Job Summary
Dental assistants work under the supervision of dentists and are responsible for a wide range of tasks in the dental office, ranging from patient care to administrative duties to laboratory functions. The dental assistant position is flexible and varied in the dental office and requires a diverse set of skills: clinical, clerical, interpersonal, and technological.
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Essential Functions
- Chair-side Assisting: Assists the dentist in providing dental treatment
- Prepare and maintain dental instruments, supplies and equipment
- Collect and record patient health histories
- Take and record patient vital signs
- Patient management during dental procedures
- Instrument transfer
- Dental procedure isolation techniques
- Preparation of dental materials, cements, amalgam, composite, impression materials, etc.
- Dental charting
- Prevention and management of dental medical emergencies
- Inventory control and management
- Taking dental x-rays
- ing topical fluoride treatments
- Placing topical medications
- Dental Infection Control Procedures
- Managing the dental office infection control plan
- to meet OSHA, CDC and ADA
- standards
- Instrument cleaning, sterilization/disinfection, and re-circulation
- Dental treatment room disinfection
- Dental Laboratory Procedures
- Pouring impressions to make stone and plaster models
- Model trimming
- Fabricating mouth guards, bleaching trays, fluoride trays, and custom impression trays.
- Patient and Community Education
- Delivering patient personal oral care instructions
- Explaining the treatment plan that the dentist has decided upon
- Delivering community dental health presentations
- Planning and setting-up health fair booths
- Assisting with Front Office Duties
- Scheduling and confirming appointments
- Handling patient reception
- Managing patient records
- Managing business records
- Following accounting/bookkeeping procedures
- Processing patient insurance
- Preparing written business communications
- Handling marketing for the dental department
Assisting patients with filling out forms and other services they may needInterpreting for patients, providers, and staff as neededMaintaining full and productive schedules for dental providers
- Traveling to other locations as needed
Participating in meetings and training sessionsWorking collaboratively with other departments Use of Electronic Health Records to deliver care.
Non-Essential Functions
- As directed by the Dental Director, performs other related and/or necessary tasks to achieve organizational and programmatic goals and objectives
Professional Requirements
- Adhere to dress code, appearance is neat and clean.
- Maintain current license, DEA registration and BLS certification.
- Maintain patient confidentiality at all times.
- Report to work on time and as scheduled.
- Maintain regulatory requirements, including all state, federal and local regulations.
- Represent the organization in a positive and professional manner at all times.
- Comply with all organizational policies and standards regarding ethical business practices.
- Communicate the mission, ethics and goals of the organization.
- Participate in performance improvement and continuous quality improvement activities.
Qualifications
- Successful completion of a dental assistant program plus one year of experience. Successful completion of a radiation safety course and CPR certification required.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Requires a comprehensive knowledge in dental assisting.
- To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.
- Knowledge of the principles and practice of modern dentistry as related to public health organizations and community health programs.
- Excellent people skills, with an ability to partner with a dynamic leadership team.
- Possess personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and commitment to corporate mission.
- Flexible and able to multitask; can work within an ambiguous, fast-moving environment, while also driving toward clarity and solutions; demonstrated resourcefulness in setting priorities.
- Must be able to read, write English and Spanish.
- Must have the capability to perform basic mathematical skills.
- Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
- Verbal - Must be understood and be able to articulate in interactions with patients, staff andother medical providers. Must be able to convey spoken instructions accurately andquickly.
Auditory - Must be able to hear in interactions withpatients, patients' families, staff and other medical providers. Must be able to hear telephone, equipment, and alarms.Visual - Must be able to see with clarity at a distance of 20 inches to see patient documents, office documents and computer. Must have the ability to focus, judge distances and good peripheral vision. Must be able to see with clarity at a distance of 20 feet to aid patients to exam room if needed. Must have the ability to focus, judge distances and good peripheral vision.
Travel
- Occasionally will be travelling to other clinic sites to work or attend meetings (Occasionally: 1-33%)
Physical Requirements and Environmental Conditions
- Exposure to blood and body fluids, communicable diseases, chemicals, radiation, and repetitive motions
- Pushing and pulling objects up to 25 lbs.
- Frequent wrist, hand and finger dexterity to perform fine motor function without tremor.
- Full range of body motion including twisting body, pushing, pulling
- Position requires light to moderate work with 25 lb., and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 lb.
- Moderate to high noise level exists
- While performing the duties of this job, the position requires reaching, bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching and handling objects with hands and/or fingers, talking and/or hearing, and seeing.
- For Outside Screenings and/or Health Fairs - Rare exposure to outside conditions such as rain, heat, extreme heat, cold, or humidity will occur if performing duties outside of the building.
Preventative, Educational, Surveillance Programs in Use:
- Policy and procedure manual including Infection control, body substance isolation.
- TB Surveillance program
- Hepatitis B, ATD and flu vaccine program
- Annual body mechanics review
- Fire policy; annual fire extinguisher practice, and fire drills.
- Annual OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens training
- Annual electrical safety review
- Personal radiation monitoring program.
Special Requirements
- Must be willing to work on occasional Saturdays from (9am – 3pm)
Working Conditions
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently exposed to fumes or airborne particles.
- The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
- Non-Ionizing Radiation (microwaves, sun)
- Hazardous Exposure (chemical [E.G. Latex] and infectious)
- Ionizing Radiation (X-ray, Radioactive Isotopes)
