Expanded-function duties for dental assistants are set state by state — the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says each state regulates assistant scope of practice — so the real question is what your state's own rule says.
The title changes at the border too: EFDA in Pennsylvania, expanded function dental auxiliary in Ohio, RDAEF in California.
This page lines up the sourced rules state by state — title, credential, headline duties, supervision — and shows where they stay silent.
Quick answer: each state writes its own EFDA rules, under different names
Expanded-function credentials are issued state by state, and each state sets its own requirements.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states the structure directly: each state regulates the scope of practice for dental assistants, and some states let assistants polish teeth or apply sealants, fluoride or topical anesthetic.
The title changes with the state line.
DANB notes that some states use Expanded Functions Dental Assistant (EFDA), while others might use titles like Licensed Dental Assistant (LDA), Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) or Registered Dental Assistant in Extended Functions (RDAEF) for the expanded-function level.
Pennsylvania, Ohio and California each use a different name for the same idea: Pennsylvania's “expanded function dental assistant,” Ohio's “expanded function dental auxiliary,” and California's “registered dental assistant in extended functions.”
The credential behind the title varies just as much — a board certification in Pennsylvania, a course certificate in Georgia, a permit in Missouri or New Hampshire.
Even the federal government classifies the work separately: OPM's GS-0681 dental assistant series includes a “Dental Assistant (Expanded Function)” title at GS-5 and above for positions mainly performing reversible intra-oral procedures.
If you're still working out what the role is, start with what is an EFDA — this page covers the state rules, not the definition.
The rest of the dental assistant career guide covers the role's other credentials and paths.
Rules are state rules — verify before you rely on them
State table: titles, permits, duties and supervision
The first table below lists every state this page has a sourced credential rule for, drawn from each state's own statute, administrative rule or board website.
A state missing from that table is just one whose rule this page hasn't sourced — not necessarily a state without expanded functions.
The second table covers only the states whose sourced rule spells out duties or supervision.
Cells are shortened from the rules themselves, and a “—” means the sourced rule doesn't spell that column out, not that the state prohibits the duty.
| State | Title used there | Credential / permit |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | Expanded function dental assistant (EFDA) | Certified by the State Board of Dentistry; one route is a Board-approved EFDA program of at least 200 hours of clinical and didactic instruction |
| Ohio | Expanded function dental auxiliary | Registration requires passing the Ohio EFDA exam (Commission on Dental Testing in Ohio or ADEX) plus current BLS |
| California | Registered dental assistant in extended functions (RDAEF) | Current RDA license, fingerprints, a board-approved extended functions program, a pit and fissure sealant course, current BLS, and a written exam |
| Maine | Expanded function dental assistant (EFDA) — a separate board license | License requires a dental assisting certificate or a dental hygiene license, completion of an EFDA program, and passing the required examinations |
| Arizona | Expanded functions | A board-approved program and examinations, or an equivalent credential from another state plus clinical experience |
| Missouri | Expanded functions permit | Issued by the Missouri Dental Board to a dental assistant, certified dental assistant or Missouri-licensed hygienist |
| Nebraska | Expanded Function Restorative Level I and Level II permits | Issued to licensed dental assistants and licensed hygienists; Level II requires holding Level I |
| Maryland | General duties EFDA; orthodontic EFDA (categories created by rules effective Aug 31, 2026) | Express certification by the Maryland State Board of Dental Examiners before performing the category's listed intraoral procedures; uncertified assistants fall under a “level one dental assistant” category |
| Massachusetts | Expanded Function Dental Assistant (EFDA) — one of four assistant categories | Board rule 234 CMR 2.00 classifies assistants as Certified Assistant, Dental Assistant Trained on the Job, EFDA, or Formally Trained Dental Assistant |
| Wisconsin | Expanded function dental auxiliary (EFDA) | Credential issued by Wisconsin DSPS; 12 hours of continuing education per renewal |
| Washington | Expanded function dental auxiliary (EFDA) | Credentialed by Washington DOH, alongside dental assistants, dental hygienists, dentists, dental anesthesia assistants and dental therapists |
| New Hampshire | Expanded Function Dental Auxiliary (EFDA) permit | Board registration and permit for a hygienist or certified/graduate dental assistant who completed an EFDA restorations course; renewed in odd-numbered years before May 1. In other expanded duty areas, an assistant aged 18 or over qualifies by completing a course or exam and keeps the certificate for board requests |
