Dental assistants play an important, supportive role on the oral health care team. As regulated members of the College of Alberta Dental Assistants, you may use the protected titles:
- Registered Dental Assistant and initials RDA
- Dental Assistant and initials DA
These titles are protected under the Dental Assistants Profession Regulation. This means you may only use your title in professional practice settings and in ways that help the public clearly understand your role. Using your title to promote a personal or independent business is not permitted under the Standards of Practice.
While operating an independent business for personal services such as teeth whitening is permitted, using protected titles to promote an independent business suggests you are acting as a dental assistant. This is misleading to the public.
Recent case
The College received information about one of our regulated members who operated an independent business and promoted services online.
The services being offered were personal services. The concern was how the services were presented: the regulated member used a protected title, referred to having a dental assisting licence, and posted an image of their practice permit. This created risk that the public could misunderstand the nature of the services. The issue was clarity for the public, not the services themselves.
In this case, the regulated member cooperated with the College and immediately took steps to address the concerns. The regulated member and the College reached an informal resolution, including:
- remove every reference to their protected title, dental assisting licence, and practice permit from all online platforms
- not use professional credentials in connection with the business going forward
- complete educational courses
Takeaways
- The activity itself may be allowed, but using your professional title or practice permit to promote it is not.
- Professional titles and practice permits are for professional practice settings and should not be used to promote an independent business.
- Even if certain words are not protected, avoid language that could mislead the public.
If you have questions about using protected titles, contact the College.
