What Questions To Ask In An Interview For Dental Assistant

Do You Have Experience With Any Dental Software

Top 5 Dental Assistant/Nurse Interview Questions and Answers

Most dental clinics, including ours, use dental-specific software to keep medical history, appointments, dental treatments, and billing information.

What we are looking for is to know if you have computer literacy and dental software experience.

Answer: Ive extensive experience with Curve Dental cloud hosting software. My previous office used Curve Dental to document and schedule an appointment as well as submit claims to insurance companies.

N.B It is important to know the different dental software and modern equipment, and how to use them.

Why Did You Choose The Career Of A Dental Assistant

Here you can start off with the honest reasons behind your career choice and why you decided to take your career in the path of contributions to the dental field. Whether you have a personal story or a certain aspect of the duties of a dental assistant drew you to the job, emphasize whatever was most important to you.

How Do You Think Oral Health Relates To Overall Health:

You would need to provide a relation between oral health to overall health by providing examples of link between gum disease and heart disease and its link to diabetes. Also describe its link with respiratory diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoporosis. Give a brief about the relationship that you would have learnt from surveys done worldwide.

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Could You Describe Your Volunteering Activities:

Questions To Ask In An Interview Dental Assistant

For this you could give examples of your work during your earlier academic years that could be even those that you participated during your school days as well. You could indicate what activities you were involved with, which part of the work you were interested in.

You may explain the skills you had learnt like public speaking, co-ordinating sub-committees, training others, writing reports or newsletters, planning projects, during the phase of work. There may have been a cause that you had worked towards to raise a fund. But be honest when stating those activities without over exaggeration.

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Question #: Have You Worked With Dental Office Software

Dental assistant interview questions about software reveal if you are familiar with the tools the practice uses or if you will need training:

List the dental-focused software you’ve used. Include appointment software, billing and coding systems, and electronic health record processing.
Mention non-dental office programs you’ve used, especially Microsoft Office software.
Let the interviewer know you’re familiar with other software and how much you would like the opportunity to work with it.

How You Could Answer

“I’ve had experience with Dentrix and Denticon for Medicare and Medicaid ICD-10 coding. I’ve also used Microsoft Office programs, including Word and Excel, since high school. I want to expand my ability to do coding and billing for insurance with athenahealth.”

Describe Your Previous Duties As An Administrative Assistant Secretary Or Receptionist

What They Want to Know: The interviewer wants to go over the responsibilities that you listed on your resume, and confirm that they fit in with the position that is being offered. This is also a good opportunity to expand on the points highlighted in your work experience.

As the receptionist at ABC Financials, I was the first person for customers. I answered the general phone line, as well as answering the phones for the company’s five VPs. I was also in charge of receiving packages and distributing mail, greeting and escorting customers and vendors to meeting rooms, and keeping up with the company’s general information email address. I also had a lot of administrative responsibilities: I managed the calendars of those VPs, arranged their business travel, and helped create and refine PowerPoint presentations and other materials to distribute at events.

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Behavioral Questions Test Of Your Attitude

Whether you will get behavioral questions in your interview depends on two things:

1. The quality of your answers to personal questions, and the impression you make on the interviewer.

If they really like you, if they can imagine working with you after hearing your answers to personal questions, they may even skip the behavioral questions, and offer you the job straight away.
Similarly, if they strongly dislike you, if they cant imagine working with you after talking to you for first ten minutes, they wont waste time with behavioral questions, and they will send you home.
But in any other case, when they are not sure, or when there are many applicants, they will proceed to the behavioral questions. Unless they do not know how to interpret your answers to them. And here we come to the second point:

2. The interviewing skills of the person who talks to you.

Dentists are not professional interviewers. If a dentist leads the interview with you, the chances are high that they know nothing about behavioral interviewing, and will skip these questions altogether.
On the other hand, when you apply in a hospital or some private clinic, and an experienced medical recruiter leads the interview with you, they will almost certainly use behavioral questions.

Lets have a look at some of these questions.

Special Tip no1: Download the full list of questions in a one page long .PDF document, and practice your interview answers anytime later:

Dont Arrive Too Early

Dental Assistant Interview Questions and Answer Examples from MockQuestions.com

If you get to the interview site with more than 10 minutes to spare, use that time to prepare and clear your head. Do not walk in more than 10 minutes early. You want to be punctual but also want to make the best use of your time. It doesnt benefit anyone if you are in the way of a busy dental practice or make the interviewer feel rushed because you are waiting.

