- Permanent Dental Assistant Job
- Elkhart, IN
Job Description
Heart City Health is looking for an Expanded Function Dental Assistant!
Position Summary:
The dental assistant provides quality care and services to patients by assisting dentists and other staff in a variety of patient care, office and laboratory duties.
Affect the efficiency and productivity of patient flow through timely, accurate, and professional preparation of patients and patient information, including taking and processing x-rays.
Primary Accountabilities:
Affect favorable billing and collection outcomes.
Develop favorable relationships with all patients.
Establish favorable working relationships with all staff members associated with clinic operations, including Patient Services Reps (PSR)), dental hygienists, dentists, and related staff.
Essential Functions:
Chair-side Assistance:
Prepares and maintains dental instruments, materials, and equipment.
Collect and record patient health histories (dental and medical) and record information for dentistâs reference prior to examination.
Help patients feel comfortable before, during, and after dental treatment.
Take and process x-rays.
Assist dentist chair-side by organizing and preparing instruments for dentistâs use and assisting as needed during procedures.
Advise patients in oral hygiene and dental care.
Follow through with post-visit duties.
Backup the PSR positions, provide relief and support to PSR functions and perform office duties as requested.
Interact positively with a diverse, sometimes difficult, and demanding patient population. Provide service in a manner that is appropriate for the patientâs age; demonstrate knowledge and skills necessary to meet the patientâs physical, psychosocial, educational, and safety needs.
Demonstrate commitment to the mission of the organization in promoting dental health.
Read, write, and maintain patient records and related administrative documentation.
Utilize the requisite tools, systems, technology, and equipment in the collection of patient data, records management, and collections.
Demonstrate knowledge of dentistry procedures, clinic infection control procedures, cleaning and sterilization of instruments, tray setup and materials.
Other duties as assigned
Expanded Clinical Assistance:
Takes dental radiographs
Assists hygienist as needed (coronal polishing and topical fluoride application if additional training has been completed)
Takes preliminary dental impressions and bite registrations for crowns
Fabricates temporary crowns
Applies pit and fissure sealants
Fits and places temporary crowns
Removes excess cement from fabricated restorations
Places amalgams/composites as requested by dentist
Business Office Assistance:
Schedules appointments and makes confirmation calls as needed using proper telephone etiquette
Pulls and/or files patient charts as needed
Answers phones as needed
Completes no-show letters weekly
Sends emails including radiographs to referral sources weekly
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Excellent communication skills; active listening as well as written and oral comprehension/communication skills; Gives full attention to what individuals are saying, understands the point being made, asks appropriate questions to gain better knowledge of situation(s) and repeats information to ensure understanding.
Excellent customer service skills; actively seeks ways to assist individuals within the scope of assigned duties
Good computer skills; Windows, Word and Excel specifically; Dentrix exposure preferred
Good time management skills; self-evaluates the use of time and understands how others may be affected
Cultural diversity awareness and skills; respects all people regardless of race, nationality or social standing
Ability to work independently (self-motivating) and as part of a team
Ability to multi-task; comfortable in a fast-paced environment
Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers, providers, managers, patients and vendors
Problem sensitivity skills; empathetic/understanding
Deductive reasoning and problem-solving skills
Organized and detail-oriented
Bilingual (English/Spanish) language skills preferred
Education, Experience and Licensure:
Must have an Expanded Functions certification.
Minimum of 1-2 years experience as an expanded duties dental assistant
Must have a current Indiana x-ray license
Must have a current CPR card
N2O2 Certificate
Physical Demands:
May sit and/or stand for long periods of time
Must be able to see and hear in normal range with or without correction device(s)
Dexterity and hand to eye coordination as normally associated with operating office equipment, computers and telephones
Work Environment:
Professional, fast-pace office work environment
May be exposed to bodily fluid and bloodborne pathogens risking infectious disease exposure
