Paper Example on Dental Assistants: Essential Members of the Dental Care Team

Introduction

Dental assistants have a significant influence on ensuring the effective delivery of dental health care services. More so, they are valuable members of the dental care team. The job description entails performing both interpersonal and technical skills. Although the regulations within a state vary, their responsibilities involve assisting the dentists during a treatment procedure, taking dental x-rays, and getting the medical history of a patient. Dental assistants are also involved in developing a protocol for infection control, ensuring that the patients are comfortable and performing tasks of office management among different other duties and responsibilities. Therefore, this analysis focuses on the roles of dental assistants.

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Proper Decorum and PPE for Private Practice

In the day-to-day businesses in a dental facility, dentists and their assistants are confronted with increasing overhead and government mandates and potential challenges in the flow of finances. As such, dental health personnel need to observe proper decorum and adhere to all the regulations outlined in their respective countries of practice. In particular, Muraro et al. (2008) emphasize the need for dental assistants to have the right personal protective equipment (PPE). The PPE, as Muraro et al. (2008) claimed, aims at protecting the skin, mucous membrane, and respiratory epithelium from exposure to a source or pathogenic organisms through contact transmission. Also, PPE is an essential factor that enhances the proper etiquette of dental assistants.

Accordingly, dental assistants are involved with the tasks of caring for a patient, office, and lab duties. Their role is to ensure that patients remain comfortable during their experience at a dental facility. Scrubs, a form of uniform, are one essential PPE that dental assistants should have since it raises the perceptions of the patients. The wearing of scrubs allows customers to feel that the dental assistants are observing professionalism. Scrubs create the impression that the dental facility is clean, hence improving retention and compliance of the patients. In addition to that, the shoes worn by the assistants should be flat and comfortable to allow them to walk and probably stand the whole day when attending to patients. The boots should help assistants to remain steady and avoid tripping to avoid damaging x-rays and samples acquired from patients. Grooming is another essential practice for dental assistants. Muraro et al. (2008) asserted that the professionals should look sleek and clean with their hair worn up and tied back in a ponytail. In other cases, it is paramount for them to cover their hair using a hairnet. The nails should be kept short and clean. Long nails could tear gloves and expose the assistants to contact transmission. In addition to that, protective eyewear is paramount for dental assistants. The eyewear could be of varying types that include glasses with protective shields and clear face shields. In laser treatment, dental assistants should wear filtered lenses to protect their eyes. Similarly, masks and gloves are crucial PPEs worn by assistants when performing dental procedures and examinations on a patient. Dental assistants should wear gowns when they are performing dental procedures on a patient that includes examining and other critical processes. However, dresses are not worn frequently, but instead, they focus on wearing scrubs on a day-to-day basis.

Arriving at the Office

The day of a dental assistant in a working day commences about 30-45 minutes before the opening of the dentist's office. During this time, an assistant prepares examination rooms for appointments. Some of the daily practices before attending to the first client in a day include reviewing on the meetings and ensuring that all the patient records are ready, sterilization of the dental instruments, setting up operating rooms., and ensuring that the procedure rooms are clean. All these activities need to be completed before the arrival of the first patient.

Disinfecting the operatory is one of the essential daily duties of a dental assistant. When cleaning, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) outlines the need to disinfect based on the instructions of the manufacturers. All the surfaces within a surgical room and all the materials used in any operation procedure should be cleaned and sterilized using boiling and other techniques of sterilization and disinfection. Muraro et al. (2008) argued that the disinfection of the operatory should be thorough to ensure that all the surfaces are free from any organic and inorganic substances.

Consequently, the water running in the dentist's offices should always remain clean. The assistants should regularly test the water by collecting samples after running the water lines for about two minutes. Clean water helps to ensure that the place is free from any microorganisms that could affect a dental and disinfection procedure. Asides from that, radiography protection is another essential requirement that dental assistants should adhere to at all times. As mentioned, a dental assistant could indulge in activities that include conducting x-rays and radiography on patients. When doing these procedures, they should take relevant precautions to protect the health and safety of individuals subjected to radiation exposure. Doses of radiation received by patients should be kept as low as possible. Muraro et al. (2008) stipulated that dental assistants should demonstrate competence when handling x-ray and radiography equipment. More so, pregnant dental assistants should avoid x-ray and radiography exposure as much as possible.

Dental assistants tend to set up operatory for restorative procedures. The dental treatment room aims at providing treatment to a patient comfortably and efficiently. One of the most efficient ways is to ensure that treatment is provided in the shortest time possible. No individual or patient wants to have a dental procedure conducted for hours. Dental assistants should prepare an operating room by ensuring that all instruments for use in a system are arranged where a dentist can easily access them. During restoration processes, filling materials, bonding materials, and matrixes should be arranged where a doctor can access them fast during a procedure. Such prior arrangements help to enhance efficiency.

After any dental procedure, all materials should be sterilized. The sterilization area should be easily accessible and needs to be well subdivided. Each area should be used for its intended purpose. When available, the right scrubs and shoes should be worn to prevent sliding and falling. All materials on the clean side of a sterilization area should be removed to allow for others hence enhancing efficiency and preventing soiled materials from contaminating already sterilized ones.

Greeting the Client/Seating the Client/Reviewing the Medical-Dental History

Dental assistants demonstrate professionalism in various ways. Grooming is one of the ways that help in exhibiting professional behavior. As already mentioned, dental assistants should be well-groomed in their scrubs, comb their hair and tie it to a ponytail, and wear gloves and other PPEs where required. Similarly, Muraro et al. (2008) claimed that professional dental assistants continue to learn and grow in their various positions. Professionalism entails etiquette and excellent communication skills.

Primarily, dental assistants should listen carefully to the patients and understand what they are saying. They need to know whether a patient is anxious or fearful. According to Muraro et al. (2008), dental assistants should be empathetic, where they should have the ability to see things from different viewpoints. More so, they should be sympathetic where they feel sorry for a patient where need be. A dental assistant should use the two qualities to enhance effective communication. Nonverbal skills of communication that include focusing on a speaker and smiling at the appropriate time are critical in ensuring that patients are comfortable.

After welcoming the client and seating them, dental assistants should allow patients to communicate their issues while adhering to the communication techniques provided above. During the examination process, dental assistants should place the dental bib around the neck of a patient. The second process would be conducting a pre-procedural mouth rinse. Mainly, this is the role of a dental assistant since it includes preparing a patient for a dental procedure. Mouthrinses help in freshening of breath and preventing decay of a tooth. Usually, mouth rinses before a dental procedure help to eliminate bacteria on a surface of a tooth from entering an underlying tissue hence causing further infections. The last process involves updating and reviewing a client's medical history. Keeping records makes it easier to understand a patient's condition during the follow-up processes and other new visits.

Opening the instruments/Tray Set-up

Hygiene is an essential practice in dental health care. The Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) contains guidelines outlining the effective means of hand washing. Effective hand hygiene should be an individual priority (Muraro et al., 2008). Effective hand washing should be conducted using soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR). ABHR is the most recommended form of handwashing technique in all clinical situations. Alcohol is gentle on the skin and eliminates healthy bacteria that may have survived through the washing of hands using soap. Washing of hands should be frequent within a dentist facility. Primarily, dental assistants should wash and disinfect their hands before and after handling patients, after contact with any contaminated surfaces, and after the processes of cleaning infected areas...