| Connecticut | Expanded function dental assistant | No state dental assistant license; EFDA status requires passing the DANB Certified Dental Assistant or Certified Orthodontic Assistant exam plus an EFDA program accredited by CODA, and the DANB certification must be maintained |
| Oregon | Expanded-function certifications (EFDA, EFODA, restorative, EFPDA, anesthesia) | Assistants are not licensed but must be certified for x-rays and certain expanded functions, with DANB certifying for the Oregon Board of Dentistry |
| Nevada | Expanded function dental assistant | Licensed by the Nevada State Board of Dental Examiners — one of only four groups the board can license and discipline, alongside dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists; other dental assistants fall outside its jurisdiction |
| New Mexico | Board expanded function certification | Distinct from DANB certification — a DANB CDA does not qualify an assistant to perform expanded functions without board certification |
| Louisiana | Expanded duty dental assistant (EDDA) certificate confirmation | Board registration requires an approved EDDA course, current BLS and an approved radiology course before any expanded duties |
| Arkansas | Expanded-function permits | No expanded duties, as defined by Board rules, without a permit; a permit holder is considered a Registered Dental Assistant, and permits must be displayed in the office |
| South Dakota | Registered dental assistant (RDA) registration | An assistant not registered with the board as an RDA may not perform expanded functions; a separate board permit is needed to monitor patients under general anesthesia, deep sedation or moderate sedation |
| Minnesota | Licensed dental assistant (LDA) | State license: graduation from a dental assisting program accredited by CODA, plus the board-required exam, including Minnesota dental law |
| Florida | Expanded-duty training — not a license | A course or program: a school accredited by CODA, or a Board-approved course or program |
| Georgia | Expanded duty dental assistant certificate | Certificate issued by the sponsor of the accredited course — not a Board license; the employer must keep a copy readily available in the office |
| South Carolina | Expanded Duty Dental Assistant (EDDA) | Defined as a graduate of a dental assisting program accredited by the American Dental Association, or an assistant with two years of continuous full-time chairside employment; the board's website does not describe issuing EDDAs a license |
| Kentucky | No EFDA or EDDA title recognized | “Registered Dental Assistant” only means the assistant was registered by an employer dentist — it is not a recognition of special training |
| State | Headline duties allowed | Supervision |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | Place and condense amalgam; carve and contour amalgam; place and finish composite restorations and sealants; coronal polishing; fluoride treatments; place rubber dams, matrices, wedges, liners and bases | Direct supervision for every EFDA service — the dentist is in the office, authorizes each procedure, and personally evaluates the work before the patient is dismissed |
| Ohio | Placing amalgam and nonmetallic (including direct-bonded) restorative materials; sealants; topical fluoride and fluoride varnish | Supervising dentist must be physically present, except for sealants and listed preventive services; no more than two EFDAs under one dentist at a time |
| California | Place, contour, finish and adjust all direct restorations; final impressions for permanent indirect restorations; post, core and build-up; size, fit and cement endodontic master points (licensees on or after Jan 1, 2010) | Direct supervision |
| Maine | Place and contour amalgam, composite and other restorative materials; apply sealants and fluoride; place and remove retraction cord; cement orthodontic bands and brackets; polish with a slow-speed rubber cup; contour restorations with a high-speed handpiece; expose radiographs | General supervision |
| Arizona | Place, contour and finish direct restorations; place and cement prefabricated crowns after the dentist prepares the tooth | — |
| Missouri | By category: restorative I, restorative II, removable prosthodontics, fixed prosthodontics, orthodontics | Performed upon delegation from a Missouri-licensed dentist |
| Nebraska | Level I: simple, one-surface restorations; Level II: complex, multi-surface restorations | — |
| Maryland | The certified category's listed intraoral procedures | — |
How to read the blanks
Restorative vs non-restorative states
The sharpest line in the table is restorative work: placing, contouring and finishing the actual restoration after the dentist has prepared the tooth.
Where a rule allows it, the rule names it concretely.
Pennsylvania's EFDAs place and condense amalgam and place and finish composite restorations.
Ohio's expanded function dental auxiliaries place amalgam and nonmetallic (including direct-bonded) restorative materials.
Maine's EFDAs place and contour amalgam, composite and other restorative materials.
California RDAEFs licensed on or after January 1, 2010 place, contour, finish and adjust all direct restorations.
Arizona's expanded functions cover placing, contouring and finishing direct restorations and placing and cementing prefabricated crowns after the dentist prepares the tooth.
