DEA 702 - Dental Office Procedures

1. Understand the role of a business office assistant in a dental setting.
   1. Understand the function and responsibilities of a business office assistant.
   2. Identify personal characteristics of a business office assistant.
   3. Discuss the concept of professionalisms as related to a business office assistant.
   4. Understand the legal responsibilities and ethics of a business office assistant.
   5. Understand the role/expectations of the business office assistant as it relates to other team members and patients.
2. Understand the importance of oral communication within a dental office.
   1. Identify techniques used for effective oral communication.
   2. Understand and explain common barriers to communication with patients and team members.
   3. Explain the differences between verbal and non-verbal communication.
   4. Understand and explain basic rules of telephone etiquette and taking proper messages.
   5. Discuss barriers to effective telephone communication with patients.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of basic written communication skills.
   1. Identify the characteristics of effective sentences and recognize common sentence errors.
   2. Demonstrate correct punctuation, spelling, numbers and grammar in written work.
   3. Incorporate dental and/or lay terminology when appropriate in written work.
4. Demonstrate ability to write effective professional correspondence used in dental offices.
   1. Identify the basic rules/format of writing a business letter.
   2. Discuss methods, format and use of written communication within a dental office, between providers and with patients.
   3. Demonstrate the ability to write effective, professional correspondence.
5. Demonstrates knowledge about patient development and maintenance systems.
   1. Explains purpose of continuing care/recall systems.
   2. Explain the strategies of common continuing care/recall programs.
   3. Describe different patient reminder methods.
   4. Demonstrate ability to properly address continuing care/recall card confirmation postcard.
   5. Demonstrate activation of continuing care system and make future appointment using Dentrix. (Comp 20)
   6. Understand the role and types of marketing used by dental practices.
6. Demonstrates knowledge of appointment management.
   1. Discuss the role of the Business Office Assistant in appointment scheduling.
   2. Explain basic scheduling concepts and the information required when making a patient appointment.
   3. Understand common abbreviations used on the daily schedule and explain why they are used.
   4. Identify different types of patient appointments such as new, continuing care, returning and emergency and required considerations for each.
   5. Describe scheduling considerations for meeting patient needs and team preferences.
   6. Demonstrate ability to schedule patient appointments manually and using Dentrix. (Comp 20)
7. Understand the dynamics of staff management within a dental office.
   1. Explain purpose and describe contents of an office policy and procedure manual.
   2. Understand the importance of team communication and common office strategies used.
   3. Understand the purpose of job descriptions.
   4. Describe common employee training, development, reviews and guidelines for employment.
   5. Discuss employee compensation in dental offices.
   6. Discuss concepts and types of payroll systems.
   7. Explain the purpose of payroll records, deduction and required forms.
8. Understand patient records.
   1. Discuss common filing systems and steps required to ensure accurate filing.
   2. Understand the basic parts of a patient record and their purpose.
   3. Explain what active and inactive patient charts are and how they are stored in the dental office.
   4. Describe the process used for transferring patient information.
9. Understand inventory control systems used within a dental office.
   1. Understand the differences between types of supplies.
   2. Discuss factors to be considered when ordering supplies.
   3. Explain purpose, difference and information included on an invoice and statement.
   4. Describe common inventory systems.
   5. Demonstrate ability to accurately complete an order form.
   6. Understand the role of overhead in the profitability of a practice.
   7. Discuss the importance of and strategies for controlling expenses in the dental office
10. Understand basic concepts of dental insurance.
    1. Understand common dental insurance terminology.
    2. Discuss different types of dental insurance plans.
    3. Explain ADA code on Dental Procedures and Nomenclature.
    4. Demonstrates knowledge by preparing claim forms manually and using Dentrix. (Comp 20)
11. Understand accounts receivable in a dental office.
    1. Understand key terms associated with accounts receivable.
    2. Understand common types of accounts receivable in a dental office.
    3. Explain basic concepts of bookkeeping such as charges, posting, adjustments, credits, balances.
    4. Understand common systems of statement production.
    5. Discuss common financial policy options in dentistry.
    6. Discuss common methods of collecting money owed to the dental office.
    7. Demonstrate creation of patient statement in Dentrix. (Comp 20)
    8. Demonstrate how to post patient payment to ledger in Dentrix. (Comp 20)
12. Understand accounts payable in a dental office.
    1. Understand key terms associated with accounts payable.
    2. Describe categories of office expenses and types of accounts payable.
    3. Explain various forms of payment used in the dental office.
    4. Familiar with parts and types of a check.
13. Understand employment strategies used in dentistry.
    1. Understands types of job opportunities available in the field of dentistry.
    2. Determine the best position based on personal preferences, strengths and weaknesses.
    3. Understand the dynamics of the process and documents required for applying for a job in the dental field.
14. Demonstrate proficiency with Dentrix Dental Software.
    1. Develop appointment book matrix and schedule appointments using appointment management techniques.
    2. Demonstrate how to create new family files.
    3. Demonstrate ability to enter and/or change patient information.
    4. Demonstrate ability to enter primary and/or secondary insurance information.
    5. Demonstrate ability to chart patient’s previous dentistry, existing condition and treatment needs.
    6. Demonstrate scheduling patient appointments based on reatment needs.
    7. Demonstrate completing appointments and posting charges.
    8. Demonstrate creation of insurance claim form.
    9. Demonstrate how to process patient Explanation of Benefits (EOB).
    10. Demonstrate creation of patient statement.
    11. Demonstrate how to post patient payment to ledger.
    12. Demonstrate activation of continuing care system and make future appointment.
    13. Demonstrates proper use of medical alerts.
    14. Demonstrate tracking of referrals to and from the dental office.