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Strategy: Accentuate The Positive

The best way to tackle this question is to have a response prepared ahead of time you may not get this specific question, but this kind of question is extremely common. While preparing for your interview, look through your application materials critically to identify the lower-than-desired grades, or the lack of experience with patient interaction, or the place where you fell short of developing the skills you were expected to acquire. Whatever that low-point might be, ask yourself, how did this happen? What were the circumstances surrounding that low Calculus mark? What were you doing other than developing your extra-curriculars? We arent suggesting you make excuses quite the opposite, you need to learn to own your mistakes or missteps. Instead, consider the ways such experiences helped bring you to where you are today. What did you learn? How have you grown? Why are you a better person now for having gone through such an experience?

What Steps Do You Take When Seating A Patient In The Dentist’s Chair

Similar to prepping the dental exam room, the interviewer will likely want to know how you interact with patients when readying them for their procedures. Showcase your interpersonal skills, empathy and compassion by describing how you care for patients who are uncomfortable, anxious or scared.

Example:”After helping the patient get situated in the chair, I secure the bib and maneuver the chair into the appropriate position. While I’m helping the patient get comfortable, I usually love to ask about their interests or hobbies or how their day is going, just to break the ice and help them relax. I understand that dental procedures can make people nervous, so helping calm them and get them smiling is just as important to me as performing the technical aspects of my job.”

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Mention The Main Challenge That You Forese In This Role

Have you taken a look at the different aspects of this job and identified some that may be challenging in the future? Always make sure that you research extensively about your future workplace and identify some of the problems you are likely to face. Please do not shy away from pointing them out.

Sample Answer

I am fresh from an internship and may therefore need some time to adjust to this new workplace. However, I am a first learner and will therefore not consume too much time setting myself up.

What Qualities Make A Good Nhs Employee

Top 36 dental assistant interview questions and answers

As stated, the NHS takes a value-based approach to recruitment. It looks for staff that support its ideals, and work to its moral and professional standards.

Of course, role-specific skills and experience are important, but if youre at interview stage, it has likely been determined that you hold these.

Instead, focus your answer on the qualities that the six core values of the NHS demand:

Integrity and accountability To ensure patient confidentiality, learn from mistakes and work towards continuous improvement
Flexibility and time management To meet ever-changing demands and respond effectively in a challenging environment
Kindness, compassion and patience To provide the highest standards of patient care and to take an empathetic approach to the treatment of family, friends and carers
Teamwork and communication To work as part of a healthcare network that includes multiple departments and external organisations
Passion and commitment To uphold the standards of the NHS and go the extra mile to improve the lives of others

You may also be asked NHS competency-based interview questions, which will require you to describe situations where you have demonstrated these qualities in action.

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Common Dental Assistant Interview Questions And Answers

Posted in Articles, Dental Assistant.

Did you know that the Blue Whale doesnt have any teeth, even though its the largest mammal in the world? Though the average person going to the dentist may not know this, dental assistants are there to educate their patients and give them fun facts to help them take their dental hygiene seriously.

To be a dental assistant, you have to go through an extensive process and practice the interview questions and answers so you are on your game during the interview. We are here to prep you on the 7 common dental assistant interview questions and answers.

How Would You Handle A Scenario Where A Patient Becomes Nervous And Upset Just Before An Appointment And Makes An Effort To Leave Or Postpone It

Your work as a dental assistant goes beyond performing dental procedures and offering assistance to dentists as they go about their work. You will also be required to manage patient expectations in several offices a role that you should be prepared for. Therefore, the interviewer must know whether you have the knowledge and interpersonal skills that will help you manage such a patient.

Sample Answer

Dental procedures can be scary for some, especially with some of the myths going around. In such a scenario, I would guide the patient to a separate office without any dental equipment and ask the dentist to speak with them by giving an in-depth explanation of the procedure and answering any concerns. I would then stay with the patient and offer as much support as possible while calming them down until they are ready for the dental procedure.

