Registered Dental Assistant I Santa Monica

Clove Dental•Santa Monica, CA

16h

About The Position

The Registered Dental Assistant I provides chairside assistance to dentists during general and more complex dental procedures, anticipates provider needs, and helps maintain efficient clinical flow. The role includes taking and documenting diagnostic-quality dental X-rays within the permitted scope; supporting intraoral scanning, impressions, clinical photography, and other permitted procedures; and completing clinical documentation in Open Dental. The assistant prepares patients, operatories, instruments, materials, and procedure setups; reviews charts and basic medical history information; and supports a comfortable patient experience. Duties also include sterilizing and organizing instruments, monitoring and ordering supplies through Dentira, managing lab cases, maintaining clean and organized treatment areas, and completing recurring back-office housekeeping. The position supports patient-facing and front-office tasks when needed, including greeting and seating patients, answering questions and phones, checking patients in, and giving new-patient tours. It also involves helping manage schedules and patient flow, supporting and coaching dental assistant and sterilization team members, and participating in office events and outreach. The listed pay range is $25–$29 per hour.

Requirements

Current California Dental Radiation Safety (X-Ray) Certificate.
The posting lists “1-3years” alongside the minimum requirement; the exact experience requirement is unclear.

Responsibilities

Assist dentists during procedures and provide chairside assistance, anticipating provider needs.
Take diagnostic-quality dental X-rays within the permitted scope and ensure images are captured and documented.
Provide suction, isolation, instrument transfer, material preparation, and other permitted chairside support.
Support intraoral scanning, impressions, clinical photography, and other procedures within the permitted scope.
Perform coronal polishing, pit and fissure sealants, topical fluoride, temporary restorations, matrix placement and removal, excess cement removal, and certain orthodontic functions.
Prepare operatories, instruments, materials, and procedure setups before each patient; seat and prepare patients and review basic medical history information.
Review patient charts, medical histories, treatment needs, and required clinical information before seating patients.
Enter the doctor’s treatment plan and required clinical information into patient charts and support completion of documentation in Open Dental.
Turn over, disinfect, clean, stock, and organize operatories promptly to support patient flow and provider schedules.
Sterilize instruments, organize cassettes, and maintain organized supplies and extra supplies.
Monitor dental supplies and order as needed through Dentira; monitor equipment and communicate shortages or issues proactively.
Manage lab cases in the office.
Prepare rooms for the next day and patients, and mark information on the schedule.
Provide patients with a warm towel and support a comfortable patient experience.
Check in patients, escort them to operatories, give new-patient tours, answer patient questions, and answer phones when the front office is busy.
Maintain cleanliness throughout the office, including operatories, check-in/check-out areas, floors, lights, and doors; complete daily, weekly, and monthly back-office housekeeping.
Help manage patient flow and build schedules to support productive days; help keep providers on schedule and stay until closing.
Train, support, and coach Dental Assistant I–II and Sterilization Technician team members on clinical workflows, room turnover, sterilization, infection control, and company standards.
Listen to feedback and continue to grow; recommend new patients, refer prospective staff to recruiting, and volunteer for company events, social work, and marketing efforts.