Reference check questions for dental assistants

A dental assistant’s work splits into two parts that different people see. At the chair, the dentist sees whether the right instrument is ready before they ask for it, whether the field stays clear and whether the patient is calm. Away from the chair, in the sterilization area and between appointments, the work is mostly unwatched: cleaning and packaging instruments, running the sterilizer, disinfecting and resetting the operatory for the next patient.

An interview can tell you the candidate knows the steps. References can tell you whether they followed them on a day the schedule ran well behind. Ask each reference which part of the work they actually saw, and make sure someone can speak to the sterilization side as well as the chairside one.

Who to ask

• The dentist the candidate assisted most, who saw their chairside skill and how patients responded to them.
• An office manager or lead assistant, for sterilization, the schedule, supplies and reliability.
• A hygienist in the same office, who shared rooms, sterilization duties and patients with the candidate.
• For a recent graduate, a clinical instructor from their dental assisting program or externship.

Questions to ask, by competency

Choose the competencies that matter most for the position and two or three questions from each. Ask every reference the same set, and when an answer is a rating, ask for the example behind it.

Chairside assisting

A skilled assistant keeps a procedure moving, with instruments and materials ready in order, a clear field and a patient who feels attended to. A weak one slows the dentist down at every step.

1. How well did the candidate anticipate the next instrument or material during a procedure? Which procedure comes to mind?
2. How did the candidate keep a patient comfortable during a long or difficult procedure, such as a root canal or an extraction?
3. How would you rate the candidate at the chair, compared with other assistants you have worked beside? (rating)

Infection control and sterilization

Instrument processing and operatory turnover are where shortcuts are easiest to take and hardest to see. In many offices the assistant owns both.

1. Walk me through how the candidate turned over an operatory between patients. Did you ever see a step skipped when the schedule ran behind?
2. Who ran the sterilizer and kept the spore test records, and how reliably did the candidate do their part?
3. What did the candidate do when a sterilizer load failed a check or an instrument pack came out wet or torn?

Radiographs and expanded duties

State rules decide which of these duties an assistant may perform, and what training or credential each one needs. A good assistant knows their own limits as well as the technique.

1. If the candidate took radiographs, how often did images need retaking, and what were the usual reasons?
2. Which expanded duties did the candidate perform in your office, such as coronal polishing or sealants? Where and when did that work occur, and how did you confirm authorization under the rules that applied then?

Patients and the schedule

The assistant is often the first and last person a patient sees in the operatory: seating them, updating the medical history and giving post-operative instructions before they leave.

1. How did the candidate handle an anxious adult, or a child, who did not want to sit in the chair?
2. How clearly did the candidate give post-operative instructions after an extraction or other procedure, and how do you know?
3. When the schedule fell behind, how did the candidate work with the hygienists and the front desk to recover?

Close the reference

End every reference the same way: ask whether they would hire or work with the candidate again and why, what support would help the candidate do their best work, and whether there is anything else you should know. The general question bank explains why the first of these matters most.

Checks a reference does not replace

• What your state allows. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that states may set licensing requirements for dental assistants who work in radiography or infection control, and that states allowing expanded duties, such as coronal polishing, require assistants to be licensed or registered, or to hold certification from the Dental Assisting National Board. Check with your state’s board of dental examiners before assigning those duties.
• The candidate’s credential. Confirm a state license, registration or permit with the board that issued it, and a national certification with the Dental Assisting National Board.
• The federal exclusion list, if the practice bills Medicaid or another federal health care program. The HHS Office of Inspector General says anyone who hires a person on its List of Excluded Individuals/Entities may be subject to civil monetary penalties.

Warning signs to follow up

• References praise the candidate’s speed but cannot describe how they processed instruments or turned over a room.
• Past radiography or expanded duties performed without the authorization required where and when that work occurred. Clarify missing evidence with the supervising dentist and relevant board; separately confirm eligibility for duties in the new position with the destination state board.
• A dentist reference mentions retakes, broken instruments or wasted materials and cannot say what changed afterward.
• Every reference comes from the front office, and no one who worked at the chair with the candidate is offered.

One warning sign is a reason to ask another question, not a verdict. Reference check red flags covers how to check a concern fairly.

Questions to leave out

Ask only about the work. Before an offer, the EEOC’s guidance says an employer may not ask a third party, such as a former employer, any question it could not ask the candidate directly. Leave out health, medical leave, age, family plans and other protected characteristics. What to leave out has the full list.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the requirements that apply to your organization, and in your state, with your counsel or HR policy office.