What are the questions to ask yourself before recruiting a dental assistant? On what criteria should this partnership, which is crucial to the development and operation of a dental practice, be based? Discover our advice to choose and train your partner.
Being a dental surgeon means being a caregiver but also a company manager. When the time comes to recruit a dental assistant (for a new position or for a replacement), the first reflex must be to define precisely your needs. If you are not working alone, ideally you should start by taking stock of the situation with the other members of the practice, whether they are partners, associates, assistants or secretaries who may be in place. The objective of this step is to avoid conflicts of interest and responsibility, which appear to be the major cause of integration failure in dental practices in the months following a hiring.
Define precisely the distribution of tasks
A candidate for the position of dental assistant in your practice must know precisely what his/her tasks will be in order to accept them. It is therefore fundamental to define, before recruitment, thedistribution of administrative and clinical tasks in relation to the overall working time. Conflicts between dentists and dental assistants are most often linked to a lack of communication and transparency regarding the division of work time between secretarial and clinical assistants. Clarifying these points (and sticking to them as much as possible) is therefore fundamental to establish a relationship of trust. This is the sine qua non condition for developing a functional partnership.
Specify technical skills and agree to train your assistant
Before writing your recruitment ad, selecting profiles and interviewing candidates, take the time to define precisely the technical skills required for the position you are looking to fill: 4-handed assistantship, sterilization, impression taking, hygiene... Take into account that not all assistants, especially those who have just graduated, are fully operational in all these areas. You will certainly have to complete your recruit's training on the job, which requires a little time and patience, but which will pay off in the medium term! This is even an advantage because your assistant will then be trained to your specific requirements and those of your possible specialty.
Closely consider the interpersonal skills of your future assistant
Beyond her/his skills to assist you in the chair, your dental assistant will also have to demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills. If part of his/her time is dedicated to secretarial tasks, he/she will be in the front line to welcome and understand the needs of your patients. It is therefore essential to specify, in your recruitment project (and especially in the advertisement), that he/she will have to manage calls, welcome patients or know how to present an estimate...
If he/she is also to assist you with organizational tasks, it is essential to ensure that he/she will be able to identify and store medical records, and handle cash receipts. You may also need to train your dental assistant in the use of essential software for administrative tasks.
Train your assistant in new technologies for the future
If you have opted for new technology tools such as theallisone.iasoftware, consider training your partner in it. He/she will then be able to use it independently and help you optimize the time you spend with your patients. Theuse of Artificial Intelligence applications is still very little (if at all) taught in the training of dental practitioners. It is not taught in dental assistant training either (or even less).
However, we know that these solutions (whether they improve patient communication, automate reports or facilitate the scheduling of appointments), contribute greatly to optimizing the operation of a practice. By freeing up the dentist's time, they are on the way to revolutionize the practice. It therefore seems particularly judicious to train your partner in these very easy-to-use tools. This promise of training in the essential tools of tomorrow is also a strong argument for attracting the best talents to your practice.
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