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Dental Support Technician

Certification

Dental Support Technician

As an integral part of the dental healthcare team, an dental support technician is responsible for managing the daily operations of the dental office while providing a caring environment for patients. This course will provide a comprehensive overview of the dental office and the role of the administrative dental assistant. Students will learn how to manage patient records, maintain office inventory, conduct scheduling, and recall functions, submit and manage patient insurance claims, and utilize technology to ensure a well-structured administrative system. Upon completion of this course, students will be fully prepared to become vital members of the dental healthcare team.

Hours

165

Access Length

12 Months

Delivery

Self-Paced

Share

$1,595.00

Course Overview

As an integral part of the dental healthcare team, an dental support technician is responsible for managing the daily operations of the dental office while providing a caring environment for patients. This course will provide a comprehensive overview of the dental office and the role of the administrative dental assistant.  Students will learn how to manage patient records, maintain office inventory, conduct scheduling, and recall functions, submit and manage patient insurance claims, and utilize technology to ensure a well-structured administrative system. Upon completion of this course, students will be fully prepared to become vital members of the dental healthcare team.

This course prepares the student to take the American Medical Certification Association (AMCA) Dental Support Technician Certification (DSTC) certification exam.

Students will:

  • Gain knowledge on the fundamentals of a dentistry practice and how to run various parts of the facility flawlessly
  • Acquire and comprehend various ethical, psychological, and personal situations that they may run across when assisting patients
  • Learn core fundamentals about basic dentistry and preclinical dental skills
  • Review, comprehend, and understand common clinical dental procedures and the use of dental radiography
  • Comprehensively analyze and learn a number of different specialties dentists can focus on in their practice
  • Apply knowledge to run a safe, clean, and sanitized dental office or facility
  • Examine various career paths and opportunities for continuing education to further one’s career

Course Outline:

Lesson 1: Administrative Dental Assistant Fundamentals

The first lesson of the course provides students introductory knowledge on the dentistry profession, Here, one will learn about the history of the profession, how it has progressed over time, and who is comprised of a dental practice team. Other topics that are shared in this lesson include the psychological, communication, and multicultural interactions administrative dental assistants may encounter while assisting patients and ethical awareness that all must have while treating patients.

Lesson 2: Prevention and Nutrition

Good oral health is a leading indicator of one’s overall health. Thus, administrative dental assistants must be able to quickly provide simple and effective ways for patients they assist with ways to meet this goal. This lesson reviews different common yet simple ways one can maintain their oral health. Additionally, the authors provide strategies that can be provided to patients with respect to simple preventive measures to maintain oral health. 

Lesson 3: Basic Dental Sciences

As an administrative dental assistant, professionals in this field not only need to have a knowledge base of all things related to teeth and gums but anatomy as well. This lesson provides students a general anatomical overview of the body and where oral care affects the most. Students will learn about head and neck anatomy, embryology and histology, and finally tooth morphology.

Lesson 4: Preclinical Dental Skills, Part One

Prior to serving the first patients, whether at the check-in counter or in an examination room, administrative dental assistants have a number of preclinical dental skills they must have full knowledge of to succeed in this profession. The fourth lesson of the course is the first of two that go in-depth in this area of dentistry. Here, one will learn about microbiology, infection control, and the safe handling and management of hazardous materials.

Lesson 5: Preclinical Dental Skills, Part Two

The fifth lesson of the course continues the discussion on preclinical dental skills but turns focus towards assisting patients from an administrative side of the practice. Here, students will learn how to properly care for patients, chart their records, gain knowledge on the pharmacology that may be needed when assisting patients post-procedure, and strategies one must take in order to manage emergencies that may arise while assisting patients. This and the previous lessons’ takeaways are critical to the success of this career path from a foundational point-of-view.

Lesson 6: Clinical Dental Procedures

Now that students have the foundational knowledge needed to work in a dental practice, the next lesson on the docket provides fundamentals on various clinical dental procedures. Students will have an opportunity to learn about the dental office and the art of assisting a patient chairside. Other topics that are in focus here include the instruments and tray systems that are often used when assisting patients in this manner, maintaining equipment, and anesthesia and sedation practices.

Lesson 7: Dental Radiography

One of the most common ways dentists assist patients in trying to find a cure to their ailments is through the use of x-rays. This lesson goes into depth about dental radiography. Students will learn about the fundamentals of radiography and radiographic dentistry, how to evaluate results that are a result of taking these, and newer technologies that are applied to receive extraoral and digital radiographs.

Lesson 8: Dental Specialties – Part One

One unique thing about the world of dentistry is that there are many specialties that dentists can go into for their practice. Thus, this section of the textbook is broken into four lessons. The first of these lessons focus on endodontics – the diagnosis of the pulp and periapical tissues (i.e. root canals). Students will learn in-depth knowledge of this and other surgeries that may take place in a dentist’s office. The conclusion of this lesson takes time for one to learn about dental implants which are likely the result of surgeries performed.

Lesson 9: Dental Specialties – Part Two

The ninth lesson of the course goes into the concepts of oral pathology, orthodontics, and pediatric dentistry. One should become familiar with these terms as these all relate to how one’s body can cause disturbances which can lead to different oral cancers and disorders. Orthodontic treatments of these ailments and special attention as to how to accommodate younger patients in the practice round out the knowledge gained from this lesson.

Lesson 10: Dental Specialties – Part Three

Moving onto the backside of various dental specialties, students will gain knowledge on various sealants and other items that may be used to help maintain one’s teeth and gums for many years to gums. Regardless of whether or not patients require surgery or complicated procedures, being able to provide guidance and support to dentists in the practice with respect to these are very important to know. Students will also gain knowledge on the concept of periodontics and coronal polishes and advanced chairside functions.

Lesson 11: Clinical Dental Procedures

The eleventh lesson of the course completes the discussion on specialties dentists may want to practice at their firm. Dentists can do a wide array of different services and the ones provided in this lesson are often the most specific. Topics that are discussed here include the review of fixed prosthodontics and gingival retraction, computerized impression and restorative systems, cosmetic dentistry, and removable prosthodontics (or better known as dentures).

Lesson 12: Restorative and Laboratory Materials and Techniques

Maintaining a healthy dental practice is more than keeping the dentist’s chair clean and charts properly organized. It involves a number of maintaining a number of materials that often require special handling. Students will learn in this lesson of the course about dental cements, bases, liners, and bonding agents and how to safely store and dispose of them. Additionally, restorative materials including the matrix and wedge, and good practices when in the laboratory are also discussed here.

Lesson 13: Dental Practice Management

The final lesson of the course concludes with a discussion on how to properly manage a dentist’s office. One should be aware that a lot of private patient information is often stored in an office like this – whether digitally or physically. Students will learn about core areas of the front office in this lesson not including postal mail, scheduling, account management, and other related topics. The course concludes with students gaining an understanding of career paths and continuing education opportunities administrative dental assistants can take to grow in their role over time.

All necessary materials are included.

Certification(s):

This course prepares the student to take the American Medical Certification Association (AMCA) Dental Support Technician Certification (DSTC) certification exam.

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