Dental Assistant | Forest Hill | Casual

Job Title

Dental Assistant

Reports To

Dental Coordinator

Direct Reports

N/A

Role Purpose

A Dental Assistant plays some important roles in the success of a dental practice:

For the patient -they act like the ‘best friend’ and ‘personal assistant’ during the patient’s journey in the dental centre by making them feel comfortable and treating them like a VIP guest.  

For the dentist -They provide assistance directly during patient appointments and indirectly by coordinating the dentist, clinical facilities, equipment, instruments and dental materials to facilitate patient care in a safe, efficient and seamless manner. 

For the team -They play a lead role in maintaining the centre’s compliance with relevant legislations and guidelines for patient and team safety.

Key Responsibilities

Administration

• Conduct tasks in accordance with Primary Dental and ForHealth policies, procedures and processes
• Provide admin support to dental practitioners and the Dental Coordinator
• Provide accurate recording of communications to dental practitioners and the Dental Coordinator
• Maintain the highest degree of accuracy when recording relevant administrative data
• Liaise with the Dental Coordinator in regard to daily administrative tasks, reports and procedure clarification
• Complete accuracy to be maintained for Health Fund claiming complying with fee structure set down by individual health funds

Operational Effectiveness

• Follow Primary Dental’s Standard Operating Procedures, policies and guidelines required for your role.
• Develop professional working relationships with centre staff and dental professionals
• Ensure the general maintenance and appearance of the practice
• Report all patient and dentist complaints to the correct person in time
• Provide the desired level of customer service at all points of contact [both internal and external customers]
• Attend meetings with the Dental Coordinator, broader Medical Centre staff, Dental State Manager and Senior Dental team, as required
• Participate in internal and external training as required and recommended
• Use all equipment and PPE [Personal Protective Equipment] as instructed via management direction or operational training
• Report any faulty equipment to the correct person and assist in coordinating maintenance and repairs where required

Reception

• Personally, and individually greet and welcome dental patients attending the centre.
• To explain fully to all patients the policies around payment and appointment cancellations.
• To proactively and efficiently book in returning patients, collect money owing, issue any receipts and allocate monies to the appropriate provider.
• To be aware of patient wait times and keep those patients informed of expectations.
• Appoint new patients according to protocol.
• Ensure the reception desk and waiting area is kept tidy and organised during your shift and is attended at all times
• Ensure patient complaints are dealt with in a courteous, efficient, sensitive and tactful manner and reported to the Dental Coordinator and/or State Manager
• Manage patient and dentist concerns in a timely and respectful manner
• Open the dental practice when required
• Follow all reasonable and lawful directions from the Dental Coordinator and other management
• Respond to incoming enquiries in a timely, professional and appropriate manner.
• Monitor and act on outstanding accounts as per practice protocol.
• Ensure patient recall information is updated.
• Identify office supply shortages and order as per centre protocols.
• Ensure patients are being recalled and confirmed for their next appointment using the correct procedures

Service Excellence

• Remain present, calm and responsive. Think ahead. Act with purpose. Work quickly without appearing rushed.
• Look for ways to treat your patient like a long-time friend or family member and go the extra step to exceed their expectations.
• Anticipate the needs of your patients and help to set the correct expectations to avoid a negative experience.
• Maintain exceptional key stakeholder relationships with Medical Centre division managers and team members.
• Respect patient confidentiality and treat all patients and team members with the respect, courtesy and empathy you would like to receive
• Maintain confidentiality of company strategic, operational, personnel and financial details
• Deliver industry leading patient experiences by continuously looking for ways to improve and providing feedback to the relevant people on areas for improvement that could negatively impact the patient and/or the company.

Clinical Governance

• Comply with the procedures and processes outlined in our Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and help your team maintain these standards at all times.
• Maintain infection control and WHS requirements for the Dental centre
• Actively identify areas for improvement, implement and document improvements accordingly
• Assists dentists during clinical procedures with compliance to Infection Prevention guidelines
• Adhere to hand hygiene requirements and protects self by wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment
• Ensure all Quality Review standards are being met and maintained at all times. Work with the team to action any corrective actions required to make the centre compliant for accreditation.
• Look for improvement opportunities at each customer touchpoint and in how we partner with consumers.
• Provide constructive feedback to other team members at an appropriate time to help maintain a high standard in everything we do.

Clinical

• Prepare for the day by actively being involved in a morning huddle with the dentist and other team members. Prepare useful information for your day prior to the huddle and share it with the team.
• Assist chairside during dental procedures in a quick, proactive manner anticipating the needs of the dentist so there are no delays in treatment procedures. The objective is to minimise the dentist’s need to shift their focus away from the working zone.
• Observe the patient for signs of discomfort or anxiety and anticipate their needs with a comforting gesture to help them relax.
•  Maintain the currency of each patients’ dental records including detailed charting of present conditions, treatment required, curating a treatment plan to the dentist’s preferences and entering notes with operator’s supervision.
•  Assist in impression taking and management of incoming and outgoing laboratory items.
• Assist with dental radiography, processing radiographs.
• Assist in the management of medical and dental emergencies.
•  Give patients instructions/ recommendations for post-operative care following the dentists’ recommendations
• Follow up patients who have had a difficult or uncomfortable experience with a courtesy phone call to check on their recovery.
• Follow infection prevention and control procedures. This includes the cleaning, maintenance and reprocessing of instruments and cleaning the clinical room, laboratory and office equipment.
• Prepare the clinical room for all dental procedures and prepare treatment trays for each procedure.
• Inventory control - Monitor stock levels and advise of low stock, perform stocktake, assist with ordering and receiving stock to make sure wastage is minimised and the correct products are available for the dentist for every procedure
• Maintain equipment and facilities in accordance with maintenance schedules and troubleshoot when equipment failures occur.
• Look for opportunities to assist others in the dental team to stay on time and provide a high standard of care and promote the benefits of teamwork and effective communication.

Workplace, Health & Safety

• Ensure safe working practices, obligations and compliances are adhered to, as per company WHS policy and procedures
• Report all incidents, accidents or injuries within 24 hours to management using the appropriate incident reporting procedure
• Identify and report all Hazards related to your work processes and working area using the appropriate Hazard reporting procedure

Critical Success Factors

• Patient retention and positive feedback
• Adhering to company SOPs and Policies
• Record keeping and accuracy 

Key Relationships – Internal

Who

• Dental Coordinators, Dental Managers, Dental State Managers, and other Dental team members

Reasons

• For smooth and effective service delivery

Key Relationships – External

Who

• Dentists and Patients

Reasons

• Representing Primary Dental as a brand ambassador professionally

Competencies: The How

Value Addition

• Structured problem solving
• Supports with facts and thorough analysis
• Effective project management and delivery
• Displays business judgement and is solution oriented

Teamwork

• Teaming ForHealth and is a team player
• Strong communication skills – verbal and written
• We are in it together: Collaborates across functions, locations and stakeholders

Leadership

• Takes ownership and it’s personal
• Effectively coaches both up and down
• Embodies the “10 things that make us tick”

Minimum Requirements

Qualifications

• Cert III Dental Assisting preferred

Experience

• Dental assisting experience preferred, Extensive experience required if no relevant dental qualification, current or previous exposure to dental industry, experience in a customer service or hospitality role highly regarded

Critical Skills

• Computer skills; Clear verbal and written communication skills; Rapport and relationship Building; Time management and multitasking skills, Dexterity, Empathy, Effective listening, Calmness under pressure, Team contributor