Dental Assistant

Title: Dental Assistant-  Must live in Los Angeles CountyEducation Level: High school diploma or equivalent; graduate of accredited dental assisting program or dental assisting experience preferred.

Description:
Dental Assistants are responsible for assisting the dentist in the clinical treatment of patients. This includes preparing patients, sterilizing and disinfecting instruments, setting instrument trays, preparing materials, and assisting dentists during dental procedures. The position must expose dental X-rays, record treatment information in patient records, and provide post-operative instructions as prescribed by dentists. The position must assist dentists in the management of medical and dental emergencies. Dental assistants must pour, trim, and polish study casts, and instruct patients in oral hygiene and plaque control programs.

Qualifications:

• Possess knowledge of dental terminology. Understand and comply with policies and procedures associated with a dental practice. 
• Understand and comply with HIPAA.
• Understand and comply with the HITECH Act of 2009.
• Complete coursework in dental instruments and procedures.
•  Maintain compliance with state dental practice requirements (i.e., X-ray requirements, OSHA training). 
• Possess computer skills (list computer skills required and any specific dental software). 
• Maintain a commitment to CE for career development. 
• Possess good interpersonal skills to maintain effective rapport with patients, dentists, other staff members, and the community. 
• Use effective verbal skills to communicate with patients and staff. 
• Possess knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventative healthcare measures.

Essential Functions:

• Understand and use written information that may be presented in a variety of formats, such as text, tables, lists, figures, and diagrams; select reading strategies appropriate to the purpose, such as skimming for highlights, reading for detail, reading for meaning, and critical analysis. 
• Express ideas and information in a written form clearly, succinctly, accurately, and in an organized manner; use English language conventions of spelling, punctuation, grammar, and sentence and paragraph structure; tailor the written communication to the intended purpose and audience.
• Understand, interpret, and manipulate numeric or symbolic information; solve problems by selecting and applying appropriate quantitative methods such as arithmetic, quantitative reasoning, estimation, measurement, probability, statistics, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry.
• Organize and structure work for effective performance and goal attainment; set and balance priorities; anticipate obstacles; formulate plans consistent with available human, financial, and physical resources; modify plans or adjust priorities given changing goals and conditions.
• Maintain a positive attitude about the practice while demonstrating a positive attitude towards the patients and staff. 
• Conduct pre-employment interviews by interacting with others in ways that are friendly, courteous, and tactful, and that demonstrate respect for individuals and cultural differences and for the attitudes and feelings of others. 
• Change one's own behavior or work methods to adjust to other people or to changing situations or work demands; be receptive to new information, ideas, or strategies, to achieve goals. 
• Work cooperatively and collaboratively with others to achieve goals by sharing or integrating ideas, knowledge, skills, information, support, resources, responsibilities, and recognition.
• Build consensus among individuals or groups by resolving conflicts, confrontations, and disagreements while maintaining productive working relationships. 
• Identify own work and career interests, strengths, and limitations, pursue education, training, feedback, or other opportunities for learning and development; manage, direct, and monitor one's own learning and development. 
• Attend to, receive, and correctly interpret verbal communication and directions through cues such as the content and context of the message and the tone, gestures, and facial expressions of the speaker. 
• Select, access, and use necessary information, data, and communications-related technologies to accomplish work activities; such technologies may include basic personal computer applications, telecommunications equipment, the internet, electronic calculators, voice mail, email, facsimile machines, and copying equipment.
• Resolve any issues that may arise by obtaining facts and gathering information or data relevant to an issue at hand; advise management on any particular problems, questions, or issues through observation of events or situations, discussion with others, research, or retrieval of information from written or electronic sources; organize, integrate, analyze, and evaluate information as requested by managers to determine possible resolutions.
• Anticipate or identify problems and their causes; develop and analyze potential solutions or improvements using rational and logical processes or innovative and creative approaches when needed. 
• Make decisions that consider relevant facts and information, potential risks, benefits, consequences, and alternatives.

Physical Requirements:

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be regularly required to sit for long periods of time. 
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. 
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. (When required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.)

Duties:
Patient Management:

• Greet patients when they sign in and monitor arrival time.
• Set up treatment rooms for procedures.
• Escort patients to treatment rooms.
• Seat patients in treatment rooms.
• Show care and concern, and help patients feel comfortable.
• Obtain and review health histories according to office protocol.
• Ensure patients are always attended to.
• Anticipate and assist dentist’s needs.
• Perform expanded functions and other tasks as assigned by the dentist.
• Mix dental materials.
• Ensure patients’ questions are answered thoroughly before they leave. 
• Chart patients and record the date, service rendered, and any charges.
• Escort patients from the treatment room.
• Ensure proper treatment notes are recorded in the patient’s chart.
• Perform clinical procedures as the practice act allows and as directed by the dentist. 
• Give patient instructions and demonstrate when necessary. 
• Monitor patient flow. 
• Notify the Treatment Coordinator if a patient should be called in the evening after a difficult appointment.

