Dental Assistant

Community of Hope; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 34,000 - 37,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid lunch

Vacation time

Sick leave

Holidays

Job summary

Community of Hope is hiring a Dental Assistant to work closely with our dentists and hygienists, providing high-quality four-handed chairside care and promoting a positive patient experience at the Conway Health and Resource Center in SW, Washington, DC. The role requires a current DC Dental Assisting License, Level II, a dental assistant diploma/certification, and BLS.

Weekend/evening availability and travel to COH sites may be required, with a strong emphasis on infection control and patient

Qualifications

• Current, unencumbered D.C. Dental Assisting License, Level II.
• Dental Assistant Diploma/Certification from an accredited program.
• BLS Certification Required.
• Ability to work weekends or evenings as needed.
• Ability to travel to other COH sites as needed.
• Participation in appropriate continuing dental education courses.
• Proof of vaccinations is required; accommodations considered per law.

Responsibilities

• Provides quality four-handed chairside dental assistance during restorative, endodontic, periodontic, prosthodontic, and oral surgery procedures.
• Reviews daily and records medical history, vital signs and patient consent in the dental EMR.
• Serves as patient advocate by ensuring comfort before, during and after treatment.
• Takes and develops dental x-rays daily and completes dental charting per dentist instructions.
• Maintains OSHA infection control standards daily.
• Performs daily dental chart review for accurate workflow.
• Ensures complete dental set-ups (armamentarium) prior to treatment.
• Provides oral health education including brushing and flossing techniques.
• Performs daily sterilization of instruments; maintains weekly sterilization logs.
• Maintains digital x-ray equipment and traditional processors.

Skills

Four-handed chairside dental care

Patient communication

Infection control

X-ray taking and processing

Education

Dental Assistant Diploma/Certification

Tools

eClinical Works

Open Dental

Job description

Washington, DC | On-Site | $24.51 - $26.92 per hour | Full-Time | Washington Post Top Workplace (8x Winner)

Community of Hope is seeking an organized, caring and motivated Dental Assistant to work closely with our dentists and hygienists, to provide high quality four-handed chairside dental care and promote a positive patient experience. This position is based out of our Conway Health and Resource Center in SW, Washington, DC.

Our Approach and Values:

We celebrate people’s strengths and acknowledge the impact of trauma on people’s lives.

We embrace diversity, welcome all voices, and treat everyone with respect and compassion.

We lead and advocate for changes to make systems more equitable.

We strive for excellence and value integrity in all that we do.

What You'll Do:

• Provides quality four handed chair side dental assistance during restorative, endodontic, periodontic, prosthodontic, and oral surgery procedures.
• Reviews daily and records medical history, vital signs and patient consent in the dental electronic medical record.
• Serves daily as a patient advocate by ensuring that patients feel comfortable before, during and after dental treatment.
• Takes and develops dental x-rays daily and completes dental charting according to instruction given by the dentist.
• Promotes and maintains OSHA infection control standards daily.
• Performs daily dental chart review to ensure an accurate and timely workflow process.
• Ensures that the dentist has complete dental set-ups (armamentarium) prior to the initiation of dental treatment.
• Provides appropriate oral health education, including nutritional counseling, tooth-brushing and flossing techniques to patients during visits.
• Performs daily sterilization of dental instruments and equipment. Maintains weekly sterilization logs per the standards and protocols.
• Performs monthly maintenance to ensure proper functioning of digital x-ray equipment and traditional x-ray processors.

Must-Haves:

• Must have a current, unencumbered D.C. Dental Assisting License, Level II.
• Dental Assistant Diploma/Certification from an accredited program.
• BLS Certification Required.
• Ability to work weekends or evenings as needed required.
• Ability to travel to other COH sites as needed required.
• Participation in appropriate continuing dental education courses.
• Proof of vaccinations is required. COH will consider requests for reasonable accommodations for anyone who cannot be vaccinated for a religious or medical reason, subject to applicable law.

Nice-to-Haves:

• Ability to speak Spanish, Amharic, or other languages.
• eClinical Works and Open Dental knowledge.
• Commitment to work with underserved populations.

Why You'll Love Working Here!

At COH, we prioritize the following well-being and work-life balance-centered benefits:

• 8 x Washington Post 150 Top Workplaces winner.
• 8-hour workdays with paid lunch.
• 3 weeks vacation (additional week after two years), 2 weeks sick leave, + 11.5 paid holidays and one personal floating holiday on an annual basis.
• Annual performance-based raises, up to 5% of your annual pay.
• Medical, dental, vision, life & disability insurance + 403(b) retirement.
• Leadership development, internal promotions and career growth opportunities.
• A culture grounded in equity, compassion, and well-being.

About Us

Community of Hope is a mission-driven, innovative, rapidly growing nonprofit, and Federally Qualified Health Center. For over 45 years, we have provided health and housing services, perinatal care coordination, and community support services to make Washington, DC more equitable. Community of Hope also strongly emphasizes maternal and child health, with midwifery practice and the only free-standing birth center in DC. We are honored to be one of DC’s largest providers of housing and homelessness prevention services for families and individuals throughout DC. Through our Family Success Center, our WIC nutrition centers, and our various partnerships, we have reached hundreds and believe that everyone in DC deserves to be healthy, housed, and hopeful. With the help of our amazing staff, we have successfully provided:

• 50,000+ medical visits
• 17,000+ emotional wellness visits
• 1,384 families and 220 individuals with housing/homelessness prevention services

Community of Hope is an equal opportunity employer.