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What does a Dental Receptionist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
What does a Dental Receptionist do

A dental receptionist is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support dental office operations and ensure that the patients receive the highest quality care services. Dental receptionists manage and schedule the patients' appointments, determine the availability of the dentist, process dental reports and service payments, and ensure the adequacy of dental inventories. They also organize the database system by updating patients' information, sending referrals to medical specialists, pulling-up patient charts, and responding to the patients' dental inquiries and concerns.

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Dental receptionist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real dental receptionist resumes:

  • Manage an adjoining veterinary supply shop that sell medications, animal food and pet equipment.
  • Perform administrative and receptionist duties by managing patient records while staying in compliance with HIPAA and JCAHO.
  • Manage Eaglesoft system thereby maximizing and balancing the calendar of appointments to drive practice revenue while maintaining optimal practice productivity.
  • Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
  • Register new patients according to office protocol using EagleSoft.
  • Experience in PPO and some HMO insurances.
  • Work with PPO, HMO and Medicaid insurances.
  • Enter patient history and demographics into EMR and maintain all appropriate files.
  • Complete all portions of patient interaction from check-in to check-out and post care follow-up.
  • See that records are store securely and handle in HIPAA privacy and security regulations.
  • Dispense pharmaceuticals and pet food to animal caretakers; explaining proper dosage instructions, etc.
  • Maintain compliance in areas such as OSHA, HIPPA, coding issues and updating policies & procedures.
  • Maintain medical records, which include, scanning documents into the EMR and prepare medical record requests.
  • Call and remind patients to bring referral and request authorizations for MRI, surgery, EMG test, and physical therapy.
  • Select and code the diagnosis and investigations of patients, using ICD-9 (under the general supervision of the nurse).

Dental receptionist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 35% of Dental Receptionists are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Phone Calls. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Computer skills, and Customer-service skills.

We break down the percentage of Dental Receptionists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 35%

    Registered new patients according to office protocols and assisted patients with completing all necessary forms and documentation.

  • Customer Service, 17%

    Supported patient processing actions including incoming and outgoing contacts, registration and insurance documentation and other aspects of customer service.

  • Phone Calls, 10%

    Responded and directed telephone calls and emails with professionalism.

  • Patient Accounts, 8%

    Managed the doctor's appointment scheduling requirements and provided a thorough daily report of all patient accountability and financial transactions.

  • Front Desk, 3%

    Managed office supply inventory and organized front desk to maximize efficiency and patient satisfaction.

  • HMO, 3%

    Maintained daily schedules of 10 dentists for large HMO.

Common skills that a dental receptionist uses to do their job include "patients," "customer service," and "phone calls." You can find details on the most important dental receptionist responsibilities below.

Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a dental receptionist to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "receptionists must speak and write clearly when providing information and corresponding with customers." Dental receptionists often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "receive incoming high volume phone calls.communication through electronic health records, and e-mail. "

Computer skills. Another essential skill to perform dental receptionist duties is computer skills. Dental receptionists responsibilities require that "receptionists should be adept at using computers." Dental receptionists also use computer skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "filed insurance claims, worked with computer programs, and made daily deposits. "

Customer-service skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of dental receptionists is customer-service skills. This skill is critical to many everyday dental receptionist duties, as "receptionists represent the organization, so they should be courteous, professional, and helpful to customers and the public." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "scan files into the database, data entry of customer information. "

Integrity. dental receptionist responsibilities often require "integrity." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "receptionists may handle confidential data, especially in medical and legal offices." This resume example shows what dental receptionists do with integrity on a typical day: "trusted with duty of remitting bank deposits. "

Organizational skills. Another common skill required for dental receptionist responsibilities is "organizational skills." This skill comes up in the duties of dental receptionists all the time, as "receptionists take messages, schedule appointments, and maintain employee files." An excerpt from a real dental receptionist resume shows how this skill is central to what a dental receptionist does: "managed many tasks and multiple demands and always handled phone calls with excellent telephone manners and organizational skills required. "

Interpersonal skills. Lastly, "interpersonal skills" is an important element of what a dental receptionist does. Dental receptionist responsibilities require this skill because "receptionists should be comfortable interacting with people in different types of situations." This resume example highlights how dental receptionist duties rely on this skill: "developed and maintained a high level of customer service, good oral communication and interpersonal skills for dealing with customers. "

See the full list of dental receptionist skills

The three companies that hire the most dental receptionists are:

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Compare different dental receptionists

Dental receptionist vs. Patient service representative

A Patient Service Representative is responsible for coordinating with patients, ensuring accuracy and satisfaction at all times. The duties of a Patient Service Representative revolves around greeting and responding to patients, offering assistance in documentation, gathering and maintaining their personal information, and even communicating with the family or guardian. They also have to collect payments and process insurance details, obtain medical history, and even keep the patients updated in various aspects. Aside from this, it is crucial for a Representative coordinate with supervisors or personnel in-charge at all times.

