Home › Illinois › Dental Assisting schools
23 schools in Illinois offer dental assisting-related programs, compared below on official cost, completion, and earnings data. Prefer to earn while you learn? 2 registered apprenticeship sponsors in Illinois train dental assisting apprentices — see apprenticeships.
Illinois does not license or register dental assistants — IDFPR's dental professions list covers only dentists and hygienists — and it is one of the few states with no state radiography credential for dental assistants. Expanded functions like coronal polishing require completing an approved course, which itself requires 1,000 hours of chairside experience, a CODA-accredited program, or DANB CDA certification first. Most employers prefer or expect the voluntary DANB CDA.
Official source: Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Board of Dentistry · Exam: None required by the state; DANB CDA (voluntary) is the employer-preferred credential · Typical requirement: No state license, registration, or radiography credential required — IDFPR licenses dentists and hygienists only. Duty-specific training rules under the Illinois Dental Practice Act: coronal polishing requires an approved course preceded by 1,000 hours of clinical assisting experience, a CODA-accredited program, or DANB CDA; other expanded functions require completing approved courses with set didactic/clinical content.
| School | City | Type | Net price / yr | Completion | Earnings (10 yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois Valley Community College | Oglesby | public | $2,232 | 37.2% | $40,810 |
| Lake Land College | Mattoon | public | $2,254 | 55% | $38,877 |
| Lewis and Clark Community College | Godfrey | public | $3,349 | 50% | $37,724 |
| Carl Sandburg College | Galesburg | public | $3,662 | 51.5% | $35,274 |
| Prairie State College | Chicago Heights | public | $4,738 | 20.4% | $36,696 |
| Elgin Community College | Elgin | public | $6,026 | 32.5% | $45,516 |
| Rock Valley College | Rockford | public | $5,242 | 32.4% | $39,158 |
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | public | $7,401 | 24.7% | $46,909 |
| John A Logan College | Carterville | public | $5,541 | 31.7% | $34,096 |
| Kaskaskia College | Centralia | public | $6,477 | 39.1% | $38,801 |
| College of Lake County | Grayslake | public | $7,607 | 34.1% | $43,424 |
| Parkland College | Champaign | public | $8,048 | 29.5% | $38,320 |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College | Chicago | public | $7,220 | 28.8% | $32,427 |
| William Rainey Harper College | Palatine | public | $11,607 | 38.4% | $48,071 |
| Heartland Community College | Normal | public | $12,013 | 26.5% | $40,768 |
| Fox College | Tinley Park | private for-profit | $13,109 | 71.1% | $41,539 |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College | Chicago | public | $9,494 | 27.4% | $28,467 |
| Illinois Central College | East Peoria | public | $12,961 | 36.3% | $37,366 |
| Midwestern Career College | Chicago | private for-profit | $20,462 | 65.7% | $36,432 |
| First Institute of Travel Inc. | Crystal Lake | private for-profit | $20,528 | 74.8% | $36,196 |
| Stautzenberger College-Rockford Career College | Rockford | private for-profit | $21,601 | 51.6% | $34,104 |
| Midwest Technical Institute-Illinois | Springfield | private for-profit | $27,793 | 71.9% | $33,601 |
| State Career College | Gurnee | private for-profit | $26,376 | 66.2% | not reported |
Ranking = median earnings 10 years after entry per $1,000 of average yearly net price (methodology). Schools without both figures sort last — "not reported" means the federal dataset lacks the value, not that the school is bad.
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