Online Instruction
Weekly modules, demonstrations, knowledge checks, live virtual instruction, and Saturday prerequisites organized inside the SMV student platform.
SMV Flex Academy™
Launch a Dental Assistant Academy With Only Five Clinical Saturdays.
A streamlined, online-first dental assisting curriculum built for practices that want a local training and hiring pipeline—without committing to a traditional ten-weekend lab schedule.
Online learning during the week
Five all-day clinical labs
Separate supervised externship
Proposed curriculum framework shown for planning purposes. Final hours, sequencing, permitted duties, instructor qualifications, tuition disclosures, externship structure, and approval or exemption pathway must be configured for the operating state before enrollment begins.
SMV
Flex Academy
Week 3 • Saturday 2 Prerequisite
Chairside Flow & Four-Handed Dentistry
Clinical Demonstration
Anticipation, transfer and HVE sequence
01 • Learn
Complete the online prerequisite.
02 • Practice
Attend the clinical Saturday lab.
03 • Validate
Complete the performance check.
04 • Apply
Transfer skills into externship.
Practice Commitment
5 Days Five scheduled Saturdays per cohort.Complete Training Sequence
170 Hours Online instruction, clinical labs, CPR, and supervised externship. 5
Clinical Saturdays
85
Online Hours
40
Externship Hours
100%
Tuition Kept by School
One Cohort • Five Clinical Days
A Real Academy Model That Does Not Take Over the Practice.
1
Clinical Foundations
2
Chairside Flow
3
Restorative Support
4
Imaging & Digital
5
Performance Day
The dentist does not have to teach every session.
A qualified lead assistant or approved instructor may deliver the labs where permitted.
5×
The Lower-Commitment Academy Path
Built for Dentists Who Like the Opportunity—But Not Ten Weekends of Teaching.
Flex Academy moves knowledge acquisition online, reserves practice time for high-value clinical application, and uses a separate externship to reinforce entry-level workflow in a working dental environment.
- Students arrive at each Saturday lab after completing required online prerequisites.
- Every clinical day follows a complete SMV instructor agenda, station plan, checklist, and assessment sequence.
- The final Saturday includes an externship-readiness performance gate—not merely course attendance.
- The practice creates a local student pipeline while keeping its weekday schedule intact.
Program Architecture
One Concise Program. Four Coordinated Components.
The structure is intentionally compact, but it is not online-only. Students progress from theory to guided practice, validation, and supervised workplace application.
Clinical Laboratories
Hands-on practice inside the dental office with procedure stations, instructor demonstrations, guided repetition, and competency skill checks.
Grading
Students demonstrate an integrated entry-level workflow. Outcomes are recorded as a grade (A-F).
Dental Practice Externship
A separate workplace experience using a site agreement, competency log, supervisor evaluation, and state-appropriate scope controls.
Proposed Program Total: 170 Hours
85 online + 40 clinical laboratory + 40 externship + 5 CPR
How Students Progress
The Weekday-to-Workplace Training Sequence.
The model works because each component has a defined job. Online learning prepares the student. Saturday labs build the movement. The readiness gate checks performance. Externship tests transfer.
Learn Online
Complete assigned theory, demonstrations, and knowledge checks before laboratory attendance.
Practice Saturday
Apply the week’s concepts through demonstrations, stations, coaching, and deliberate repetition.
Correct Errors
Work through competency checklists and receive immediate instructor correction and remediation.
Pass the Competency
Demonstrate integrated readiness under reduced prompting before entering externship.
Apply at Work
Complete supervised externship hours with competency tracking and employer feedback.
The Five Clinical Saturdays
Five Full Days. Each One Has a Clear Clinical Job.
Select a Saturday below to see the proposed focus, skill stations, and performance outcome.
Saturday 1 • Eight-Hour Clinical Laboratory
Clinical Foundations & Practice Readiness
Students learn how a dental operatory should be prepared, protected, organized, and reset. The day establishes the non-negotiable habits that every later procedure depends on.
Instrument identification and safe handling
Operatory setup and procedure tray readiness
Sterilization flow and surface disinfection
Patient positioning and basic ergonomic setup
Personal protective equipment and barriers
Timed room turnover fundamentals
Saturday outcome: a safe, organized operatory
Students demonstrate basic setup and turnover steps using the assigned checklist.
Pass / Not Yet
Online Curriculum
Online Theory That Prepares Students to Use Practice Time Well.
Flex Academy does not use Saturdays for long lectures. Students complete foundational instruction, demonstrations, checks, and assignments online before entering the clinical lab.
Mobile-Friendly Lessons
Procedure Demonstrations
Knowledge Checks
Saturday Prerequisites
Live Virtual Support
- Weekly release sequence keeps online learning aligned to the next laboratory day.
- Students must complete designated prerequisites before participating in higher-risk practice stations.
- Instructors receive progress visibility so Saturday time can focus on the learners who need the most support.
Proposed Online Learning Path
85 Hours
01
Dental Career Orientation
Roles, professionalism, patient journey and expectations
Week 1
02
Dental Sciences & Terminology
Oral anatomy, tooth numbering, surfaces and common procedures
Week 1
03
Infection Prevention & Safety
Standard precautions, sterilization flow, barriers and exposure awareness
Weeks 1–2
04
Chairside Assisting Fundamentals
Four-handed dentistry, transfer zones, HVE, isolation and anticipation
Weeks 2–3
05
Restorative & Materials Support
Procedure sequencing, materials timing, matrices and common defects
Weeks 3–4
06
Radiography & Digital Workflow
Image fundamentals, positioning logic, evaluation and scanning workflow
Weeks 4–5
07
Patient Communication & Documentation
Handoffs, professionalism, chart support and information boundaries
Week 5
08
Externship & Employment Readiness
Workplace conduct, competency tracking, interviewing and career launch
Weeks 5–6
A Separate Supervised Experience
The Externship Begins After Foundational Training—not in Place of It.
