Oral Surgery Dental Assistant

Akahi Associates/Kako'o Services, LLC•San Antonio, TX

3d•$20•Onsite

About The Position

Serves as the sole assistant to an oral surgeon in a variety of complex oral maxillofacial procedures performed in the hospital operating room and dental clinic. This role involves patient scheduling, medical history recording, taking dental impressions, and maintaining surgical laboratory equipment. The assistant will operate dental X-ray equipment, process radiographs, and prepare specimens for the pathology laboratory. They are responsible for preparing the clinic and operating room for surgical procedures, ensuring necessary supplies and instruments are available, and setting up equipment and materials. The position requires assisting the surgeon during complex procedures, monitoring patient vital signs, administering IV medications, and performing scrub duties. The assistant will anticipate the surgeon's needs, retract vital structures to prevent injury, ensure patient safety, and assist with splint placement and suture cutting. Post-surgery, the role includes applying and removing dressings, sutures, and appliances, providing oral hygiene and post-surgical instructions, and maintaining dental equipment and supplies. Additionally, the assistant will record treatment information, prepare consent forms, and draft prescriptions.

Requirements

Graduates from a formal dental assistant program, with a curriculum of a minimum of three (3) months in length plus at least six (6) months of clinical dental assisting experience or have at least one (1) year of clinical dental assisting experience.
Oral and maxillofacial surgery assistants must have completed their training or have dental assisting experience within the past two (2) years and must have at least three (3) additional months of assisting experience in either an office based out-patient surgery practice or the operating room.
Certified in basic Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) that is approved by the American Red Cross or American Heart Association and reads Healthcare Provider Course in the subjects listed prior to beginning performance at the Dental Health.
Must be certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), prior to the beginning of the contract and maintain certification throughout the term of the contract.

Responsibilities

Serves as sole assistant to an oral surgeon in a variety of complex oral maxillofacial procedures performed in the hospital operating room and dental clinic.
Receives and schedules patients for treatment.
Obtains and records information related to medical history of patient and routes patients for medical tests and services when required.
Takes preliminary dental impressions plus pours and trims study models from impressions.
Responsible for maintenance and equipment of surgical section of the dental laboratory.
Operates the dental X-ray equipment for routine and specially requested intraoral and extraoral radiographs to include panographic, facial bone, and cephalometric radiographs.
Exposes, develops, mounts, and labels all radiographs.
Processes laboratory specimen and routes to the pathology laboratory.
Prepares the dental clinic and hospital operating room for any of several types of surgical procedures.
Obtains necessary supplies and equipment and selects proper instruments for the specific surgery.
Attaches and activates major patient monitoring equipment.
Sets up instruments, equipment, and materials; prepares patient for surgery; and obtains and records patient’s vital signs such as pulse, blood pressure, temperature, and respiratory rate.
Assists the surgeon in administering of IV medications.
Performs a variety of scrub duties in preparation of intraoral and extraoral procedures.
Anticipates the oral surgeon’s needs and assists the oral surgeon in the hospital operating room in a variety of complex oral and maxillofacial procedures that involve lengthy, delicate, surgery such as malignant growths, correction of congenital anomalies such as cleft palates, prognathism, traumatic injuries that require mandibular ramus surgery, implants, and other conditions that impair respiratory and masticatory functioning.
Retracts vital vessel, nerve, and muscle structures and ensures that precautions are taken to prevent injury to these structures.
Ensures patient does not aspirate fluids and that injuries to the lip, tongue, cheeks, and skin are prevented.
Assists in wiring splints and maintains placement of retractors.
Passes and uses materials in precise order and detailed fashion to prevent cross-contamination of surgical instruments.
Prepares and places surgical dressings, removes contaminated instruments from the operating field, and cuts sutures on direction.
Monitors the patient under general anesthesia or sedation throughout surgery and closely observing numerical displays, facings, and audible alarms.
Informs the oral surgeon of abnormal vital signs that include pulse rates, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and oxygen saturations.
Applies, changes, and removes dressings, sutures, and other maxillofacial appliances as directed by the oral surgeon.
Provides oral hygiene instructions for care of prosthodontic appliances and post-surgical instructions to patients.
Cleans and sterilizes materials, instruments, and equipment IAW OSHA Regulations.
Maintains dental equipment in a clean and operative condition.
Orders and stores dental supplies.
Records treatment and examination information on patient records, prepares consent form for anesthesia and surgery, and prepares prescriptions for dentist’s signature.