Dental Assistant

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

• 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.
• Absorb and manage 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.
• Teach patient’s appropriate oral hygiene strategies to maintain oral health.
• Dismiss patients with proper handoffs to other departments.
• Sterilize or disinfect instruments, and operatories.
• May be designated as the Clinical Inventory Administrator. 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 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.