Lead Dental Assistant- Pediatrics

Lead Dental Assistant

Responsible for assisting the Clinical Director in overseeing the daily operations and supervision of the dental and clinical assistants of the Pediatric Department. The Lead Assistant will maintain a chairside assisting schedule.

Clinical Responsibilities:

• Chairside Support and Scheduling: Provide clinical chair-side dental assisting as scheduled, remaining flexible to meet the needs of the department and the practice.
• Patient Flow and Care Quality: Coordinate patient flow to support smooth daily operations and ensure patient care is delivered in a clean, timely, and high-quality environment.
• Clinical Areas and Compliance: Oversee the maintenance of operatory, sterilization, and laboratory areas, and ensure departmental compliance with CDA safety, OSHA, and HIPAA programs in partnership with program coordinators.
• Laboratory Processes: Coordinate laboratory processes, including study model inventory and laboratory account reconciliation.
• Supplies and Equipment: Assist with dental supply inventory responsibilities and coordinate equipment maintenance and repairs as needed.
• Documentation: Assist in maintaining the Dental Assistant Manual as needed.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Supervision and Daily Support: In partnership with the Clinical Director, directly supervise department dental and clinical assistants, with direct support from department dentists and additional support from the Operations Manager.
• Training and Staff Development: Train all new dental and clinical assistants in the department, with planning and logistical support from the Clinical Director, Operations Manager, and HR Specialist.
• Team Resource and Communication: Serve as a primary resource for dental and clinical assisting staff by providing ongoing training, support, and weekly communication of department-specific and practice-wide information, as needed.
• Employee Relations and Reviews: Work collaboratively with Human Resources to manage employee relations matters and support the annual performance review process in coordination with the appropriate doctors.
• Leadership Meetings and Compliance: Meet regularly with the Clinical Director, Human Resources, and Administrative Team to review staffing needs, policy and procedure updates, staff communication tools, best-practice development, and OSHA/HIPAA compliance requirements in coordination with the Compliance Committee and its designees.
• Patient Care Operations: Use department dentists as the regular, direct point of contact for support with daily operational and supervisory responsibilities related to patient care i.e. confidentiality.
• Additional Duties: Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Experience: Working as a Dental Assistant Lead in pediatrics highly preferred.
• Licensure: Current FTDA or CA Dental Assisting License issued by the Board of Registration in Dentistry, as required by Massachusetts law.
• Certification: Current Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) Certification, or ability to obtain certification within one year of employment.
• Continuing Education: Completion of required annual continuing dental education units.
• CPR Certification: Current Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Certification.
• Immunization: Current Hepatitis vaccination as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Communication Skills: Must be able to demonstrate strong verbal and written communication skills required.
• Strong Customer Service Skills: Patience, professionalism, and strong problem-solving capabilities required.

Physical Requirements:

• Movement and Stamina: Must be able to meet the physical demands of an active position, including standing for extended periods, walking, stooping, bending, and sitting.
• Dexterity and Coordination: Requires manual dexterity, strong eye-hand coordination, and adequate vision.
• Communication and Reaching: Frequently required to talk, hear, stand for long periods, walk, use hands to finger, handle, or feel, and reach with hands and arms.
• Lifting and Workplace Exposure: Must frequently lift and/or move objects up to 25 pounds. While performing job duties, the employee is regularly exposed to blood, blood-borne pathogens, and/or physical risks, which require OSHA training.