To a properly dental clinic, several functions must be established for its organization. Among these, the occupation of dental assistant is established with the aim of assisting the dental surgeon during dental care.

What is a dental assistant?

The Dental Assistant’s role is: 

– Welcome patients who arrives to the clinic;

– Prepare the patient for care, such as placing a napkin, mouthwash, etc…

– Separation of patient records prior to the consultation;

– Hygiene, washing and sterilization of instruments to be used;

– Assistance to the dentist with the instrument during the servisse;

– Disposal of material used during clinical care;

– Clinic organization;

– Application of biosecurity measures.

Required duties for a dental office assistant

Every person who wishes to work as a dental assistant must take a preparatory course with a minimum required number of hours, in order to learn concepts that make their role viable, such as: knowledge of dental materials; knowledge of biosafety procedures, cleaning and organization of the dental office; between others.

What does a dental assistant do?

– Organize and carry out oral hygiene activities;

– Process radiographic film;

– Prepare the patient for care;

– Assist and instrument professionals in clinical interventions;

– Handle dental materials;

– Select trays;

– Prepare plaster models;

– Record data and participate in the analysis of information related to administrative control in oral health;

– Perform cleaning, asepsis, disinfection and sterilization of instruments, dental equipment and the work environment;

– Carry out patient reception in oral health services;

– Apply biosafety measures in the storage, transport, handling and disposal of dental products and waste;

– Develop actions to promote health and prevent health risks;

– Carry out oral health needs assessment as a team; 

– Adopt biosafety measures to control infection.

– Providing assistance, directly or indirectly, to the patient, without the essential supervision of the dentist or Oral Health Technician;

– Carry out, in the patient’s oral cavity, procedures not specified in art;

– Advertise your services, even in magazines, newspapers or specialized brochures in the dental field.

However, some functions cannot be performed by the Oral Health Assistant, such as directly carrying out procedures in the patients’ oral cavity, patient care without the supervision of the dentist, whether direct or indirect; exercising the function autonomously, as well as advertising its services.

Difference between dental assistant and secretary

In the activities of the dental office, these professionals have very different functions, although some people may get confused.

The secretary’s role is to perform administrative tasks, such as scheduling/confirming appointments, providing telephone and in-person support, financial control and management, etc.

The dental assistant is more directly involved in patient care, working alongside the dentist also during clinical care.

Difference between dental assistant and oral health technician

The dental assistant is responsible for activities more related to the preparation of clinical care, being able to separate and sanitize the materials that will be used, cleaned, discarded, receiving the patient, organizing the files, among others.

The Oral Health Technician is responsible for a few procedures, such as applying fluoride, removing sutures, intra- and extra-oral photographs. In this way, the technician acts in a broader way, being responsible for promoting, preventing and controlling oral diseases, intervening in small clinical activities under the supervision of the dental surgeon.

Dental assistant and the day-to-day life of the office

A successful dental office values ​​organization, as well as the composition of an engaged team. It is not enough for the professional to be of extreme technical quality without having this team to assist him.

However, it is not mandatory for a clinic to have these professionals hired for their growth and ability in day-to-day matters. However, as a whole, it makes flow better, depending on the number of patients seen daily.

If the clinic has a larger volume of services, it is interesting to form this team, so that responsibilities and execution of tasks can be divided, depending on each position and possibilities of accomplishment.

With the optimized workflow, the professionals who make up the team will have more time and skills to take care of the human aspect of patients, whilst also providing good clinical care.

However, there is no point in organizing patient services without also considering the organization of dental materials and the entire biosafety flow to be established. Therefore, organization among professionals is essential.

Conclusion

The dental assistant plays a major role alongside the dental surgeon, promoting the well-being and organization of the office. Learn more about the world of Dentistry on the Aditek Blog.