Job Description
This lead position assists in complex dental procedures by preparing equipment and spaces, performing radiography, and maintaining sterilization, enabling efficient care in a school setting that trains professionals and serves community specialties like cardiology and orthopedics. Assistants enhance treatment flows, reducing wait times and improving patient experiences.
Temple University's Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry delivers diverse educational programs and patient services, founded in 1863 with over 7,000 alumni redefining oral health. The school includes advanced labs and clinics for residents and students in postbaccalaureate and continuing education, supporting minimally invasive surgeries and internal medicine.
Assistants provide chairside support in routines and surgeries, using digital X-rays, processing impressions, and disinfecting operatories. They troubleshoot instruments, monitor emergencies, and handle front tasks like appointments and filing. Tools include X-ray equipment, autoclaves, ultrasonic cleaners, suction systems, amalgamators, curing lights, and hand pieces. Floaters no longer needed; interact with faculty, staff, patients, and external contacts, rotating clinics based on needs, and assisting wheelchairs.
A full-time day role at Health Sciences Campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, offers $20.95 per hour, full medical, dental, vision coverage, paid time off with 11 holidays, tuition remission, and retirement plan. Requires one year experience, accredited certificate, Pennsylvania radiology certification, CPR, child abuse clearance, and willingness to perform in diverse environments.
Responsibilities
- Chairside assisting for faculty and Residents with various routine and complex procedures
- Works with faculty and other supervisors to ensure that patient care is appropriate and efficient
- Assists with all regulatory compliance (HIPPA, OSHA, emergency preparedness, infection control, etc.) for the dental clinic
- Sterilize and maintain dental equipment and instruments. Run appropriate tests to monitor their function
- Maintains logs for equipment maintenance and for other safety logs required by the University, School, and Department
- Maintain and disinfect operatories between and after patient visits
- Assist patients with recovery and departure
- Coordinate appliances that are sent out to and received from dental laboratories. Coordinate follow-up for all appliances for patients who have appliances
- Prepare data reports for the department
- Ensures that repairs of equipment, furniture and facilities are handled in a timely matter
- Perform chart documentation checks
- Maintains patient confidentiality at all times
- Coordinate purchasing of inventory and supplies and maintains related records
- Taking, processing, and mounting of digital X-Rays
- Serve as information resource, resolves problems, and refers students, patients, staff, faculty and public to proper sources
- Maintain clinic forms, handouts, and patient education materials
- Utilize computer, printer, copying, autoclaves, ultrasonic units, operatory suction equipment, infection control materials, dental X-ray equipment and supplies, amalgamators, curing lights, and high and low speed dental hand pieces, etc
- The Dental Assistant will provide assistance to the residents, faculty and students in the treatment of dental patients within all clinics in the School of Dentistry
- Prepare chairs or surgical rooms for procedures, welcoming and seating patients into the chair, performing 4 handed dentistry during procedures, and maintaining and disinfecting operatories between and after patient visits
- Be responsible for support during medical emergencies including monitoring emergency drug and oxygen supplies, and infection control and safety protocols, taking x-rays using digital imaging and uploading x-rays and other patient related data into axium, pouring and trimming dental impressions, ordering and maintaining supplies, troubleshooting dental equipment and instruments, maintaining logs for equipment maintenance and safety required by the University, School, and Department for Infection Control, and assisting with the sterilization process
- Filling in at the front desk when needed, including greeting and checking patients into the clinic, scheduling and confirming appointments, creating and maintaining patient files, tracking and maintaining patient flow within the practice, answering phones, screening calls, taking messages, answering questions of a non-complex nature
Requirements
- At least 1 year of experience as a Dental Assistant including experience with various dental specialty procedures
- Dental Assisting training and certificate from an accredited school
- Dental Radiology Certification from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
- CPR Certification
- An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered
- Ability to obtain PA Child Abuse Clearances
- Demonstrated knowledge of the standard and complex procedures performed in the clinics area of specialty
- Demonstrated ability to provide chair-side assistance
- Ability to utilize dental instruments, sterilizer, operatory equipment, infection control equipment, dental x-ray equipment, and all other standard dental equipment and instruments
- Must be able to work with a diverse populations of students, faculty, staff, patients and other external contacts
- Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills and organizational and interpersonal skills
- Demonstrated knowledge of dental terminology, procedures and diagnosis
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize projects and tasks and to respond to multiple requests
- Demonstrated ability to work with potential pathogens during dental assisting and sterilization procedures
- Ability to provide dental assisting within the legal and ethical boundaries set forth by the state
- Demonstrate lifelong learning
- Demonstrate accuracy and attention to detail
- Ability to adapt and preserver during times of change in circumstances
- Demonstrate a personal commitment to providing strong customer service
- Ability to transport/ assist patients in wheelchairs into operatories and departures as needed