Dental Assistant

The Dental Assistant’s primary job function is to work as part of a team to provide high quality, efficient and service oriented patient care while demonstrating the health center’s core values. The Dental Assistant is responsible for performing basic supportive chair-side procedures under the direction of the Staff Dentists, maintaining the operatories in a safe and workable condition, properly cleaning all dental instruments, and assistance with providing oral health education to patients and caregivers. Secondarily, the Dental Assistant is responsible for providing front office support, ensuring that a high level of customer service is provided to health center patients and caretakers.

Ensures that the core values of Camino Health Center – Service, Dignity, Excellence and Justice – are carried out within daily tasks.

Dignity: Demonstrates competence in communication and interpersonal relations

Excellence: Demonstrates competence in continuous improvement, continuous learning, and teamwork/collaboration

Service: Demonstrates competence in customer/patient focus, adaptability, and shaping change

Justice: Demonstrates competence in community orientation, stewardship, and strategic planning and action

Essential Functions

• Direct Patient Care
• Assist in providing extra-oral and intra-oral duties as directed by the staff dentist.
• Assist in recording patient treatment in the electronic dental record.
• Provide oral hygiene education to patients and caretakers.
• Takes high quality and clinically appropriate digital radiographs

• Back Office Duties
• Sets up trays for procedures.
• Properly cleans all dental instruments and maintains operatories in a safe and workable condition. Notify appropriate team members about supplies needing to be ordered and equipment requiring repairs.
• Sterilizes all instruments according to infection control regulations. Lubricates and oils hand-pieces before and after sterilization.
• Ensures compliance with infection control procedures as mandated by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.