Lead Dental Assistant

Job Description

Job Description

Position Summary:

Responsible for assisting the Clinical Director in overseeing the daily operations and supervision of the dental and clinical assistants of the Pediatric Department. The Lead Assistant will maintain a chairside assisting schedule.

Clinical Responsibilities :

• Chairside Support and Scheduling: Provide clinical chair-side dental assisting as scheduled, remaining flexible to meet the needs of the department and the practice.
• Patient Flow and Care Quality: Coordinate patient flow to support smooth daily operations and ensure patient care is delivered in a clean, timely, and high-quality environment.
• Clinical Areas and Compliance: Oversee the maintenance of operatory, sterilization, and laboratory areas, and ensure departmental compliance with CDA safety, OSHA, and HIPAA programs in partnership with program coordinators.
• Laboratory Processes: Coordinate laboratory processes, including study model inventory and laboratory account reconciliation.
• Supplies and Equipment: Assist with dental supply inventory responsibilities and coordinate equipment maintenance and repairs as needed.
• Documentation: Assist in maintaining the Dental Assistant Manual as needed.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Supervision and Daily Support: In partnership with the Clinical Director, directly supervise department dental and clinical assistants, with direct support from department dentists and additional support from the Operations Manager.
• Training and Staff Development: Train all new dental and clinical assistants in the department, with planning and logistical support from the Clinical Director, Operations Manager, and HR Specialist.
• Team Resource and Communication: Serve as a primary resource for dental and clinical assisting staff by providing ongoing training, support, and weekly communication of department-specific and practice-wide information, as needed.
• Employee Relations and Reviews: Work collaboratively with Human Resources to manage employee relations matters and support the annual performance review process in coordination with the appropriate doctors.
• Leadership Meetings and Compliance: Meet regularly with the Clinical Director, Human Resources, and Administrative Team to review staffing needs, policy and procedure updates, staff communication tools, best-practice development, and OSHA/HIPAA compliance requirements in coordination with the Compliance Committee and its designees.
• Patient Care Operations: Use department dentists as the regular, direct point of contact for support with daily operational and supervisory responsibilities related to patient care i.e. confidentiality.
• Additional Duties: Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Experience working as a Dental Assistant Lead in pediatrics highly preferred.
• Licensure: Current FTDA or CA Dental Assisting License issued by the Board of Registration in Dentistry, as required by Massachusetts law.
• Certification: Current Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) Certification, or ability to obtain certification within one year of employment.
• Continuing Education: Completion of required annual continuing dental education units.
• CPR Certification: Current Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Certification.
• Immunization: Current Hepatitis vaccination as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Communication Skills - Must be able to demonstrate strong verbal and written communication skills required.
• Strong Customer Service skills - Patience, professionalism, and strong problem-solving capabilities required.

The physical demands described below are representative of those required to successfully perform the essential functions of this position.

• Movement and Stamina: Must be able to meet the physical demands of an active position, including standing for extended periods, walking, stooping, bending, and sitting.
• Dexterity and Coordination: Requires manual dexterity, strong eye-hand coordination, and adequate vision.
• Communication and Reaching: Frequently required to talk, hear, stand for long periods, walk, use hands to finger, handle, or feel, and reach with hands and arms.
• Lifting and Workplace Exposure: Must frequently lift and/or move objects up to 25 pounds. While performing job duties, the employee is regularly exposed to blood, blood-borne pathogens, and/or physical risks, which require OSHA training.