Career Opportunities
Front Desk Receptionist
The Front Desk Receptionist serves as the focal point for the dental appointment system. The receptionist answers the telephone and makes appointments for patients according to the established practice protocols; greets patients as they come in, checks patients in and update all personal and insurance information; establishes and maintains patient records files, retrieves and monitors the location of dental records; generates paperwork to register patients for services; and triage appointments for staff.
Hygienist
Dental Hygienists remove soft and hard deposits from teeth, teach patients how to practice good oral hygiene, and provide other preventive dental care. Hygienists examine patients' teeth and gums, recording the presence of diseases or abnormalities. They remove calculus, stains, and plaque from teeth; perform root planing as a periodontal therapy; take and develop dental x-rays; and apply cavity-preventive agents such as fluorides and pit and fissure sealants. Although hygienists may not diagnose diseases, they can prepare clinical and laboratory diagnostic tests for the dentist to interpret. Hygienists sometimes work chair side with the dentist during treatment.
Dental hygienists also help patients develop and maintain good oral health. For example, they may explain the relationship between diet and oral health or inform patients how to select toothbrushes and show them how to brush and floss their teeth.
Dental hygienists use hand and rotary instruments and ultrasonics to clean and polish teeth, x-ray machines to take dental pictures, syringes with needles to administer local anesthetics, and models of teeth to explain oral hygiene.
Chair-Side Assistant
Chair-Side assistants are responsible for working directly with dentists while patients receive treatment. They review and maintain patients' charts, pass instruments to the dentist during procedures, sterilize instruments, make temporary crowns and impressions of teeth for study models, polish patients' teeth, and take and develop x-rays. They also assist with tasks such as scheduling appointments and ordering supplies.
