Senior Dental Assistant, Orthodontics Clinic, 28007

Hiring Department

Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics, UMKC School of Dentistry

Job Description

The School of Dentistry Orthodontics Residency Clinic is seeking a Senior Dental Assistant to serve the needs of residents, patients and their families, the residency director, attending faculty, and other staff. This position is essential to our core instructional and service missions. The Orthodontics Residency Clinic has approximately 250 patient visits per week. This Senior Dental Assistant communicates with patients and their parents/guardians regarding treatment, actively assists the residents and attending faculty with direct patient care. Additional responsibilities include maintaining clinical supplies and equipment, coordinating with company representatives for donated and purchased supplies, assembling and maintaining the Material Safety Data book, coordinating with the Residency Director regarding out-going external orthodontic laboratory prescriptions, appliances, and fee charges as well as performing other duties as assigned by the Office Manager/Residency Coordinator and Residency Director. Experience in digital dentistry including intraoral scanning, using digital software, and 3D printing are highly desired.

The Senior Dental Assistant must exercise good judgement based on previous experience, practices, and precedents to identify and solve problems that arise in the Residency Clinic in consultation with the Residency Director, Office Manager/Residency Coordinator and Departmental attending faculty.

Duties will include, but are not limited to:
• Prepare dental treatment areas through disinfection and sterilization
• Prepare, sterilize, disinfect, and maintain dental instruments, supplies and equipment
• Greeting and seating patients as they arrive
• Actively prepare and assist resident and attending faculty with all facets of screenings, consults, and orthodontic treatment visits
• Keep the patient's mouth clean and dry during procedures
• Assist with obtaining needed x-rays (including but not limited to panoramic, cephalometric and periapical)
• Instruct patients on proper dental hygiene
• Assist in delegated charting within the electronic health record
• Maintain proper inventory of supplies stocked at all times
• Answering questions or directing the appropriate questions to the residents and attending faculty
• Maintaining the highest standards regarding patient safety, privacy and OHSA protocols
• Assist with digital workflow including coordinating 3D printing, maintaining printers, and maintaining printer supplies
• Work as part of a staff team and interact well with other staff team members including Dental Assistants, Office Manager/Residency Coordinator, Receptionist, Patient Coordinator

Minimum Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent
• At least 2 years of experience from which comparable knowledge and skills can be acquired is necessary
• Certifications as required by regulatory agencies as necessary
- Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) OR
- Pass the Missouri Test of Basic Dental Assisting Skills (MBDA)

Preferred Qualifications

• Prefence given to Expended Function Dental Assistant (EFDA) with Orthodontics permit
• Previous experience with coordinating treatment with clinical residents and preparing them to work effectively with a dental assistant
• Excellent customer service and communication skills

Anticipated Hiring Range

Up to $19.00 per hour, commensurate with experience, education, and internal equity.

Application Materials

Applicants must combine all application materials (cover letter, resume, and list of five references with contact information) into one PDF or Microsoft Word document and upload as a resume attachment.

Limit document name to 50 characters. Maximum size limit is 11MB. Do not include special characters (e.g., /, &, %, etc.).

If you are experiencing technical problems, please call (800) 488-5288.

Note, you must provide a description of job duties for each Work Experience entry on your application. Please carefully review the application instructions section of our Careers page prior to submitting your materials.

Application Deadline

Review of applications will begin immediately.

Other Information

40 hours per week (1.0 FTE), benefit-eligible, staff position.

Benefit Eligibility

This position is eligible for University benefits. As part of your total compensation, the University offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental and vision plans, retirement, paid time off, short- and long-term disability, paid parental leave, paid caregiver leave, and educational fee discounts for all four UM System campuses. For additional information on University benefits, please visit the Faculty & Staff Benefits website at https://www.umsystem.edu/totalrewards/benefits .

Values Commitment

We value the uniqueness of every individual and strive to ensure each person’s success. Contributions from individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives promote intellectual pluralism and enable us to achieve the excellence that we seek in learning, research and engagement. This commitment makes our university a better place to work, learn and innovate.

In your application materials, please discuss your experiences and expertise that support these values and enrich our missions of teaching, research, and engagement.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of Missouri System is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Equal Opportunity is and shall be provided for all employees and applicants for employment on the basis of their demonstrated ability and competence without unlawful discrimination on the basis of their race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable state or federal law. This policy applies to all employment decisions including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, training, promotions, pay practices, benefits, disciplinary actions and terminations. For more information, visit https://www.umsystem.edu/ums/hr/eeo or call Human Resources at 816-235-1621.

To request ADA accommodations, please call the Office of Equity & Title IX at 816-235-6910.