Oral Health Education InternAt — Dr. Castro Dental Office

The intern will gain hands-on experience in a private dental practice setting, integrating clinical exposure with patient oral health education. Under the supervision of the Dentist, the intern will assist with chairside duties, observe treatment planning and patient consultations, and support the development of culturally and linguistically appropriate patient education materials. The intern will also receive structured supervision, ongoing feedback, and exposure to both clinical and patient education processes in a dental office setting.

Tasks:

The intern will:
- Observe and support patient consultations and treatment plan explanations.
- Assist with chairside clinical support.
- Assist in reinforcing oral hygiene and preventative care instructions to patients under supervision.
- Develop and revise patient education materials focused on prevention and health literacy.
- Participate in weekly mentor meetings to review learning progress and receive feedback.
- Maintain professionalism, confidentiality, and ethical standards in all patient interactions.

Training:

The intern will receive:
- Initial general orientation to the dental practice.
- Review of infection control standards and OSHA-compliant clinical procedures.
- Job shadowing of the dentist during patient consultations and treatment planning discussions.
- Chairside assisting training and clinical workflow instruction.
- Weekly one-on-one mentor meetings (30-60 minutes) for guidance, review of tasks, and feedback.
- Ongoing supervision during development of patient education materials and communication support activities.
- Direct feedback on patient communication approaches and professionalism.

Learning Outcome

1. Demonstrate understanding of culturally responsive communication strategies in a dental practice setting through observation, supervised patient interaction, and weekly mentor feedback.
2. Apply principles of health literacy and culturally responsive communication by developing and revising bilingual patient education materials under supervision.
3. Demonstrate professional clinical skills, including chairside assisting and patient education support, while maintaining ethical standards and patient confidentiality.
4. Analyze common patient prevention-related misunderstandings and develop reinforcement tools to address them.