Dental Assistant

Dental Assistant

Full Time, Permanent

Washington Corrections Center (WCC), Shelton, WA

The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) is seeking a highly motivated and qualified individual for a full-time, permanent Dental Assistant to join the Health Services team located at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, WA.

The Washington Corrections Center (WCC) is a state prison for men, with an operating capacity of 1,268 incarcerated individuals. WCC includes the Reception Center in which all individuals entering the Washington State Prison System must pass through to be permanently assigned to their long-term care facility.

A COMPLETED APPLICATION PACKET WILL INCLUDE

• A detailed resume
• A cover letter
• Three professional references

Application assessment will be ongoing, the hiring authority reserves the right to offer the position at any time during the recruitment process. It’s the applicant's advantage to apply as early as possible. This recruitment could be used to fill multiple permanent or non-permanent positions.

Direct chairside assisting with the following dental procedures

• Diagnostic
• Preventive
• Periodontics
• Endodontics
• Oral Surgery
• Prosthetics
• Operative Procedures

Provide patient customer service.

• Meet the patient and seat the patient in the dental unit in a timely manner.
• Explain the planned treatment to the patient. Take radiographs as prescribed by the dentist. Maximize patient comfort to the extent possible.

Educate and instruct the patient.

• Educate the patient in health behaviors including oral hygiene.
• Inform the patient of the necessary (planned) treatment, the right to decline, and the consequences of declining to have a condition treated.
• Inform the patient of the DOC policy regarding access to dental services and Offender Health Plan Counsel the patient on self-care measures. Give patient ‘procedure specific’ instructions.

Establish therapeutic relationships that preserve professional boundaries with patients.

• Direct patients to exhibit appropriate, respectful behavior at all times.
• Write infractions as appropriate.
• Provide accurate, authoritative information to groups or communities.

Maintain patient records and all documentation (hardcopy and electronic) as mandated by statute, DOH policy, and DOC policy.

• Provide proper documentation in the patient chart.
• Ensure that kites are referred to and signed by the appropriate dentist.
• Document planned and completed treatment in the patient chart at the direction of the appointing dentist.
• Count and record hazardous equipment and supplies (to include syringes, knives, needles, sutures, forceps, scalpels, spatulas) in the appropriate logbook. Counts are required to be completed by two people (dental assistant and witness)
• Monitor and maintain the integrity of all Dental Clinical logbook records.
• Maintain the integrity of the dental records and the patient health record as a whole.

Monitor and maintain dental equipment, dental supplies, inventory, and logbooks. Facilitate the functions of the Dental Clinic. Other duties as assigned.

• Attend required staff meetings.
• Write incident reports according to DOC policy requirements and upon direction of leadership including the Shift Lieutenant.

Required Qualifications

• Must be a graduate of a recognized dental assisting program.
• Must be registered to practice dental assisting with the Washington State Department of Health and have an unblemished and unrestricted record.
• Must ensure that registration is renewed in accordance with regulations and that proof of current registration is provided by anniversary date each year to facility clinical leadership.
• Must maintain current CPR certification and provide proof of status to facility clinical leadership annually.

Preferred Qualifications

• Two years’ experience as a…