Dental Assistant

General Statement of Job:

Dental assistants are integral to the efficiency and delivery of quality oral health care and are valuable members of the dental care team. The duties of the dental assistant are comprehensive and diverse. The assistants tasks require strong interpersonal and technical skills, good hand-eye coordination, and organizational skills. Knowledge and experience in expanded duty dental functions is key.

Essential Functions:

• Assists the dentist during a variety of treatment procedures, including preparation for procedures and disinfecting rooms for next patient.
• Takes and develops dental radiographs (x-rays).
• Inquires about the patient's medical history and takes blood pressure and pulse.
• Serves as the infection control officer, prepares and sterilizes instruments and equipment.
• Interacts with patients to help feel at ease before, during and after dental treatment.
• Provides patients with instructions for oral care pre and post treatment.
• Teaches patients appropriate oral hygiene strategies to maintain optimum oral health (e.g. brushing, flossing, counseling).
• Takes impressions of patients teeth for casts (models of teeth).
• Processes admissions on all patients as well as verifies insurance authorizations.
• Maintains data integrity in the system for all patients
• Performs office management tasks inlcluding scheduling, registration and data entry.
• Communicates with patients and suppliers (e.g. scheduling appointments, answering telephone, billing, ordering supplies).
• Helps provide direct patient care in all dental specialties.
• Addresses all expanded duty functions as allowed by law.

Additional Duties:

This job description reflects the general duties considered necessary to describe the principal functions of the job as identified and shall not be considered as a complete description of all the work requirements and expectations that may be inherent in the position. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position. Management of the Health Care District of Palm Beach County reserves the right to assign duties not listed herein as necessary to accomplish the goals of the organization.

The Health Care District of Palm Beach County is an independent special taxing district that has served as a healthcare safety net for more than 36 years to fill in gaps in access to healthcare services. This unique healthcare system covers the entire county and provides a wide range of services such as nine community health centers (Federally Qualified Health Centers) which serve everyone regardless of ability to pay; school health teams in 172 public schools; a lifesaving Trauma Hawk aeromedical helicopter program; a rural, public teaching hospital, Lakeside Medical Center; an award-winning skilled nursing center; a ground ambulance program for Health Care District patients needing a higher level of care and the county's Trauma Agency, which ensures quality outcomes within the county's trauma system and leads initiatives to prevent traumatic injury.

We are committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, military or veteran status, age, sex, pregnancy status, genetic information, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation or identification status, or any other legally recognized category protected by jurisdictional, state or federal law. The information collected by this application is solely to determine suitability for employment, verify identity and maintain employment statistics on applicants.

We are also committed to maintaining a safe, healthy, and productive work environment for all employees. As such, we are a Drug-Free Workplace.

The Health Care District of Palm Beach County is an E-Verify participating employer and will use E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees.

This role may require Agency of Health Care Administration (AHCA) background screening and clearance. As required under House Bill 531, applicants may review AHCA's education and awareness information at the following link: https://info.flclearinghouse.com/

Education:

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Training from an accredited Dental Assisting Program required.
• Expanded Functions Dental Assistant certification required.
• Dental Radiography Certification required.
• Bilingual in Spanish and/or Creole preferred.
• Current BLS certification required.

Experience:

No experience required outside of training received for certification and/or completion of a Dental Assisting Program.

Certification:

Current ACLS or BLS certification required.

Licensure:

N/A

Registrations:

N/A