After completing the online curriculum, five laboratory days, and the readiness gate, students move into a supervised dental-practice experience designed to reinforce appropriate entry-level competencies.
The five Saturday sessions are presented as clinical laboratory instruction. Externship is a separate component. Externship duties, supervision, site requirements, student status, and allowable clinical participation must follow applicable state rules and the approved or exempt program structure.
Externship Site Agreement
Defines supervision, scheduling, student status, required records, responsibilities, and the approved training relationship.
Competency & Hour Log
Tracks attendance, supervised exposure, appropriate tasks, observations, and completion of required workplace experiences.
Employer Evaluation
Documents reliability, professional conduct, communication, learning transfer, workflow awareness, and areas requiring continued development.
Graduate Outcomes
What a Flex Academy Student Is Prepared to Demonstrate.
Flex is an entry-level foundation program. It is designed to produce a more prepared beginner—not to imply mastery of every expanded function or state-specific credential.
Prepare the Room
Organize basic procedure setups, instruments, barriers, supplies, and patient positioning.
Control Infection Risk
Follow foundational sterilization, disinfection, PPE, barrier, and turnover workflows.
Support Chairside Flow
Apply entry-level four-handed dentistry, transfer, HVE, isolation, and anticipation concepts.
Recognize Common Errors
Identify frequent setup, moisture, sequencing, materials, and turnover failures.
Support Imaging Workflow
Understand positioning, image acceptability, retake logic, and infection control within state scope.
Handle Materials Support
Prepare common materials and understand timing, sequence, and contamination risks.
Communicate Professionally
Use appropriate handoffs, patient-facing language, documentation support, and team communication.
Enter Externship Prepared
Demonstrate foundational readiness under an observation-based Pass / Not Yet gate.
The Practice-Owner Model
SMV Builds the System. Your Practice Provides the Local Clinical Home.
The purpose of Flex is not to make a dentist become a full-time curriculum developer, LMS administrator, or school operator from scratch.
The Academy Infrastructure
- Online student curriculum and Thinkific learning path
- Instructor platform and five complete Saturday teaching plans
- Demonstrations, station cards, skill checklists, and assessments
- Student handbook, enrollment-document, and catalog framework
- State pathway review and plan-specific compliance support
- Externship agreements, logs, evaluations, and readiness gate
- Marketing assets, admissions workflow, orientation, and launch guidance
The Local Delivery Environment
- A qualifying dental practice and approved program location
- Five scheduled Saturday clinical laboratory days per cohort
- A qualified dentist, lead assistant, or approved instructor
- Clinical equipment, instruments, supplies, and laboratory setup
- Local externship relationships or an approved host-practice network
- Student supervision, attendance enforcement, and quality accountability
- Compliance with the final state-specific operating structure
No royalties • No tuition share • No per-student SMV curriculum fee
Why the Model Can Sell
A Lower Practice Commitment Can Open a Larger Owner Market.
Flex gives hesitant practice owners a simpler entry point: a condensed clinical calendar, a separate externship, and a curriculum that already tells the instructor what to teach, demonstrate, observe, and document.
- Marketable to working adults who need online weekday flexibility.
- Easier for practices to schedule than a ten-Saturday program.
- Creates both tuition revenue and a local recruiting pipeline.
- Can become a bridge into the full Clinical Ready™ academy as the owner grows.
Illustrative Cohort Example
Top-Line Tuition
Students
10
×
Tuition
$3,995
=
Gross Tuition
$39,950
Practice keeps tuition
Five lab days per cohort
No tuition share
Illustration only—not a projection, promise, or representation of net income. Tuition and enrollment must be supported by applicable approvals, disclosures, refund rules, market conditions, instructor cost, marketing, supplies, insurance, student kits, payment processing, and other operating expenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Questions a Dentist Will Ask Before Choosing Flex.
Flex is designed to reduce delivery burden without making unsupported claims about licensure, certification, student outcomes, or clinical scope.
Five Saturdays can support a focused entry-level foundation when students also complete structured online prerequisites, live instruction, CPR, performance checks, and a supervised externship. Flex is not positioned as equivalent to the deeper 246-hour Clinical Ready™ program.
Not necessarily. Depending on state requirements and the approved program structure, a qualified lead dental assistant or other approved instructor may teach the clinical laboratories using SMV’s instructor system. The dentist remains responsible for the practice relationship and applicable oversight.
This proposed model treats the five Saturdays as instructor-led clinical laboratory education. The externship is a separate supervised workplace component completed after foundational instruction and the readiness gate.
Online delivery alone should not be assumed to create an exemption. SMV would review the complete state pathway, including the online curriculum, physical clinical location, tuition, certificate, instructor qualifications, advertising, externship, and intended occupational outcome. Approval or exemption is never guaranteed.
Yes, subject to SMV approval, state requirements, subscription terms, and implementation capacity. Flex can function as a lower-commitment launch path before the owner expands into the deeper ten-Saturday Clinical Ready™ model.
No. SMV provides the curriculum system and the support defined by the selected subscription pathway. Regulatory decisions, enrollment, financial performance, student completion, certification eligibility, and employment outcomes depend on factors outside SMV’s control.
A Simpler Academy Entry Point
Five Saturdays Can Become a Local Training, Revenue, and Hiring Pipeline.
Use the subscription intake to identify your state, practice structure, preferred curriculum path, and proposed launch timeline. No payment is collected through the form.