Dental Assistant I

Job Type Full-timeDescriptionI. Position Function SummaryUnder the direction of the Dental Assistant Supervisor, the Dental Assistant I provides clinical support to the dentist and dental hygienist with usual and customary dental procedures and patient education, assuring patient safety and comfort.II. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Receives patients and prepares them for dental procedures, both physically and emotionally; interviews and conducts preliminary assessment and triage of patients to determine reasons for visit, obtains dental health history and checks appropriate vitals, records data on clients EMR chart;Assists dentists in usual and customary procedures, including four (4) handed dentistry; providing dentists with all instruments and general materials used for procedures; Exposes, processes, and mounts X-rays both digitally and manually;Under the direction of a dentist, takes and makes dental impressions;Prepares cases for lab including filling out lab slip and coordination with lab for pick up/delivery;Prepares instruments for sterilization and storage in trays; cleans and prepares equipment and examination rooms for patients and cleans rooms after each encounter and as needed; sterilizes, cleans, wraps, labels and autoclaves instruments, consistent with protocols;Maintains re-stocking supplies for each exam room and treatment rooms;Assists La Familia Medical Center (LFMC) patient education efforts, making available and distributing patient information and literature related to dental health promotion/disease prevention for all patient age categories;Maintains patient files in a timely and accurate manner by updating information pertaining to medication refills, laboratory reports/results, patient dental visits, and other patient data/information required by LFMC providers and protocols;Assists with conducting patient case management tasks and patient discharge plans to include patient referrals, prescription refills, and schedules specialty appointments; submits paperwork to the Patient Services Representative or other appropriate staff person;Trains and/or oversees student dental assistants.RequirementsIV. Education, Experience, and SkillsHigh School graduate or GED certificate and graduation from an ADA recognized certificate program is required with appropriate degree and/or certification such as Dental Assistant program. Three months related experience is required; or any equivalent combination of experience, training and/or education approved by Human Resources.State of New Mexico certification in Dental Assistant radiology (6 months to obtain once employed); Including, but not limited to, coronal polishing, fluoride treatment and sealant certifications, or other Dental Assistant certifications are preferred. (may possess up to four (4)).CPR is requiredWorking knowledge of four (4) handed dentistry and instrument preparation, sterilization and storage techniques; Ability to read and interpret medical documents and records, write at a moderate level of competence, communicate effectively. La Familia Medical Center offers a comparable benefits package.Bargaining Unit PositionUnion:Non-Union: X