The annual salary of patient service representatives is $1,883 lower than the average salary of dental receptionists.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between dental receptionists and patient service representatives are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like patients, customer service, and phone calls.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, dental receptionist responsibilities require skills like "dental insurance," "dental appointments," "insurance forms," and "patient insurance benefits." Meanwhile a typical patient service representative has skills in areas such as "excellent interpersonal," "patient service," "medical terminology," and "psr." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Patient service representatives really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $33,107. Comparatively, dental receptionists tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $33,664.patient service representatives tend to reach similar levels of education than dental receptionists. In fact, patient service representatives are 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Dental receptionist vs. Front office clerk

A front office clerk performs various administrative and secretarial duties, including welcoming and greeting clients and visitors, answering telephone calls, and managing the office budget. You will be responsible for monitoring, organizing, and forwarding emails and maintaining files and records. Other duties include following company policies and procedures, organizing transportation for guests, and handling and resolving guest complaints. In addition, you will also be responsible for invoicing and billing guests for their stay and used services.

Front office clerk positions earn lower pay than dental receptionist roles. They earn a $3,308 lower salary than dental receptionists per year.A few skills overlap for dental receptionists and front office clerks. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "patients," "customer service," and "patient accounts. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real dental receptionist resumes. While dental receptionist responsibilities can utilize skills like "phone calls," "hmo," "excellent organizational," and "dental insurance," front office clerks use skills like "appointment scheduling," "patient appointments," "patient care," and "emr."

Front office clerks earn a lower average salary than dental receptionists. But front office clerks earn the highest pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $32,238. Additionally, dental receptionists earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $33,664 annually.front office clerks earn similar levels of education than dental receptionists in general. They're 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Dental receptionist vs. Patient representative

A patient representative is responsible for assisting the patients with their health care needs by identifying their medical concerns, assessing their medical history, and referring them to the appropriate physicians or other medical professionals for immediate treatments and further examinations. Patient representatives verify the patients' insurance information, guiding them on filling out medical forms, processing payments for medical services, and updating them for the release of medical results. A patient representative must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially when responding to patient's inquiries and concerns timely and accurately, and performing additional administrative and clerical tasks as needed.

An average patient representative eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of dental receptionists. The difference in salaries amounts to patient representatives earning a $1,890 lower average salary than dental receptionists.By looking over several dental receptionists and patient representatives resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "patients," "customer service," and "phone calls." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a dental receptionist is likely to be skilled in "dental insurance," "dental appointments," "insurance forms," and "patient insurance benefits," while a typical patient representative is skilled in "medical terminology," "patient care," "patient demographics," and "patient registration."

Patient representatives earn the best pay in the non profits industry, where they command an average salary of $34,572. Dental receptionists earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $33,664.patient representatives typically earn similar educational levels compared to dental receptionists. Specifically, they're 3.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Dental receptionist vs. Office representative

Office Representatives are administrative professionals assigned to do various admin work in the office. They are in charge of managing communication lines, correspondences, and packages. They are often assigned to sort documents, update records, and file papers in the proper cabinets. Office representatives are considered front desk officers as well. They respond to inquiries by guests, direct guests to their meeting areas, and receive mail. They may also be assigned to manage meeting rooms and update appointment calendars. They should have good communication skills and should be service-oriented.

Office representatives tend to earn a lower pay than dental receptionists by an average of $1,824 per year.While their salaries may vary, dental receptionists and office representatives both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "patients," "customer service," and "phone calls. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between dental receptionists and office representatives, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a dental receptionist might have more use for skills like "hmo," "excellent organizational," "dental insurance," and "check-in." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of office representatives require skills like "patient appointments," "emr," "excellent interpersonal," and "patient registration. "

The agriculture industry tends to pay the highest salaries for office representatives, with average annual pay of $34,828. Comparatively, the highest dental receptionist annual salary comes from the health care industry.The average resume of office representatives showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to dental receptionists. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 3.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.0%.

Types of dental receptionist

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.

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