Senior Dental Assistant

Augusta University•Augusta, GA

58d•$18

About The Position

The Senior Dental Assistant performs extra-oral chair-side assisting duties in all phases of disciplines of dentistry in the Dental Associates clinic, including emergency dentistry, restorative, pediatric, orthodontic, prosthodontic, endodontic, oral surgery, implant surgeries, and periodontics assisting. Other related work will also be required, including, but not limited to, preventive and daily maintenance of dental operators and equipment, clerical assignments, and radiological and receptionist responsibilities. Performs dental laboratory duties, including but not limited to pouring and trimming molds and fabricating bleaching trays, mouth guards, splints, and night guards. Serves as a liaison for patients, staff, students, residents, and faculty within the Dental College. Working in a high-volume, fast-paced environment involving many different procedures in multiple dentistry disciplines.

Requirements

High School Diploma, GED, or equivalent from a recognized state or federal accrediting organization with two years of related experience.
OR
Certified Dental Assistant and/or Associate's degree from an accredited college or university with one year of experience in dentistry
OR
One year of experience as a Dental Assistant at the Dental College of Georgia.
OR
Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with dental knowledge.

Nice To Haves

Certified Dental Assistant, CPR certified, Intraoral Radiographic Certification or two years previous experience as a dental assistant to include previous experience mixing materials, taking radiographs, chair side dental assisting skills/knowledge in operative, crown and bridge, removable prosthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, surgery and pediatric dentistry.
Proficient in understanding and speaking Spanish in a clinical setting.
Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.

Responsibilities

CHAIR SIDE ASSISTANCE: Assist residents and /or faculty at chair side as anticipated or required in all phases of dentistry utilizing techniques for 4 handed dentistry. Place matrix bands & wedges. Keeps area of operation clear using high speed evacuator, suction tip and irrigation, retracts tissue, tongue and cheek. Maintains aseptic condition and stabilizes tissue in surgical procedures. Itch, prime, bond for composite. Mixes materials for impression & restoration or assembling syringes for anesthesia. CPD & FPD framework try-in. Place retraction cord. Assists with border molds. Assist Implant Surgeries. Polish cornal portion of the tooth. Place packing for dry socket. Hybrid dentures. Fabricate temporary crown & bridge and clean Provisionals after cementation. Follow all published guidelines regarding personal protective gear and clinical infection control protocol, i.e. Aware of the MSDS sheets, handle and dispose of hazardous materials.
INSTRUMENTS AND INSTRUCTION: Cleaning packing and maintaining instruments and equipment required, including sending to and retrieving from central sterilization as needed for daily production. Ensure all implant kits (surgical and restorative) are complete and in good working order. Prepares sterile trays for surgical procedures.
Exercises skill in motivating the patient to engage in preventive dental care practices by providing instruction including demonstrations in brushing and flossing techniques, explaining the common causes of tooth decay. Answers questions for clear understanding of treatment.
LABORATORY DUTIES: Laboratory duties pouring prosthodontic models from impressions; cleaning and trimming models, boxing and waxing impressions; constructing custom impression trays, night guards, mouth guards, bleaching trays, polishing denture and prosthodontic appliances, and making bite rims. Also take face bows and mount cast with face bow to obtain proper occlusion for cast restorations and reline dentures with hard and soft materials.
RADIOGRAPHY: Performs full range of dental radiography work. Operates dental x-ray equipment to include taking routine and specialized radiographs as requested. Take panorex, periapical, FMX with phosphor plates and/or digital sensors, occlusal, lateral, jaw and extra-oral radiographs as required. Develops and mounts radiographs into patient electronic record in Axium. Communicate with patients explaining the purpose of procedure and answers any concerns regarding dental radiographs.
FOLLOW-UP: Charts findings into the software system as recorded by the dentist and updates medical health histories. Assist in appointing patients for follow-up care. Assist in appointing patients for follow-ups care.
GUIDELINES: Follow all published guidelines regarding personal protective gear and clinical infection control protocol established by federal, state Augusta university or Dental College of Georgia policies. This includes, but is not limited to proper disposal of syringes, needles, scalpel blades, proper handling of contaminated items and proper disposal of hazardous materials.
Provide dental assisting services to as needed with Health Fairs both on campus and off campus. This may be assisting faculty with screenings or providing educational materials to participants, answering questions and promoting the Dental College.
Follow the organization's incident reporting protocol in case of medical emergency. Be prepared to perform certain procedures until professional help is available.
PREPARE: Preparing operatory for each treatment. Laying out correct instruments and specific materials as required for procedure, seats and drapes patient, explains to patient treatment procedures to be done. May require setting up operatory for surgery ensuring all fields are appropriately draped creating a sterile environment.
Assist in other specialty areas when needed as work schedule allows. This may include working ADEX (CRDTS) and mock board exams, as well as other special board certification exercises, throughout the year as needed. This can involve weekend work.
OTHER DUTIES: Perform all other job-related duties as assigned by the Dental Assistant Team Supervisor.

Benefits

Augusta University offers a variety of benefits to full-time benefits-eligible employees and some of our half-time (or more) employees.
Benefits that may be elected could include health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, Teachers Retirement System (or Optional Retirement Plan), as well as earned vacation time, sick leave, and 13 paid holidays.
Also, our full-time employees who have been employed with us successfully for more than 6 months can be considered for the Tuition Assistance Program.

Stand Out From the Crowd

Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.

Upload and Match Resume