Lead Dental Assistant

## Description

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| **Job Summary** |

| Advanced Responsibility Dental Assistant Role in which individual is responsible for coordinating clinical operations to ensure assigned dentist’s practice or dental program efficiency, as well as for the clinical dental assisting duties listed in Florida Statutes 466 and Administrative Rules 64B-5, including but not limited to screening and preparing patients for treatment, assisting providers in treating patients, educating patients, and processing instruments, with adherence to HIPAA, CDC, and OSHA standards. Team member is involved in continual training and educating next generations of dental providers and patients. Scope of practice includes clinical dental setting, mobile unit, school-based programs, health fairs, and medical dental integration program, as needed. Tasks include the scope of sterilization technician and dental assistant 1 & 2 with additional responsibilities as assigned by supervisor, including Dental Practice Manager, assigned dentist and Dental Director. |

| **Qualifications and Requirements** |

| - Education and Training: - High School diploma or GED required. - Dental Assistant Diploma or Certificate of Completion from an Accredited Dental Assistant school or training program, including dental radiology, is required. - Successful completion of an Expanded Functions Dental Assistant Certificate (EFDA) required. - Current BLS certificate from an accredited AHA or American Red Cross provider required. - Minimum **three (3) years** of dental assistant experience required. - Nitrous Oxide Analgesia Certification is required. - Must have a valid Florida Driver’s license and reliable form of transportation. - Behavioral Management: Experience working with children and comfortable working with patients of all ages preferred. - Cultural Competency: Experience dealing with underserved populations and ability to relate to patients of all religions, ethnical and cultural backgrounds required. - Excellent Communication Skills: Must have good people skills and communicate following the HFHC Core Values. Must be able to coordinate care as a member of the dental assistant team. - Excellent Emotional Intelligence and Adaptability: Must be able to stay positive in stressful situations and deal professionally with unhappy, fearful, and confrontational individuals. - Adherence to Policy and Procedures: Must have a good working knowledge of dental terminology, dental policies & procedures, and oral health issues. As part of the role, team member must exemplify and model the organizational and department professional code of conduct. - Excellent Time Management Skills: Must be able to organize and prioritize workload. - Manual Dexterity for the utilization of specialized equipment, i.e. prophylaxis slow speed handpiece. - Competent in General Office Skills such as computers (Microsoft Office products, EHR i.e. eCW), faxes, telephones, and copy machines. - Bilingual a plus: Spanish speaker preferred. |

| **Essential Functions** |

| - Performs tasks within the scope of practice of as an Expanded Functions Dental Assistant, including but not limited to: - Identify patients using Double Identifiers – i.e., name and birth date. - Document patients’ chief complaints in their patient’s own words. - Collects and records medical history, list of medications and allergies, surgeries, hospitalization, and social/dental history record. - Obtain and record in medical record patient vitals, including blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and or glucose levels (when applicable), height, and weight as needed. - Operates dental X-ray equipment and takes diagnostic dental X-rays as prescribed by the dentist. - Handle dental instruments, including cleaning/oiling, bagging, sterilization/disinfection, and re-circulation following OSHA and CDC standards. - Assists in educating patients and parents/guardians regarding oral hygiene, treatment options and plans, dental consent and provides witness signatures prior to specialty procedures. - Assist the dentist through 4-handed dentistry, including suction, handling dental materials, and transferring instruments. - Assists in the monitoring of Nitrous Oxide Analgesia administration by the dentist. - Performs operatory disinfection before and after dental procedures. - Records accurate dental charting of existing restorations, new dental caries, and planned restorations. - Records periodontal charting as needed for patients >18 years of age. - Assists the dentist in completion of dental exam and procedure documentation and closes procedure codes at the end of each visit. - Presents treatment plans prepared by the dentist and obtains patient and/or parent signatures. |