Where states tier restorative authority, the tiers are concrete.
Nebraska issues a Level I permit for simple, one-surface restorations and a Level II permit for complex, multi-surface restorations, and Level II requires holding Level I first.
Missouri splits its permits into restorative I, restorative II, removable prosthodontics, fixed prosthodontics and orthodontics — two “expanded functions permit” holders in Missouri can be qualified for entirely different work, so the category matters more than the title.
The non-restorative side has its own sourced list: the duties the Bureau of Labor Statistics names as state-by-state scope additions are coronal polishing, sealants, fluoride and topical anesthetic.
DANB's certification structure mirrors the split — its CPFDA is built from topical fluoride, sealants and coronal polishing exams, while the CRFDA adds temporaries, impressions and restorative functions to sealants.
The limits are just as consistent where the rules state them.
A Maine EFDA may not examine, diagnose or treatment plan, cut hard or soft tissue, prescribe, perform endodontic procedures, place or adjust prosthetic appliances, or administer local anesthesia, sedation or general anesthesia.
Pennsylvania's rule lists its own prohibitions: no examining, diagnosing or treatment planning, no cutting hard or soft tissue, no local anesthesia, sedation or nitrous oxide analgesia, and no final occlusal approvals.
For the underlying question, see can DAs place fillings.
Supervision
The same duty can sit under different supervision rules across a state line.
Check the supervision column before you accept a duty, delegate one, or write the schedule.
Pennsylvania spells direct supervision out in full: every EFDA service requires it, and the rule defines it — the dentist is in the office, personally diagnoses and authorizes the procedure, stays in the office while it is performed, and personally evaluates the EFDA's work before the patient is dismissed.
Ohio likewise requires the supervising dentist to be physically present, with exceptions for sealants and listed preventive services, and no dentist may have more than two EFDAs practicing as EFDAs under them at a time.
California's RDAEF restorative functions run under direct supervision.
Alabama's rule reaches all allied dental personnel — hygienists, assistants and lab technicians: none may perform any intra-oral procedure except under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist.
The other end of the scale is sourced too: Maine's EFDA duty list runs under a dentist's general supervision, and Montana has allowed DANB-certified assistants to perform specific functions under general supervision since 2019.
Two states structure it differently: Missouri ties its permits to delegation from a Missouri-licensed dentist, and New Hampshire caps employment at two EFDAs per practice, regardless of how many dentists the practice has.
Moving states with an EFDA permit
Don't assume the credential travels.
EFDA-style credentials are issued by individual states, and each state sets its own requirements — a Pennsylvania EFDA certification does not automatically make you an Ohio expanded function dental auxiliary, and Kentucky doesn't recognize an EFDA or EDDA title at all.
National certification carries real weight in Connecticut and Montana, but it doesn't finish the job in New Mexico: board expanded function certification there is distinct from DANB certification, and a DANB CDA gives you the initials without qualifying you to perform expanded functions.
Connecticut builds DANB certification plus an EFDA program accredited by CODA into its EFDA definition, and Montana's rule opens specific functions to DANB-certified assistants under general supervision.
Arizona is an example of a state with a written out-of-state path: an assistant with an equivalent credential from another state plus clinical experience can qualify.
Rules also move while you stand still.
Maryland's new EFDA regulations took effect August 31, 2026, creating board-certified general duties and orthodontic EFDA categories; assistants recognized as “qualified in orthodontics” before that date may perform orthodontic EFDA duties only until February 28, 2027 unless they become certified.
If you trained years ago, recheck your state's current rule before assuming it still applies.
For the full path from assistant to EFDA, see how to become an EFDA.
Where EFDA jobs are posted
Search both the acronym and the spelled-out titles — “EFDA,” “expanded function dental assistant,” “expanded function dental auxiliary,” “RDAEF” — plus the exact title your state's rule uses from the table above.
You can browse current dental assistant jobs on DentistryHires.
Pay evidence for the expanded-function layer is thin but real: in DANB's 2026 salary survey, assistants who perform restorative functions reported $28.93 an hour versus $28 for CDAs and $24 versus $23.50 for non-certified assistants — a small, self-reported edge, and not a state-by-state split.
See EFDA pay for the full picture.
If you hire instead of apply, the table above is a screening shortcut: ask which permit category a Missouri or Nebraska candidate holds, and write the supervision level into the schedule before the first shift.
Hiring an EFDA (employers) covers the process end to end.