Duties and tasks

• Assisting dentists during complex dental procedures
• Providing fluoride treatments, cleaning and removing deposits from teeth, preparing cavities and placing fillings, administering local anaesthesia, and performing other types of basic or routine clinical dental procedures
• Advising communities and individuals on dental hygiene, diet and other preventive measures to reduce potential risks to oral health
• Getting patients ready for examination or treatment, including explaining procedures and correct positioning
• Conducting visual and physical examinations of patients' mouths, teeth and related structures to assess oral health status
• Preparing, cleaning and sterilizing dental instruments, equipment and materials used in the examination and treatment of patients
• Identifying cases of patients with poor oral health or oral disease requiring referral to a dentist or other health professional
• Taking impressions of the mouth and dental radiographs to support diagnosis and fitting of dental prosthetics