Administrative Dental Assistant

165 Hours / Access Length: 12 Months / Delivery: Online, Self-Paced

Course Overview:

As an integral part of the dental healthcare team, an administrative dental assistant 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.

Curriculum Developer Biography:

Willow Nolland is an expert in education and eLearning, with more than ten years of experience in curriculum development and instructional design. She has worked in higher education for over twelve years, and has developed numerous courses and has been involved in curriculum development across disciplines. She has experience with academic program development and coordination, curriculum development, student learning outcomes, educational partnerships, and student development. In addition, she has developed and administered professional development programs for various groups, including teachers, counselors, healthcare workers and members of private industry. She is a certified Quality Matters Reviewer and has taken graduate courses in online course development. She designs and teaches online courses at the college level and is proficient in a variety of course management systems. She has helped educators redesign their courses to transition them from a face-to-face format to an online format, and has provided course editing assistance to others. As a freelance instructional designer and curriculum developer, her projects have included course editing and redesign of online continuing education courses for nurses, CEU curriculum development for healthcare workers and teachers, and course review and editing for various colleges and universities.

Course Outline:

Lesson 1: Introduction to the Dental Profession

In this lesson, you will receive an introduction to the dental profession.  The first section of this lesson will provide an orientation to the dental profession, and the second topic will provide an overview of dental basics.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a solid understanding of the dental profession.

Lesson 2: Communication Skills: Principles and Practices

In this lesson, you will learn about the communication skills that are used in a dental care setting.  You will learn proper telephone communication skills and techniques, as well as appropriate methods of written correspondence.  You will also learn about interpersonal communication with patients and the healthcare team.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have the skills necessary to effectively communicate within a dental healthcare setting.

Lesson 3: Managing Dental Records

In this lesson, you will learn how to manage and maintain patient information systems and dental records. You will learn the function of patient records, as well as how to collect the necessary information to complete patient records.  You will also learn how to file and organize patient records to ensure accurate recordkeeping, patient confidentiality, and accessibility to information.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a solid understanding of the key components of managing dental records. 

Lesson 4: Patient Scheduling and Recall Systems

In this lesson, you will learn about patient scheduling and recall systems.  First, you will learn about the various types of software available to electronically maintain patient information and schedule appointments.  From there, you will learn about different patient scheduling procedures.  Finally, you will learn about patient recall systems.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a thorough understanding of the patient scheduling and recall process and will be prepared to apply your knowledge to a dental office.

Lesson 5: Managing Dental Office Inventory and Equipment

In this lesson, you will learn how to manage dental office inventory and equipment.  First, you will learn about the different types of inventory management systems, along with inventory management procedures.  You will learn about the different ordering and tracking options and identify the ways in which you can organize and track office inventory.  In the second section of this lesson, you will learn about the various types of office equipment used in a dental office, including electronic equipment, telecommunications equipment, and various office machines.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a thorough understanding of the different types of office equipment and how to maintain office inventory.

Lesson 6: Understanding and Processing Dental Insurance

In this lesson, you will learn how to understand and process dental insurance.  You will learn about the different types of insurance and coverage options.  You will also learn how to code insurance claims properly.  Finally, you will learn the different methods of filing insurance claims and the responsibility of the dental office assistant into he insurance claim process.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a thorough understanding of dental insurance and the various policies and procedures associated with processing insurance claims.

Lesson 7: Managing Dental Office Finances

In this lesson, you will learn how to manage dental office finances.  First, you will learn about financial arrangements and collection procedures.  Then, you will learn about bookkeeping procedures, with individual topics for accounts payable and accounts receivable.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a thorough understanding of dental office finances and will be ready to manage the finances of a dental office.

Lesson 8: Managing Your Career

In this lesson, you will learn how to manage your career as a dental office assistant.  In the first section, you will learn about career opportunities for dental office assistants.  In the second section, you will learn how to develop employment strategies.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will be fully prepared to enter the workforce as a dental office assistant.

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.

• Cable and DSL internet connections are recommended for the best experience.

• CPU: 1 GHz or higher
• RAM: 2 GB or higher
• Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher
• Speakers / Headphones
• Microphone (Webinar / Live Online sessions)

• Microsoft Windows 7 or 10 (Home, Pro)
• Mac OSX 10 or higher.
• Latest Chrome OS
• Latest Linux Distributions

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

• Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
• Latest Mozilla FireFox
• Latest Microsoft Edge
• Latest Apple Safari

• Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
• PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
• Courses may require other software that is denoted in the above course outline.