document from the College of Oral Health Professionals of BC explains how CDA services are governed under the CDSBC bylaws - as well as the conditions that must be in place in order to perform them.

Key points:

• 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.
• It is the dentist's responsibility to delegate only to a person they know is competetent to perform the service. It is the CDA's responsibility to provide only the services they have the knowledge, skills and competency to perform.

Please view the document to find out about practices that are not restricted, must be delegated by a dentist, or must be supervised by a dentist.

A History of CDA Duties

The College of Oral Health Professionals of BC provides this useful document detailing the chronology of CDA practices in BC. This includes information about what practices became permitted, and when. 

NDAEB Dental Assisting Domain Description

The National Dental Assisting Examination Board provides this domain description, representing the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours the dental assistant should possess upon entry/re-entry into practice.

Dental Assisting Across Canada

An overview of the organization and regulation of the profession in each region in Canada.