Dental Assisting Theory and Practice

1. Describe the role of the administrative assistant and the part they play in dental team management.
2. Describe the recognized dental specialties.
3. Describe the various parts of the patient's clinical record, including transferring clinical records under HIPAA compliance regulations.
4. Describe the different types of electronic appointment management systems.
5. Describe the purpose of a patient recall and report system.
6. Demonstrate effective communication skills when speaking on the telephone.

Infection Control and Hazardous Waste Management

1. Describe the role of the dental practice administrator in record keeping for employee data, exposure incidents, and hazardous waste management.

Ethical and Legal Principles

1. Accurately document treatment procedures and patient communications in the dental record.
2. Demonstrate HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliance regarding patient care and communications.

1. Dental office business practices
   1. Dentistry as a business
      1. Recognized dental specialties
      2. Team management, including leadership, time management, communication with co-workers
      3. The role of the administrative assistant in interviewing applicants for employment
      4. The role of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
2. Telecommunications
   1. Soft skills on the telephone
      1. Preparation for telephone scenarios
      2. Taking messages on the telephone
3. Records management
   1. Components of the patient's clinical and financial record
      1. Parts of the record that are HIPAA compliant
      2. Documentation of a procedure in a patient's record
   2. Retrieval of the patient's record, cross referencing
   3. Transfer of the patient's record
   4. Disposal and storage of patient and employment records
      1. Filing systems
4. Appointment management systems
   1. Computerized appointment systems
      1. Appointment book matrix
      2. Buffer time
      3. Dovetail
      4. Power blocks
      5. Confirmation of appointments
      6. Color coding and units
5. Recall/continuing care
   1. Recall systems
      1. Advanced appointment system
      2. Telephone, telecommunications, and mail systems
      3. Confirmation of recall/continuing care appointments
      4. Recall card completion
6. Professional communication
   1. Telephone etiquette and tone
   2. Information gathering and clarification
   3. Handling common telephone scenarios
   4. HIPAA compliant communication over the phone

Infection Control and Hazardous Waste Management

1. Employee data management
2. Exposure incident protocols and documentation
3. Hazardous waste management

Ethical and Legal Principles

1. Principles of dental record keeping
   1. Documenting treatment procedures
   2. Documenting patient communication
   3. Administrative quality assurance
2. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
   1. Purpose of HIPAA
   2. Permitted uses and disclosures of PHI (protected health information)
   3. Safeguarding PHI in the dental office
   4. Patient communication compliance
   5. Staff training and documentation
   6. HIPAA breaches and consequences

Not applicable.

Quizzes
Final examination
Assignments

Lecture
Discussion
Oral presentations
Demonstration
Role play

Robinson, D.S.. Modern Dental Assisting, 14th ed.. 2024.

1. Read two chapters in the textbook.
2. Read two ADAA (American Dental Assistants Association) journal articles and write a summary of the articles.
3. Prepare and write various types of professional correspondence in the form of letter writing, thank you notes, referral letters, email confirmation, etc., with regards to risk management and informed consent.