Looking for a job description for a dental office administrator? We’ve got you covered. 

From customer service, to phone reception to insurance claims, we’ll help you write a solid description that truly covers everything a dental front office administrator is responsible for.

But first, let’s talk about what a dental office administrator is…

What is a Dental Office Administrator?

Dental office administrators manage the front office of a dental office. They are responsible for managing any dental front desk assistants, and making sure the front office runs smoothly.

The dental office administrator role is different from the operations manager. But there is some overlap and the administrator is likely to report to the operations manager. 

Dental office administrators may go by other names, such as coordinator, front office manager, front office administrator, or front admin. 

Now that you know what a dental office administrator is, let’s talk about their education and experience…

Education

Most dental offices require at least a high school diploma for a dental office administrator position. However, most like to see some sort of training or education in business, business administration, bookkeeping, or secretarial skills.

Experience

A dental office administrator should have 3-5 years of experience as a front office administrator or manager in the dental industry.

Skills and Qualifications

There are a few skills every good candidate should have if they’re applying for a role as a front office administrator at a dental office. Here are a few:

• Friendly
• Great personality 
• Enjoys working with people
• Upbeat positive attitude
• Dependable
• Self-starter
• Problem-solver
• Detail-oriented
• Critical-thinker
• Team player
• Organized 
• Flexible
• Strong integrity 
• Strong writing skills
• Excellent verbal communication skills

In addition, an administrator of a dental front office needs a good understanding of dental office operations flow.

What Does a Dental Office Administrator Do?

Here are a few of the primary elements of a dental front office administrator which may be included in a job description.

Customer Service. Keeping patients happy is the number one task of a dental office administrator. An office administrator greets patients in person and on the phone…

Telephone Reception. The front office administrator is often responsible for answering the phones, answering new patient questions, and…

Scheduling. Dental front office administrators help schedule patients (usually using Dentrix, EagleSoft, or others). You may also need to work with unscheduled treatment reports and follow up patients who have missed their appointments.

Patient Account Management. A dental office administrator is responsible for managing patient accounts, including billing, financial arrangements, and sometimes…collections.

Insurance Claims. Dental front office administrators handle the insurance claim process including billing and coding.

Filing. Every front office has a patient records process and if it’s not on a computerized system, expect to deal with some filing and maintenance of office records.

Email. Lots of patients email in about their appointments, and part of the administrator's job may be to manage and respond to those emails.

Opening/Closing. The front office administrator is usually the first person to arrive at the office to open up and the last to leave to lock things up.

Team Building. An office administrator may coordinate team huddles, meetings, and training.

Maintain Office Supplies. An office administrator may be involved with keeping the front office stocked with office supplies and placing orders when supplies run low.

Dental Office Administrator Salary

You may be wondering how much a dental front office administrator makes…

According to Salary.com, dental office administrators make between $56,318 and $71,895. In the jobs we viewed, most administrator positions paid somewhere between $25 to $35 per hour.

---