Dental Receptionist job description template
A dental receptionist runs the front desk of a dental office: answering calls, scheduling hygiene and treatment visits, verifying dental benefits and collecting payments. A good one keeps the schedule full and patients coming back for their cleanings. Your post should name your practice software and say whether the role includes insurance claims and treatment plan conversations.
Dental Receptionist
Full-timeYour Company is hiring a dental receptionist to welcome our patients and keep our schedule running smoothly. You'll answer phones, book and confirm appointments, verify dental benefits, collect payments and help patients understand their treatment costs. You'll also keep our hygiene schedule full by reaching out to patients who are due for a cleaning. If you're organized, warm and comfortable talking about money with kindness and clarity, we'd like to meet you.
What you’ll do
- Answer calls and messages, and schedule hygiene, treatment and emergency appointments
- Verify dental benefits before visits, including frequencies, deductibles, maximums and waiting periods
- Check patients in and out, update health history forms and scan insurance cards
- Explain estimated patient costs for treatment plans and set up payment arrangements
- Contact patients who are overdue for cleanings or have treatment they haven't scheduled
- Confirm the next day's appointments and fill last-minute openings from the short-call list
- Submit insurance claims with the required X-rays and notes, and follow up on unpaid claims
- Post payments, balance the day's collections and keep patient accounts current
What we’re looking for
- Front-desk, reception or customer service experience
- A clear, friendly phone manner and confidence discussing costs and balances
- Accurate with insurance details, dates and payment entries
- Comfortable learning practice management software while juggling phones and patients
- Willing to complete HIPAA training and keep patient information private
Nice to have
- Dental office experience and familiarity with dental terminology and procedure codes
- Experience with Dentrix, Eaglesoft or Open Dental
- Experience with PPO and Medicaid dental plans
- Fluency in a second language our patients speak
Schedule
Full-time, following our office hours, with a start time a little before the first patient. Some early mornings and occasional evening or Saturday hours, depending on the doctors' schedules.
What we offer
- Free or discounted dental care for you
- Paid time off and paid holidays
- Health insurance for full-time staff
- Paid training on our software and insurance processes
Add your pay, location and schedule when you post. Jobs that show pay get noticeably more applicants.
Dental Receptionist our company is hiring a dental receptionist to welcome our patients and keep our schedule running smoothly. You'll answer phones, book and confirm appointments, verify dental benefits, collect payments and help patients understand their treatment costs. You'll also keep our hygiene schedule full by reaching out to patients who are due for a cleaning. If you're organized, warm and comfortable talking about money with kindness and clarity, we'd like to meet you. What you’ll do • Answer calls and messages, and schedule hygiene, treatment and emergency appointments • Verify dental benefits before visits, including frequencies, deductibles, maximums and waiting periods • Check patients in and out, update health history forms and scan insurance cards • Explain estimated patient costs for treatment plans and set up payment arrangements • Contact patients who are overdue for cleanings or have treatment they haven't scheduled • Confirm the next day's appointments and fill last-minute openings from the short-call list • Submit insurance claims with the required X-rays and notes, and follow up on unpaid claims • Post payments, balance the day's collections and keep patient accounts current What we’re looking for • Front-desk, reception or customer service experience • A clear, friendly phone manner and confidence discussing costs and balances • Accurate with insurance details, dates and payment entries • Comfortable learning practice management software while juggling phones and patients • Willing to complete HIPAA training and keep patient information private Nice to have • Dental office experience and familiarity with dental terminology and procedure codes • Experience with Dentrix, Eaglesoft or Open Dental • Experience with PPO and Medicaid dental plans • Fluency in a second language our patients speak Schedule Full-time, following our office hours, with a start time a little before the first patient. Some early mornings and occasional evening or Saturday hours, depending on the doctors' schedules. What we offer • Free or discounted dental care for you • Paid time off and paid holidays • Health insurance for full-time staff • Paid training on our software and insurance processes
Screening questions for a dental receptionist
Ask these on the application form to sort applicants quickly. They’re added automatically when you post this template.
- Do you have front-desk or reception experience in a dental, medical or other office?Yes / No · required
- Which dental practice software, such as Dentrix or Eaglesoft, have you used, if any?Short answer
- How would you tell a patient that their insurance won't cover all of a recommended treatment?Paragraph
Dental Receptionist interview questions
- A patient calls with a bad toothache and the schedule is full. How do you handle it?
- Walk me through how you'd verify a new patient's dental benefits.
- A hygiene appointment cancels an hour before it starts. How do you try to fill it?
- A patient is surprised by their balance at checkout. What do you say?
- How would you follow up with a patient who keeps putting off recommended treatment?
- What do you do to make an anxious patient feel welcome when they walk in?
- How do you keep track of insurance claims that haven't been paid?
Tips for hiring a dental receptionist
- Run a mock phone call where the candidate books a new patient and explains what insurance will likely cover. Listen for warmth and clarity about money.
- Be clear about how much insurance and billing work the role includes. Some offices split scheduling and billing between two people, and candidates want to know which job they're applying for.
- Dental assistants who want to move to the front desk already know the terminology and procedures, so share the post with local dental assisting programs too.
- After the hire, watch your open hygiene slots and unscheduled treatment. A strong receptionist keeps both down.