Dental Assisting Programs in Kentucky
Kentucky has 2 CODA-accredited dental assisting programs, one in Paducah and one in Paintsville.
Each is listed below with its city, address, website, and current accreditation status, pulled directly from the Commission on Dental Accreditation's own program directory.
This list covers only CODA-accredited programs — what Kentucky itself requires before you can work chairside is a separate question from accreditation, covered in our dental assistant requirements guide.
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At a glance
In Kentucky
Programs
2
With a program
Cities
2
Approval without Reporting Requirements
Fully approved
2 of 2
Every CODA-Accredited Program in Kentucky
Source: CODA program directory, index dated 2026-09-09. Status terms (“Approval without Reporting Requirements,” “Approval with Reporting Requirements,” “Initial Accreditation,” “Discontinued,” etc.) are CODA’s own.
Reading the List
CODA uses a few specific status terms. "Approval (without reporting requirements)" means the program meets or exceeds CODA's basic accreditation standards. "Approval (with reporting requirements)" means CODA found specific deficiencies the program must correct within a set timeframe — it is not a warning to avoid the program, just a compliance step in progress. "Initial Accreditation" applies to a program that hasn't yet graduated its first class.
The last- and next-visit years shown are CODA's own accreditation-visit schedule, not the program's academic calendar.
For admissions, cost, and current status, contact the program directly and check CODA's own directory, which is the definitive, up-to-date source.
Why Accreditation Matters for Your Credential
Whether Kentucky requires formal dental assistant training at all is a matter of state law, which this page doesn't cover — see our Kentucky dental assistant requirements guide for how the state sets that rule.
What CODA accreditation does affect is your national certification path: the DANB Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) credential's General Chairside component requires either graduating a CODA-accredited program or documenting roughly 3,500 hours of on-the-job experience.
If you're still weighing which route to take, see our school vs. on-the-job training comparison, our step-by-step guide to becoming a dental assistant, and our breakdown of what's tested on the DANB CDA exam.
After Graduation in Kentucky
Once you've completed a program — or an on-the-job path, where the state allows it — the next questions are what the job pays and where the openings are.
Our Kentucky dental assistant salary guide covers current pay data for the state, broken out against the national figures, so you can see how Kentucky compares before you negotiate an offer.
From there, our Kentucky dental assistant job listings show open positions you can apply to directly, whether you're finishing up at one of the programs above or coming in through an on-the-job path.
Where Kentucky's Programs Are
Kentucky's two CODA-accredited dental assisting programs sit at community and technical colleges on opposite sides of the state: West Kentucky Community and Technical College in Paducah, in the state's far west, and Big Sandy Community and Technical College in Paintsville, in eastern Kentucky.
That leaves a wide stretch of the state, including Louisville and Lexington, without a CODA-accredited program of its own — worth factoring in if travel or relocation is part of your decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many CODA-accredited dental assisting programs are in Kentucky?
Kentucky has 2 CODA-accredited dental assisting programs, located in Paducah and Paintsville.
Each is listed above with its current CODA accreditation status, address and website.
CODA's own directory is the definitive, up-to-date list — confirm a program's status directly with CODA before applying.
Does an out-of-state CODA-accredited program count in Kentucky?
Yes.
CODA accreditation is a national standard, not a state one, so a program accredited by CODA counts regardless of which state it's located in.
What varies by state is licensure and any credentialing rules the state itself sets — see our Kentucky dental assistant requirements guide for that side of the picture.
What does "Approval without Reporting Requirements" mean?
It's CODA's classification for a program that meets or exceeds its basic accreditation standards at the time of its last review, with no outstanding deficiencies to report.
It is CODA's most straightforward status, distinct from "Approval (with reporting requirements)," which flags specific items a program must still address.
Do I have to attend a CODA-accredited program to work as a dental assistant in Kentucky?
That depends on Kentucky's own rules for the role — see our Kentucky dental assistant requirements guide and our school vs. on-the-job training guide for how the state's options compare.
CODA accreditation is most relevant to the DANB CDA certification's eligibility requirements, not to state law generally.
Is every program on this list accredited?
Every program above is shown with the CODA accreditation status CODA had published for it as of 2026-09-09, the date this directory was last pulled from CODA's own program search. "Approval without Reporting Requirements" is CODA's standard fully-accredited standing; other status terms on this page — such as "Approval with Reporting Requirements," "Initial Accreditation," or "Discontinued" — mean something different, and a status can change after that date.
Confirm a program's current status directly with CODA before applying.
More Kentucky & Dental Assistant Resources
Sourced from the CODA program directory (index dated 2026-09-09). Verified September 2026. Program details change. Confirm accreditation status, admission requirements and costs with the program and with CODA before applying.