Dental Assistant Job at Heart City Health in Elkhart

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:

1. Affect favorable billing and collection outcomes.
2. Develop favorable relationships with all patients.
3. 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:

1. Prepares and maintains dental instruments, materials, and equipment.
2. Collect and record patient health histories (dental and medical) and record information for dentist's reference prior to examination.
3. Help patients feel comfortable before, during, and after dental treatment.
4. Take and process x-rays.
5. Assist dentist chair-side by organizing and preparing instruments for dentist's use and assisting as needed during procedures.
6. Advise patients in oral hygiene and dental care.
7. Follow through with post-visit duties.
8. Backup the PSR positions, provide relief and support to PSR functions and perform office duties as requested.
9. Interact positively with a diverse, sometimes difficult, and demanding patient population. Provide service in a manner that is appropriate for the patient's age; demonstrate knowledge and skills necessary to meet the patient's physical, psychosocial, educational, and safety needs.
10. Demonstrate commitment to the mission of the organization in promoting dental health.
11. Read, write, and maintain patient records and related administrative documentation.
12. Utilize the requisite tools, systems, technology, and equipment in the collection of patient data, records management, and collections.
13. Demonstrate knowledge of dentistry procedures, clinic infection control procedures, cleaning and sterilization of instruments, tray setup and materials.
14. Other duties as assigned

Expanded Clinical Assistance:

1. Takes dental radiographs
2. Assists hygienist as needed (coronal polishing and topical fluoride application if additional training has been completed)
3. Takes preliminary dental impressions and bite registrations for crowns
4. Fabricates temporary crowns
5. Applies pit and fissure sealants
6. Fits and places temporary crowns
7. Removes excess cement from fabricated restorations
8. Places amalgams/composites as requested by dentist

Business Office Assistance:

1. Schedules appointments and makes confirmation calls as needed using proper telephone etiquette
2. Pulls and/or files patient charts as needed
3. Answers phones as needed
4. Completes no-show letters weekly
5. Sends emails including radiographs to referral sources weekly

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

1. 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.
2. Excellent customer service skills; actively seeks ways to assist individuals within the scope of assigned duties
3. Good computer skills; Windows, Word and Excel specifically; Dentrix exposure preferred
4. Good time management skills; self-evaluates the use of time and understands how others may be affected
5. Cultural diversity awareness and skills; respects all people regardless of race, nationality or social standing
6. Ability to work independently (self-motivating) and as part of a team
7. Ability to multi-task; comfortable in a fast-paced environment
8. Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers, providers, managers, patients and vendors
9. Problem sensitivity skills; empathetic/understanding
10. Deductive reasoning and problem-solving skills
11. Organized and detail-oriented
12. Bilingual (English/Spanish) language skills preferred

Education, Experience and Licensure:

1. Must have an Expanded Functions certification.
2. Minimum of 1-2 years experience as an expanded duties dental assistant
3. Must have a current Indiana x-ray license
4. Must have a current CPR card
5. N2O2 Certificate

Physical Demands:

1. May sit and/or stand for long periods of time
2. Must be able to see and hear in normal range with or without correction device(s)
3. Dexterity and hand to eye coordination as normally associated with operating office equipment, computers and telephones

Work Environment:

1. Professional, fast-pace office work environment
2. May be exposed to bodily fluid and bloodborne pathogens risking infectious disease exposure