Treatment Room Management and Sterilization:

• Keep dental units ready, stocked, and clean. 
• Oversee cleanliness of the treatment room according to sterilization procedures. 
• Disinfect treatment rooms according to OSHA regulations. 
• Sterilize all instruments and handpieces according to OSHA regulations. Keep trays, instruments, and treatment room drawers organized. 
• Ensure that the office sterilization procedures document is on display. 
• Promptly send out and monitor all dental laboratory cases. 
• Implement the preventative maintenance/cleaning schedule for dental equipment. 
• Maintain dental office emergency kits and nitrous and oxygen tanks. 
• Follow laboratory procedures according to office protocol.

Records Management:

• Securely store and handle patient records in compliance with state and federal requirements, including the HIPAA privacy act and security regulations.
• Accurately file patient information.
• Arrange patient charts and radiographs for the next day’s appointments.
• Track cases and referrals to and from other doctors
• .Assist in the administration of the recall system.

Inventory Management: Monitor inventory and order dental office supplies as needed. Ensure that treatment rooms are stocked at all times.

Office Participation:

• Help in other areas of the office when necessary (i.e., answering phones, unpacking supplies, completing insurance forms, moving former patient records, etc.)
• Be an active participant in team meetings.
• Promote team concept by interacting with others in the office.

Under the General Supervision of a Dentist: 

• Based on the instruction given by a licensed dentist, but not requiring the physical presence of the supervising dentist during the performance of those procedures. 
• Extra-oral duties or procedures are specified by the supervising licensed dentist provided that these duties or procedures meet the definition of a basic supportive procedure.
• Operate dental radiography equipment for the purpose of oral radiography if the dental assistant has completed an approved radiation safety course or passed a radiation safety exam.
• Perform intraoral and extraoral photography.

Direct Supervision of a Dentist:

• Supervise dental procedures based on instructions given by a licensed dentist who must be physically present in the treatment facility during the performance of those procedures. 
• Apply nonaerosol and noncaustic topical agents.
• Apply topical fluoride.
• Take intraoral impressions for all non-prosthodontic appliances.
• Take facebow transfers and bite registrations.
• Place and remove rubber dams or other isolation devices. 
• Place, wedge, and remove matrices for restorative procedures. 
• Remove post-extraction dressings after inspection of the surgical site by the supervising licensed dentist.
• Cure restorative or orthodontic materials in the operative site with a light-curing device. 
• After adjustment by the dentist, examine and seat removable orthodontic appliances and deliver care instructions to the patient. 
• Remove periodontal dressings. 
• Remove sutures after inspection of the site by the dentist. 
• Place patient monitoring sensors. 
• Monitor patient sedation, limited to reading and transmitting information from the monitor display during the intraoperative phase of surgery for electrocardiogram waveform, carbon dioxide and end-tidal carbon dioxide concentrations, respiratory cycle data, continuous noninvasive blood pressure data, or pulse arterial oxygen saturation measurements, for the purpose of interpretation and evaluation by a supervising licensed dentist who shall be at the patient's chairside during this procedure. 
• Assist in the administration of nitrous oxide when used for analgesia or sedation. 
• A dental assistant shall not start the administration of the gases and shall not adjust the flow of the gases unless instructed to do so by the supervising licensed dentist who shall be present at the patient's chairside during the implementation of these instructions.

About Allaire Dental Care:

Sit back. Relax. You’re in good hands. Dr. Martin Allaire is a graduate of Northwestern University Dental School in Chicago and a former faculty member of the University of the Pacific Dental School in San Francisco. Licensed in 1998, he practiced first in San Francisco and then Brentwood before establishing Allaire Dental Care in 2012. Actively involved in the California Dental Association and also a member of American Dental Association and L.A. Dental Society, Dr. Allaire volunteers for Give Kids a Smile, which provides free dental care and education for underserved children. I love teaching. While my emphasis has always been on cosmetic and advanced restorative dentistry (with advanced training in Invisalign and Laser dentistry), my true focus is holistic care and the practice of educating and elevating my patients. Oral hygiene can affect your entire body’s health. So I treat you, my patient, as an individual: listening to your needs, providing a thorough evaluation and helping you understand the nature of your condition, so you can make educated decisions that work for you.

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