Occupational Stress for Dental Assistants

Many occupations are more stressful than others simply because of the nature of the work. A worker who washes the windows of a skyscraper, for example, may experience more occupational stress than an office secretary. Likewise, police officers and fire fighters may experience much more stress than a custodian. In this article, we will examine the occupational stresses of dental assistants.

The dental assistant is a highly skilled and knowledgeable professional. Her roles are multifaceted and may include exposing and processing dental radiographs, preparing dental materials, infection control, and chair-side assistance in patient care.

Due to the multiple roles a dental assistant must perform, an assistant may experience stressors from a variety of sources. She is expected to perform her job quickly and efficiently while catering to the needs of the dentist, patients, receptionists, lab techs, delivery personnel, supply company representatives, etc. These pressures can be compounded exponentially in high-volume, extremely busy dental offices. Dental assistants in busy offices can be bombarded with stressful situations on multiple occasions on a daily basis.

The Dentist

If you were to conduct a poll asking dentists who is the most important person in the dental office, many of them would say the dentist is the most important person. Without the patients, however, the dentist would not be in business. Therefore, it could be argued that the patient is the most important person in the office. An excellent point is made when the dentist points out that it is his expertise and training that enables the rest of the team to earn a living in his employ, but I digress.

The importance here is that one of the main roles of the dental assistant is to do those things necessary to allow the dentist to work in a time effective manner. Treatment rooms must be prepared and ready to go prior to the patient's arrival. Radiographs, impressions, and records with vital information are to be available at the dentist's beck and call. Assistants who posses extended functions skills are expected to fabricate, adjust, and temporarily cement provisional crowns and bridges. Additionally, some dentists require their assistants to select the appropriate shade for crown and bridge patients to include in the instructions to the dental lab tech. This task is easily and commonly forgotten, and many times patients are inconvenienced by having to return to the dental office for shade selection.

One major source of stress for assistants is when a patient is scheduled for fillings, but as the dentist prepares the tooth, he discovers that the cavity is too deep and the patient will require a root canal. Many times, the dentist will inform the patient of the situation, have consent forms sign, and proceed to perform the root canal. Root canal treatment is much more time consuming than fillings, not to mention the additional time required for the assistant to make adjustments to the set-up to prepare for the unexpected procedure. This further complicates things for the assistant, because now the dentist is running behind schedule and it is usually the assistants responsibility to keep him on time.

Patients

Many patients are apprehensive about going to the dentist, and no two patients will respond the same way in similar circumstances. This presents an exceptional challenge to the assistant as the responsibility to allay patients' fears and anxieties often falls to the her. The entire dental team, however, must make every effort to make the patient feel at ease.

Quite often, patients schedule their appointments during lunch breaks, or they may have some other time constraint that requires them to be elsewhere immediately following their dental appointment. While this emphasizes the need for the dental team to stay on schedule, it does represent another possible source of stress. As described previously, things do not always go as planned. Because of the high probability for unanticipated events, provisions should be made to allow the dental team to easily adjust for the unexpected.

After treatment, even while the assistant cleans and disinfects the treatment room, she must do so very expeditiously in order to bring in the next patient on time. This cycle repeats itself over and over until the day is finished.

Receptionists

After treatment is done, many times the assistant must record information in the chart and escort the patient to the front desk. Often, the assistant is required to enter treatment codes or inform the receptionist as to which procedures were performed. This must take place at some point before the patient is ready to be dismissed. Otherwise, the assistant must take time with the receptionist to determine the proper procedure codes while the patient waits to be dismissed. This can present a challenge, because as mentioned before, things do not always go as planned. Informing the receptionist of the procedure codes in advance is an excellent time-saving idea. While it works in most cases, sometimes a procedure is performed that was not initially expected. Constant communication is the key to minimizing confusion in this area.

Lab Techs

Dental lab techs are generally very conscious of time. Therefore, they must be efficient and expeditious with their work. If they receive a request from the dentist that does not have complete information, they must call the doctor's office to fill in whatever was left out. The selection of a proper shade, as mentioned before, is a prime example of an item that is frequently forgotten on dental lab prescriptions.

Shipping and Receiving

Dental supplies, lab cases, supply catalogs, and various other items are frequently delivered for the assistant to process. This can be time a time-consuming process and extreme care must be taken to organize lab cases so they are easily located prior to the patient's appointment. Delivery of lab cases must schedule in a coordinated fashion to prevent a wasted trip for the patient. Supplies and catalogs must be stored or distributed in such a way as to allow for convenient access.

Supply Companies

Supply companies generally do a great job delivering their products in a timely manner. However, every now and then an order may be back logged or sometimes the wrong item will be sent. Most supply companies print their contact information on their catalogs, but trying to contact someone from that number can sometimes prove frustrating. It is usually best for the assistant to keep the business card of the sales representative who services the office. Many times they will give out their cell phone number, which can make things easier and more convenient for the assistant.

Conclusion

In a busy dental office, the dental assistant can easily take on too much responsibility and become overwhelmed. Sometimes these duties are expected of the assistant from the dentist or office manager; other times, a hard working assistant simply voluntarily tries to take on too many obligations.

In situations like this, dental assisting is more stressful than it ought to be. Therefore, it is very important for the entire dental team to work together to reduce the level of stress in the office. The dentist or office manager should pay close attention to how much work is being performed by each member of the team. If any of the members are taking on too much, someone should step in and make an attempt to spread the workload out a little more evenly. Dentistry is a very stressful occupation as it is; additional stressors are definitely uncalled for, and the load can easily be lightened.

It has been said that every effort must be made to make dental patients feel at ease in the dental office; the same can be said about valuable dental team members.