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Clerical dentist assistant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Quoted expert
Aaron Benitez CDA, RDA, RDHAP, MSDH
Clerical dentist assistant example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical clerical dentist assistant skills. We ranked the top skills for clerical dentist assistants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 38.9% of clerical dentist assistant resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a clerical dentist assistant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 clerical dentist assistant skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use patients:
  • Prepared patients for examination, and properly arrange examining rooms with the necessary equipment for procedures.
  • Greeted and signed in patients Prepared and arranged instruments and medications Sterilized Instruments Performed clerical work

2. Chair Side

In most cases, chairside refers to the activities that take place beside a dentist's chair. Chairside assisting stands for any operation performed by a dental assistant to assist the dentist during a procedure or dental examination.

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use chair side:
  • Assist dentist in conducting four-handed chair side dentistry procedures and surgical/non-surgical procedures.
  • Assist the dentist directly at chair side with operative, oral surgery, and a wide range of other procedures.

3. Appointment Schedules

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use appointment schedules:
  • Coordinated appointment schedules for both the dentist and hygienist.
  • Coordinated appointment schedules for the dentist.

4. Vital Signs

Vital signs are a set of values indicating different body systems' performance. They are measurements of the body's most basic functions. The four major vital signs used in medicine to assess a patient are body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure.

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use vital signs:
  • Conducted patient consultations, assessed vital signs, provided patient health education, reviewed and updated patient medical history.
  • Assisted Doctor in surgery which included administering general anesthesia; instrument passing and monitoring patient vital signs.

5. Front Desk

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use front desk:
  • Cover front desk for scheduling follow-up appointments, and billing.
  • Front Desk (scheduling appointments and office work)

6. Instrument Trays

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use instrument trays:
  • Prepare patient, sterilize or disinfect instruments, set up instrument trays, prepare materials, and assist dentist.
  • Arranged instrument trays prior to procedures and surgeries.

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7. Dentures

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use dentures:
  • Assisted the Dentist with dental procedures: to include cleanings, extractions, root canals, dentures and orthodontic procedures.
  • Take impressions / cast the models for dentures.

8. Oral Hygiene

Oral hygiene is the terminology used to describe the state and measurement of cleanliness and health in one's mouth and, sometimes, the surrounding areas. The most basic way of ensuring and improving a good oral hygiene is the regular brushing of one's teeth, but trips to the dentist and other healthcare professionals are a common need, even if it is just for check-ups.

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use oral hygiene:
  • Observed dental procedures and documented proper daily oral hygiene.
  • Prepared patient for dental treatment in addition to educating patient by giving oral hygiene, plaque control, and postoperative instructions.

9. Medical History

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use medical history:
  • Ask about the patient's medical history and take blood pressure and pulse (if needed).
  • Assisted Dentist in surgical and non-surgical procedures including examining patient medical history, measuring vitals and processing x-rays.

10. Examination Rooms

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use examination rooms:
  • Cleaned and sterilized examination room.
  • Clean the examination room after every patient and get it ready for the next patient.

11. Oral Care

Oral care is the custom of keeping the mouth clean and free of disease by regular brushing of the teeth and cleaning between teeth. Oral hygiene must be practised regularly to enable the prevention of bad breath and dental disease.

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use oral care:
  • Performed coronal polishing, irrigation, applied sealants, provided personal oral care instructions and educated patients in post-procedure care.
  • Prepared age appropriate presentations for oral health education and demonstrated correct oral care techniques for students and in-office patients.

12. Direct Patient Care

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use direct patient care:
  • Help to provide direct patient care in all dental specialties, including orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics and oral surgery.

13. Dental Equipment

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use dental equipment:
  • Sterilized all dental equipment and maintained office cleanliness.
  • Perform routine sterilization of dental equipment.

14. Oral Surgery

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use oral surgery:
  • Assist in extractions oral surgery.
  • Assisted in oral surgery at Nationwide childrens hospital.

15. Assist Dentist

Here's how clerical dentist assistants use assist dentist:
  • Assist dentist during examination making use of skilled four-handed dentistry.
  • Assist Dentist with Procedures such as Composite or Amalgam restorations, extractions, and removing temporary tooth.
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What skills help Clerical Dentist Assistants find jobs?

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Aaron Benitez CDA, RDA, RDHAP, MSDHAaron Benitez CDA, RDA, RDHAP, MSDH LinkedIn profile

Dental Assisting Faculty, Articulation Officer, Website

In the Dental Assisting program at West Los Angeles College, the advice that we give our students includes several topics. The main recommendation is to take the California's Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) exam. Other advice includes, creating a professional resume (cloud based and on paper), always be respectful of other's time and having a professional mindset. These are qualities that are timeless.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about clerical dentist assistant

List of clerical dentist assistant skills to add to your resume

Clerical dentist assistant skills

The most important skills for a clerical dentist assistant resume and required skills for a clerical dentist assistant to have include:

  • Patients
  • Chair Side
  • Appointment Schedules
  • Vital Signs
  • Front Desk
  • Instrument Trays
  • Dentures
  • Oral Hygiene
  • Medical History
  • Examination Rooms
  • Oral Care
  • Direct Patient Care
  • Dental Equipment
  • Oral Surgery
  • Assist Dentist
  • Digital X-Rays
  • Infection Control Policies
  • Blood Pressure
  • Oral Health
  • Dental Instruments
  • Patient Appointments
  • Patient Education
  • Root Canals
  • Sterilize Instruments
  • Study Casts
  • Dentrix
  • Surgical Procedures
  • Office Management
  • Patient Charts
  • Infection Control
  • X-Ray Machines
  • Disinfect Instruments
  • Insurance Claims
  • Autoclaves
  • Dental Materials
  • Dental Histories
  • Eaglesoft
  • Dental X-Rays
  • Dental Emergencies
  • Dental Implants
  • Prosthetics
  • Dental Assistants

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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