Registered Dental Assistant: associate degree or diploma program?

I am in CA and there are several private 'academies' that offer dental assisting programs. There are a public and private college that also offer dental assisting both as associate degrees. What are the benefits of having the associates degree over the diploma if the end result (xray cert coronal polish cert passing rda) are all the same no matter what the program? Money is an issue and the private accelerated program I am considering is $13,000 more than the diploma programs and I am trying to decide if it is worth it. Ultimatly I want to finish a dental hygienst degree. Any helpful input is appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Registered Dental Assistant: associate degree or diploma program?
go to a community college and get your associates believe me it is way better those accelerated programs are a rip off and the credits can never be transferred. with an associates degree you can go back to college if you ever want to in the future. maybe now you may think you will never want to but at least you will have the option if you ever change your mind. with the accelerated programs you spend all that money and the only thing you can ever do with the degree they give you is specifically what that degree is for so what if you don't like it you wont be able to go back to school for something else because all that time you spent were for credits that wont transfer to anything else. i hope this helps and good luck
Reply:Get the associate's degree. Having a degree from a college will make employers want to hire you over just degree program people. Also you will have more education, such as english classes, math, social studies, etc that degree program schools dont make you take. Always choose a college over one of those quick career schools.
Reply:Most practices pay higher wages to those who have higher education. If hygiene is the field you desire, I'd get the ball rolling for the course requirements. best of luck to you
Reply:will your best bet to save money is a diploma program I am going for a dental assistant at stratford career insitute. Its a at home program that is very good that would cost you $698.00
Reply:For the dental assistants in my area it does not make a difference in pay at all. I would get the diploma, work for a while to save up your money, and put that money toward hygiene school. Thirteen thousand dollars is a rip-off for an assistant degree. A diploma degree for dental assisting should take about a year. You can learn everything you need to know in a year, a longer program is only going to delve deeper into the how's and why's of what you learned the first year. Hygiene has the same issues. You can get an associate degree or a BS in hygiene. In the end both the associate and the BS take the same national board and the same practical exam where we have a board patient that we have to clean and demonstrate proper hygiene procedures, including deep cleaning, radiographs, periodontal screening, etc. Again we both take the SAME tests to become licensed in the state to practice hygiene. We also get paid the same. So for some people the BS is better because they want to further their education and get their Masters to teach. For others an associate degree is enough as they have no desire to ever teach. The best thing that you can do is ask around at different dental offices in your area and find out what the best course is. I am sure there are offices out there that would be more then happy to answer your questions. Best of luck.