Dental Assistant: Patient Care & X-Ray Specialist

Position Summary

Dental assistants greatly increase the efficiency of the dentist in the delivery of quality oral health care and are valuable members of the dental care team. Dental Assistants help to provide direct patient care in all dental specialties, including orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics and oral surgery. They will assist Dentist, set up and maintenance of equipment, prepare patient for treatment from beginning to end of patient appointment.

Essential Functions

To accomplish this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation, each essential function satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to help enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Prepare patient for dental procedure by helping patients feel comfortable before, during and after dental treatment.

• Maintains proper and efficient patient flow management.

• Set up instrument trays, prepare materials, and/or assist Dentist during dental procedures.

• Take and expose dental diagnostic x-rays.

• Responsible for x-ray sensor care and guidelines.

• Take and record medical and dental histories and vital signs of patients.

• Chart existing and proposed treatment in Patient Management Software

• Assist Dentist in management of medical or dental procedures

• Provide preoperative explanations and postoperative instructions prescribed by Dentist.

• Record treatment information in patient records. Fabricate temporary restorations or custom impressions from preliminary impressions.

• Make preliminary impressions for study casts and occlusal registrations for mounting study casts.

• Pour, trim, and polish study casts and prepare whitening trays.

• Clean and polish removable appliances

• Apply protective coating of fluoride to teeth.

• Teaching patient’s appropriate oral hygiene strategies to maintain oral health.

• Dismiss patients with proper hand offs to other department

• Sterilize or disinfect instruments, and operatories

• May be designated as the Clinical Inventory Administrator. This duty is required to conduct dental supply inventory, order supplies and track budgets for inventory in the dental office.

• May be designated as the Compliance and Safety Officer. Conducts and mails spore testing for each autoclave, Maintains Clinical Guide Binder, Maintain First Aid kits, Maintain SDS binder and Conducts operatory inspections at the end of each day. Responsible for training interns on safety policies and procedures. Collects and maintains all team checklists. Maintains broken instruments for their team and replaces/recycles them when necessary.

• Complies with: Dental Depot policies and procedures; OSHA policies, procedures, rules, and regulations; and HIPAA policies, procedures, rules, and regulations.

• Position may be required to relocate to other Dental Depot clinics either permanently or on a short term basis due to office needs, on an as needed basis at the discretion of Management.

• This position may complete other Administrative and Maintenance tasks as assigned by Management.

• Maintain regular and reliable attendance

Skills & Abilities

Education:

Completion of Dental Assisting Program or minimum one year experience as a Dental Assistant.

Experience:

Completion of Dental Assisting Program or minimum one year experience as a Dental Assistant.

Certifications & Licenses:

Current Dental Assisting Permit Required. Current CPR Certification Required. X-Ray Certification is required to serve chairside.

Computer Skills:

Efficiently operates assigned computer software and other equipment, including Eaglesoft and Microsoft Office Suite.

Other Requirements:

Must have a valid driver's license, proof of valid vehicle insurance and must have annual Motor Vehicle Record Check, as a condition of employment if employee operates any Company owned vehicles or drives their own personal vehicle for Company business purposes.

Understands HIPAA to ensure patient privacy. Clear understanding of sterilization system and infection control. Always use protective personal equipment according to State of Oklahoma and Federal guidelines. Knowledgeable of CDT codes and passed the Dental Depot CDT test within 20 days of employment. Working knowledge of the following procedures: Amalgam and composite fillings, extractions, start and finish root canal, crown prep, impression and temporary crown fabrication, alginate and System 1 and 2 impressions, adjusting and crown delivery, pulpotomy and stainless steel crown, prophylaxis, wax try in, adjusting and delivery flexible and cast metal partials, adjusting and delivering dentures.

Must have signed the Hepatitis B Vaccination Form declining or accepting the vaccination within 30 days of Employment.

Position Qualifications

• Accountability - Ability to accept responsibility and account for his/her actions.

• Adaptability - Ability to adapt to change in the workplace.

• Organized - Possessing the trait of being organized or following a systematic method of performing a task.

• Customer Oriented - Ability to take care of the customers’ needs while following company procedures.

• Working Under Pressure - Ability to complete assigned tasks under stressful situations.

• Ethical - Ability to demonstrate conduct conforming to a set of values and accepted standards.

• Technical Aptitude - Ability to comprehend complex technical topics and specialized information.

• Detail Oriented - Ability to pay attention to the minute details of a project or task.

• Safety Awareness - Ability to identify and correct conditions that affect employee safety.

• Accuracy - Ability to perform work accurately and thoroughly.

• Enthusiastic - Ability to bring energy to the performance of a task.

• Friendly - Ability to exhibit a cheerful demeanor toward others.

• Self-Motivated - Ability to be internally inspired to perform a task to the best of one’s ability using his or her own drive or initiative.

• Time Management - Ability to utilize the available time to organize and complete work within given deadlines.

• Active Listening - Ability to actively attend to, convey, and understand the comments and questions of others.

• Communication, Oral - Ability to communicate effectively with others using the spoken word.

• Initiative - Ability to make decisions or take actions to solve a problem or reach a goal.

• Motivation - Ability to inspire oneself and others to reach a goal and/or perform to the best of their ability.

• Honesty / Integrity - Ability to be truthful and be seen as credible in the workplace.

• Energetic - Ability to work at a sustained pace and produce quality work.