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Do Employees Take Lunch

Work/life balance is an important factor in any role, so dental assistants who are interviewing at a new practice likely want to know about the workload at the office theyre considering joining. Is the schedule jam-packed? Does the culture seem to indicate that the dental team feels overloaded? One way to assess this is to ask whether dental office employees are encouraged to take time for lunch or other short breaks.

As you can imagine, taking a break from a busy workday is essential for dental assistants to recharge and take care of themselves so they can provide the best care for patients, plus the best support for their colleagues.

Employees dont want to work through lunch and work late, especially when they dont get paid based on production, believes Britney.

Sandra agrees that breaks are so important and acknowledges that many offices do support breaks. Make sure this is the case where youre interviewing, too. Only in one office did I ever have a problem with taking a restroom break, Sandra shares. At the last office where I worked especially, the manager encouraged us to take breaks. You must!

Question : What Computer Applications Are You Familiar With

HOW TO ACE YOUR DENTAL ASSISTANT INTERVIEW!

Most dentists offices will have some type of scheduling software, billing procedure and need to create correspondence. The dental assistant should be very familiar with Microsoft Office as some of the job involves spreadsheets and word processing. Make sure to reiterate you have computer skills and are a quick learner when working with new computer applications.

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Why Are You Interested In Our Dental Office

As noted above, this is a great opportunity to show that youve done your research looking into the company. Note your values and how they align with this particular dental practice.

Example answer: I was drawn to your practice because of your emphasis on teamwork and shared responsibility for patient outcomes. My externship taught me how important it is for the whole dental team to work together to provide the best possible care, and Im hoping to join a practice that focuses on that value.

Question #: Tell Me About Your Experience As A Dental Assistant

Even though the dentist has read your resume, they want to hear your enthusiasm when describing your experience:

If you have dental assisting experience, talk about what you did in the role, the type of practice it was, and what you liked.
If this is your first job as a dental assistant, focus on how your education prepared you for this job and talk about any internships or practical labs you’ve had.
You can also mention previous jobs where you interfaced with customers or worked in a team.

How You Could Answer

For experienced DAs:“I have been a dental assistant since I finished my training five years ago. The last practice I worked for specialized in pediatric dentistry. I liked helping kids feel comfortable by taking time to talk with them and tell them what to expect from the dentist. I also enjoyed working with the newest equipment the practice used.”

For new DAs:“I earned my dental assisting certificate from Knoxville Community College, where I had a 3.8 GPA. I took an elective class in medical coding there. Along with shadowing a dental assistant for four weeks, I worked as an intern for a large practice where I took X-Rays, worked chairside with the dentists, entered information into the practice management software, and answered phones.”

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How To Manage Infection Control And Clinical Cleanliness

Clinics standard procedures for infection control should be followed and taken care of while operating any/all equipment. The instruments should be properly sterilized, the disposable items should be properly disposed of e.g. breaking off injections and sending paper waste for recycling as well as managing all kinds of waste disposals, following appropriate control procedures for radiography, maintaining clean and sanitized water supply etc.

How Familiar Are You With Hipaa Guidelines

Because HIPAA law is so important in dental healthcare, its a good idea to review some of the basic protocols before the interview. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate your proactive, responsible approach to your work.

Example answer: My training program had a course devoted to HIPAA so Ive spent a lot of time getting to know the different protocols. Patient safety and privacy is very important to me and Im always very careful to abide by HIPAA guidelines.

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Vitamin C Plays A Negligible Role In Preventing Dental Problems Comment On This Statement

This question tests your knowledge and understanding of Vitamin C, in the context of human teeth.

Sample Answer

Sir, I disagree with this statement. It is true that a high intake of Vitamin C can lead to tooth decay and deteriorate the enamel, but when taken in optimal quantities, it is necessary to prevent the bleeding in gums, which is commonly known as Scurvy.

Questions About Background And Experience

Questions about your background and experience can include things related to your education and training, how you performed in past jobs and how you see yourself contributing to the job you’re applying for. Here are some examples:

Where did you receive your education and training for dental assisting?
How long have you worked as a dental assistant?
What is your level of customer service experience?
What interests you about working as a dental assistant?
What were your major responsibilities in your last role?
How do your values about oral health influence your work as a dental assistant?
Do you have experience working with computer applications?
What was your approach to helping patients in your last position?
How would your past supervisors describe your work ethic?
Do you have experience handling office and administrative tasks?

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