Dental Administrative Assistants perform general office duties in various dental care settings. They work closely with patients, other office staff, and a dental care team. Their responsibilities include scheduling dental appointments, maintaining patient records, performing inventory management, maintaining equipment, helping with insurance claims, coordinating the staff members and performing other duties assigned to them.
Dental Administrative Assistants may find employment in various environments such as dentist’s office, dental care facilities, insurance companies, public hospitals, group medical practices etc. They mostly work full time. They spend most of their time at a desk, working with documents, various forms, and computer system.
Educational Requirements
To become a Dental Administrative Assistant, the aspiring candidates need to hold at least a high school diploma, or the equivalent. Additionally, they need to complete a dental-assisting training program. It takes one to two years duration to complete the training program, depending on the institutions. The students learn about dental terminology, patient billing, clinical record management, insurance reimbursement, inventory management etc. The job aspirants may learn the required skills through on-the job-training.
Certification and Licensure
Dental Administrative Assistants typically don’t require license. However, most of the employers prefer certified job aspirants in this field. Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) offer certification to these professionals.
Skill Set
Dental Administrative Assistants possess various traits such as excellent customer service skills, mastery in recall and filing system, effective communication skills and interpersonal skills, ability to establish and maintain cordial relation with staff members, understanding of insurance procedures, competent in computer operations, organizational skills etc.
Job Outlook and Salary
The job outlook for a Dental Administrative Assistant remains excellent across the USA. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the growth rate for job opportunities in this profession may rise 25% from 2012 to 2022. The average annual salary of a Dental Administrative Assistant was $34,500 in May 2012.