How to Onboard Dental Temps: A Guide for Dental Offices

A dental temp can only perform as well as the environment allows. When offices prepare properly for temporary staff, patient care improves, shifts run smoothly, and temps are more likely to return for future bookings.

Why Onboarding Dental Temps Matters

Dental temps walk into unfamiliar environments and are expected to deliver quality care immediately. Without proper onboarding, even experienced hygienists and assistants struggle with:

• Finding supplies and equipment
• Understanding office protocols and preferences
• Using unfamiliar practice management software
• Knowing who to ask for help
• Meeting patient expectations specific to your practice

A 10-minute onboarding process can prevent hours of confusion and frustration for everyone involved.

Before the Temp Arrives

Prepare the Operatory

• Stock all necessary supplies in the room
• Ensure equipment is working properly (ultrasonic, X-ray sensors, etc.)
• Set up the computer with appropriate login access
• Place a printed schedule in the operatory for reference

Brief Your Team

Let your permanent staff know a temp is coming. Assign someone to be the temp's point of contact for questions. This prevents the temp from feeling like a burden when they need help.

Review the Schedule

Look at the day's patients. Flag any complex cases, special needs patients, or situations that require specific protocols. Share this information with the temp during onboarding.

When the Temp Arrives

The First 15 Minutes

Invest time upfront to save time later. Walk through these items:

• Quick tour: Operatories, sterilization, supply closet, break room, restrooms
• Software overview: Show how to chart, schedule, and access patient history
• Supply locations: Where to find prophy paste, fluoride, X-ray supplies, etc.
• Office preferences: Specific protocols for scaling, patient dismissal, or treatment presentation
• Emergency procedures: Location of emergency kit, who to contact for medical emergencies

Introductions

Introduce the temp to key team members by name and role. Knowing who handles scheduling, who manages supplies, and who to ask clinical questions makes a huge difference in the temp's confidence level.

During the Shift

• Check in periodically: A quick "How's it going? Need anything?" shows you care about their experience.
• Be available for questions: Temps may hesitate to ask for help. Make it clear that questions are welcome.
• Provide feedback respectfully: If something needs correction, address it privately and constructively.
• Adjust expectations: Temps may work slightly slower in an unfamiliar environment. Build in a small buffer if possible.

After the Shift

• Thank them: A simple acknowledgment goes a long way.
• Provide honest feedback: If the platform allows reviews, give constructive feedback that helps the temp improve.
• Favorite good temps: Most platforms let you mark temps as favorites for future bookings. Use this feature.
• Note what worked: Track which temps performed well so you can request them specifically next time.

Common Onboarding Mistakes

• Skipping the tour: Assuming temps will "figure it out" wastes time and creates frustration.
• No software overview: Even experienced temps need to learn your specific system.
• Overloaded schedules: Booking back-to-back patients with zero buffer sets temps up for failure.
• Ignoring the temp: Temps who feel unwelcome perform worse and do not return.
• Unclear expectations: If you want things done a certain way, communicate that upfront.

The Bottom Line

Dental temps are not interchangeable bodies filling a chair. They are professionals who can deliver excellent care when given the right environment. A small investment in onboarding pays off in better patient experiences, smoother operations, and access to reliable temps when you need them most.

Treat temps the way you would want to be treated walking into an unfamiliar workplace. The practices that do this consistently have fewer staffing headaches and better outcomes.