Dental Front Desk​/Receptionist

Position: Dental Front Desk/Receptionist I
Location: Lexington

Position Summary:

The Dental Front Desk/Receptionist I is a high-trust, high-impact front-office position responsible for supporting the daily operation, productivity, patient access, and patient experience of Mallory Community Health Center Family Dental Clinic. The position serves as a primary point of contact for dental patients and performs registration, scheduling and confirmation, payer verification, payment collection, referral coordination, treatment-plan scheduling support, and accurate documentation in the electronic health record and dental practice-management system.

This position requires proactive ownership of the dental schedule rather than passive appointment management. Open appointment time should be treated as an opportunity to provide needed care. The employee is expected to respond in a timely manner to cancellations and openings, help patients understand their administrative next steps and financial responsibilities, and work collaboratively with the Dentist, Dental Assistant(s), Billing, Pediatrics/Medical departments, and other designated staff to support continuity and completion of care.

Duties & Responsibilities:

1. Patient Reception, Registration & Communication:

Greet patients and families courteously and professionally; answer telephone calls, address administrative questions, route messages, and refer clinical questions to licensed clinical staff.

Check patients in and out; review and update demographics, contact information, payer information, consent/registration forms, and sliding-fee eligibility as applicable.

Ensure patients understand their next scheduled appointment, administrative instructions, and appropriate next steps before leaving the clinic.

Document relevant patient communications accurately and timely in approved systems.
2. Dental Schedule Management & Optimization:

Build and maintain an accurate, organized dental schedule consistent with established scheduling protocols, provider availability, appointment type and length, patient needs, clinic capacity, and organizational productivity expectations.

Actively monitor openings, cancellations, no-shows, and unconfirmed appointments and take reasonable, timely action to fill available times from treatment, recall, referral, cancellation, or waiting lists.

Perform required appointment confirmations and accurately document contact attempts and patient responses.

Maintain awareness of upcoming schedules and communicate repeated openings, overbooking concerns, schedule gaps, or other operational issues to the Dentist and appropriate administrative personnel.

Do not independently block, close, alter, or otherwise restrict the Dentist's schedule without appropriate authorization.

Support approved extended-hour dental clinic operations and other scheduling initiatives as assigned.
3. Treatment Plan Coordination:

Work with the Dentist and dental team to help convert dentist-approved treatment needs into scheduled and completed care.

Review the administrative aspects of dentist-approved treatment plans with patients in clear, understandable language and encourage patients to schedule recommended treatment before leaving when appropriate.

Follow up with patients who have outstanding treatment plans and maintain appropriate follow-up systems for additional care.

Identify administrative, scheduling, or financial barriers that may prevent treatment completion and assist within the authorized scope of the position.

Refer all questions concerning diagnosis, clinical necessity, risks, benefits, alternatives, prognosis, or changes in treatment to the treating Dentist; never independently modify the Dentist's treatment plan or prescribed sequence of treatment.
4. Insurance, Sliding Fee & Patient Financial Coordination:

Verify patient eligibility and payer status, including Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance, Self-Pay, and other applicable coverage.

Explain estimated patient financial responsibility, including applicable copayments, deductibles, self-pay amounts, and sliding-fee amounts, based on available information and MCHC policy.

Collect, accurately post, and document applicable patient payments; provide receipts and maintain/balance required cash-flow sheets and daily financial summary logs.

Set up patient payment plans when authorized and coordinate with Billing or other appropriate departments when additional financial clarification is needed.

Provide approved information regarding financial-assistance or sliding-fee procedures; do not guarantee insurance…