Dental Assisting Programs in Minnesota
Minnesota has 14 CODA-accredited dental assisting programs, spread across 14 cities from Bemidji in the north to Rochester in the south.
Each program is listed below with its city, address, website, and current accreditation status, pulled directly from the Commission on Dental Accreditation's own program directory.
CODA accreditation is a national credential, distinct from any training requirement Minnesota itself sets for working as a dental assistant in the state.
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At a glance
In Minnesota
Programs
14
With a program
Cities
14
Approval without Reporting Requirements
Fully approved
13 of 14
Every CODA-Accredited Program in Minnesota
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 Below
The status shown for each program is CODA's own classification. "Approval (without reporting requirements)" means the program meets or exceeds CODA's basic accreditation standards. "Approval (with reporting requirements)" means CODA identified specific deficiencies that the program must document correcting within a set timeframe — it isn't a signal to avoid the program. "Initial Accreditation" applies to a program that hasn't yet enrolled and graduated its first class, which is the status one of Minnesota's programs currently holds.
The accreditation visit years listed are CODA's own review schedule for the program, not a measure of how long the program itself takes to complete.
For admissions, cost, and curriculum details, contact the program directly and confirm current accreditation status with CODA.
CODA Accreditation and the DANB CDA
Graduating from a CODA-accredited program is one of two recognized paths to sitting for the DANB Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) exam's General Chairside component, alongside roughly 3,500 hours of documented on-the-job experience.
Whether Minnesota itself requires formal training, a state credential, or neither to work chairside as a dental assistant is a matter of state law — see our Minnesota dental assistant requirements guide for what the state requires.
For the general tradeoffs between a CODA-accredited program and on-the-job training, see school vs. on-the-job training, our step-by-step guide to becoming a dental assistant, and what's tested on the DANB CDA exam.
After Graduation in Minnesota
A CODA-accredited program is a credentialing step, not a job guarantee.
Program completion generally moves you toward the DANB CDA and any state-specific credential Minnesota requires, but pay and hiring outcomes depend on the employer, the market, and what credentials and expanded functions you bring beyond graduation itself.
Once you've completed a program and met whatever credentialing Minnesota requires, see our Minnesota dental assistant salary guide for what the role pays in the state, broken down by percentile and compared with the national figure.
From there, browse current dental assistant openings in Minnesota to see what practices in the state are actually hiring for right now.
Where Minnesota's Programs Are
Minnesota's programs cluster around the Twin Cities metro area, with programs in Brooklyn Park, Minneapolis, Rosemount, St. Louis Park and White Bear Lake.
The rest are spread across the state: Bemidji and Hibbing in the north, Moorhead on the western border, Brainerd and Cambridge in central Minnesota, and Canby, North Mankato and Rochester in the south.
That spread means most applicants have a program within reasonable driving distance rather than needing to relocate to the Twin Cities.
Contact a program directly to confirm its service area, campus location, and whether it accepts applicants from outside its home district.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many CODA-accredited dental assisting programs are in Minnesota?
Minnesota has 14 CODA-accredited dental assisting programs, located in 14 cities across the state: Bemidji, Brainerd, Brooklyn Park, Cambridge, Canby, Hibbing, Minneapolis, Moorhead, North Mankato, Rochester, Rosemount, Saint Cloud, St. Louis Park and White Bear Lake.
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 a program have to be in Minnesota to count toward working there?
No. CODA accreditation is a national standard, not a state-specific one, so a CODA-accredited program from any state satisfies the "CODA-accredited" portion of a credential regardless of where you attend.
What Minnesota itself requires to work as a dental assistant in the state — including whether formal training is mandatory at all — is a separate question; see our Minnesota dental assistant requirements page for that.
What does "Initial Accreditation" mean for one of Minnesota's programs?
It's CODA's classification for a program that isn't yet fully operational — meaning it hasn't yet enrolled and graduated at least one class of students.
It isn't a lesser or provisional form of accreditation in the sense of being at risk; it simply reflects where a newer program sits in CODA's review cycle.
Confirm a program's current status directly with CODA before applying.
How do I check a program's current accreditation status?
CODA's own program directory at coda.ada.org is the authoritative, continuously updated source — the status shown on this page reflects a point-in-time snapshot.
Before applying or enrolling, confirm the program's current status directly with CODA or with the program itself.
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 Minnesota & 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.