What are the responsibilities and job description for the Dental Assistant position at Petaluma Health Center?
Petaluma Health Center's mission is to provide high quality health care with access for all in Southern Sonoma County & West Marin. We pride ourselves on our Patient-Centered care while maintaining an engaging environment for our staff. The Center accomplishes this mission through collaborative, innovative programs, services and referral resources that meet the economic needs of the entire community.
FULL TIME EMPLOYEE BENEFITS:
- 21 Days of Paid Time Off
- 10 Observed Holidays
- Medical Insurance (Entire deductible paid by us!)
- 30 Chiropractor and Acupuncture visits per year included with enrollment in our health insurance plans (Kaiser and WHA)
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Gym Membership Discounts at Active Wellness Center and 24-Hour Fitness!
- 401K Matching after 1 year of employment
- Flexible Spending Account, Dependent Care FSA
- Life Insurance (included at no cost to the employee)
- Long Term Disability (included at no cost to the employee)
- Employee Assistance Program (included at no cost to the employee)
Summary: The Dental Assistant performs a variety of dental assisting duties while promoting a safe and clean environment for quality dental care. These duties include but are not limited to assisting the doctor, and teaching patients how to care for their teeth. Communicates effectively with the patient; maintains equipment and inventory, cleans, sterilizes and packages instruments and follows standard precautions, OSHA requirements and dental board auxiliaries’ regulations. The Dental Assistant works on behalf of the patient and the dentist helping to assure a high level of professional excellence in oral health care delivery.
Areas of Responsibility:
Patient Care:
- Exposes and processes dental radiographs (x-rays)
- Assists the dentist during a variety of examinations and treatment procedures: instrument transfer, dental procedure isolation techniques and preparation of dental materials
- Prepares treatment rooms, instruments and cassettes for procedures
- Greets and prepares patients for treatment
- Records medical and dental history and vital signs of patients
- Records visit information in the electronic patient record (Dentrix)
- Pours and trims study casts
- Follows infection control protocols and sterilizes and disinfects instruments and equipment
- Helps patients feel comfortable before, during and after dental treatment
- Provides patients with instructions for oral care following surgery or other dental treatment procedures
- Teaches patients appropriate oral hygiene strategies to maintain oral health; (e.g. tooth brushing, flossing and nutritional counseling)
- Uses Motivational interviewing and Caries risk assessment tools
- Provides patient education, nutritional counseling and helps patient set oral health goals
- Assists patients with referrals and follow up appointments
- Presents treatment plans to patients
- Prepares and maintains dental instruments, supplies and equipment
- Coordinates lab cases with different labs; assures timely pickup and delivery of cases. Keeps the lab area clean and organized. Tracks cases and communicates scheduling needs to the Patient care coordinator.
- Involved with prevention and management of dental medical emergencies
- Participates in the achievement of patient satisfaction and office production goals by working efficiently and providing a high level of patient service.
Dental Systems:
- Proficient with dental software programs including but not limited to Dentrix Enterprise, Guru, Dexis, and Iris Intraoral camera
Dental Office:
- Performs tasks that require the use of a personal computer
- Performs and keeps office records related to Sterilization and Equipment maintenance (daily, monthly, quarterly and yearly); Communicates and coordinates equipment repairs.
- Participates actively in staff meetings
Compliance:
- Conducts work in compliance with office policies and procedures, safety, OSHA, MSDS guidelines and the Dental Board of CA and COMDA
Education/Experience:
- High School diploma or equivalent, or higher required
- Graduation from accredited Dental Assisting School preferred or 2 years on the job experience preferred
Licenses and Certifications:
- Radiology license
- Dental Board of CA accredited course of 8 hours Infection control
- Dental Board of CA accredited course in Dental Practice act
- BLS training current
Language Skills: Bilingual in English and Spanish, both written and verbal preferred
Salary : $27