Dental Assistant at eHealth Systems Africa

Department: Dental
Division: EHA Clinics
Reports to: Practice and Quality Assurance Manager  

Summary of Job

• The Dental Assistant  Supports dental care delivery by preparing treatment room, patient, instruments, and materials; passing instruments and materials; performing procedures in compliance with the EHA Clinics Standards.
• You will help with preparing patients, sterilizing instruments, setting up rooms, and some dental hygiene tasks. To do well in this role you should be able to provide a great level of patient care.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Other duties may be assigned.

Dentist Duties
Preparing patients for dental work.

• Helping with infection control by sterilizing and disinfecting instruments, setting up instrument trays, prepare materials, and assisting with dental procedures.
• Assisting dentists in managing medical and dental emergencies when necessary.
• Providing great patient care.
• Recording treatment information in patient records.
• Exposing dental x-rays from dental diagnostics and caring for dental x-ray equipment.
• Giving patients information on dental hygiene, oral health care, and plaque control programs.
• Collecting and recording medical and dental histories and patient vital signs.
• Providing postoperative instructions as directed by the dentist.
• Caring for dental equipment.
• Forming preliminary impressions for study casts and occlusal registrations for mounting study casts.
• Ordering dental supplies and maintaining dental equipment inventory.
• Fabricating temporary restorations and custom impressions from preliminary impressions.

Patient & Family Education / Support:

• Assist the Dentist to provide emotional support and measures to alleviate fear and anxiety.
• Helping patients feel comfortable before, during and after dental treatment
• Providing patients with instructions for oral care following surgery or other dental treatment procedures, such as the placement of a restoration (filling)
• Teaching patients appropriate oral hygiene strategies to maintain oral health; (e.g., tooth brushing, flossing and nutritional counseling)
• Participate in voluntary community health activities to promote, maintain and restore health and prevent diseases.
• Adheres to Policies and Procedures.
• Adheres to EHA Clinics Code of Conduct as well as ethical standards of the field.

Customer Service Requirements:

• Must have excellent customer service skills and communication skills
• Must be able to plan and perform daily activities in an organized manner.
• Must be kind, compassionate, dedicated and patient.
• Must have the ability to handle different kinds of emotions as well as manage on the job stress.
• Must be focused, very detailed and be creative in making a decision.
• Must be physically and mentally stable to handle extended shifts as well as mental pressure and traumatic events.
• Must be able to review, analyze and respond to different situations they encounter daily.
• Must be able to think critically in adapting to change, judging situations and taking appropriate decisions

Professional Development:

• EHA Clinics requires all staff to keep their knowledge and skills up to date:
• S / he is expected to continue to learn throughout their career at EHA Clinics through continuing professional development (CPD). The professional body relating to specialist areas will have information on the type of CPD to be carried out and how much should be completed each year.

Key Areas of Note:

• Ensure continuing education, training and development is undertaken to meet clinical governance guidelines for Continuing Professional Development and a Personal Development Plan.
• Keep up to date with relevant medical research, technology, and evidence-based medical practice by attending continuing education courses and professional meetings, reading journals, etc.
• Perform a variety of research and analysis tasks associated with improvement of clinical care, medical diagnosis, and treatment where appropriate.
• Audit of clinical practice and review of relevant literature.
• Research unusual symptoms and treatment options, through consultation with physicians and other medical specialists.
• Provide literature reviews and the like; review, analyze and determine the significance of a variety of diagnostic test results

Qualifications & Training

• National Diploma in Dental Health is required. Additional certification or training is an asset
• Must be registered with the Dental Therapists Registration Board of Nigeria and registration must be up to date.

Work Experience:

• Between One (1) and Two (2) years post College of Health Technology and progressive experience as an assistant  within the private and public sector. Experience working with public health and health systems is an advantage.

Key Skills and Attributes:

• Computer literacy an asset
• Excellent Communication
• Working Under Pressure
• Humane, Empathetic and Supportive Bedside Manner
• Teamwork
• Problem solving and Initiative
• Time Management and Organization
• Attention to Detail.

Salary

• Competitive salary scale based on improvements from the CONHESS salary structures as well as surveys from top private hospitals in Nigeria. Salary is negotiable but performance-based. Base salary constitutes 80%, while 20% is a bonus based on predefined individual performance indicators and monthly organizational performance.

Other Benefits
The following benefits are available with this offer of employment:

• Health Insurance: EHA Clinics will cover medical expenses for yourself, your spouse and up to two dependents. Further details are contained in the Nigeria Addendum to the EHA Clinics Employee Handbook.  
• Group Life Assurance: EHA Clinics provides life insurance for you as our employee. This insurance is payable in the event of your death. The effective date of coverage will be upon successful completion of your probationary period.
• Group & Personal Accident: EHA Clinics provides Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance (ADD) for you as our employee. AD&D covers death by accidental means (rather than natural causes) and dismemberment. The effective date of coverage is your hire date.
• Pension: EHA Clinics supports employee retirement preparation and investment by paying a 10% pension contribution on top of the statutory pension contribution of 8% that is already factored into your salary.
• Annual Leave: You are entitled to 21 days paid annual leave accrued at 1.75 days/month. Employees may begin scheduling leave with their direct supervisor upon successful completion of their probationary period.