If you are applying for a job at a dental office, then you might have to take a drug test. Dental receptionists are not required to have as many verifications and credentials as a dental hygienist or dental assistant, but many dental office managers will require a drug test.
Besides requiring a drug test, most dental offices will also require background check. This is to make sure that the person that they hire is not a criminal who will be a liability to the office.
The deciding factor on if the job will require a drug test and a background check is the dental practice owner.
Why Would a Dental Office Drug Test Employees?
You might wonder why a dental office would drug test employees, when a corporate office—such as a investment bank or marketing firm—would not. It’s a interesting question, but one that has an answer.
The difference between people who work in dental offices, be they medical staff such as Dental Assistants or dental front desk personnel, is the reason.
Most people who work in a corporate setting come from colleges and are professionals who are not likely to have unrelated work issues. There is high competition to work in corporate offices.
Dental offices, and medical offices in general, have high turnover. People who did not attend college, or perhaps even graduate high school, can find work in a dental office. A dental office receptionist might work for 6 offices in a few years, so fast is the turnaround. The medical field is one of the few industries where it does not look bad to quit a job after 3 months and take another.
Many non-profit organizations and government based work assistance programs will train people who have no work experience to be a dental assistant or dental receptionists.
It's common for someone to come right out a training program sposored by the city or government non-profit and get a job as a medical worker. These jobs do not require references -aside from the sponsor case manager or job coach.
The barrier to entry to work in a dental office is similar to working in a hospital. Many people who are not comfortable with the strenuous academic work of higher education opt for careers in nursing, dental programs, or other clinical based assistant work. The upside is high pay and job security.
The risk for dentists is that there is easy availability to drugs and patient information. It can be a risk to hire someone to work in a dental office and grant them access to this material. This is the number one reason why dentists might require a drug test and background check before hiring a person.
How Can You Find Out If They Drug Test?
If you are concerned about taking a drug test, then you should be up front and discuss it during the interview. In many states, it is now illegal to discriminate against people who are drug users. Though these laws are somewhat opaque.
Also, if you are applying to work in a hospital or non-profit, as opposed to a private dental office, then they need to post their drug testing policy openly.
If you're applying for a job through a staffing agency that handles the dental office, then ask them. Many staffing agencies have a uniform policy regarding drug testing and they will tell you.
One of the benefits to applying to work for a government funded workplace such as a hospital or non-profit, is that their job hiring criteria is legally required to be posted.
There are many cases of medical staff (nurses, techs, and administrative personnel) suing hospital systems because they were not hired.
Unlike private sector jobs, public sector roles, including hospitals, have to explain why they do not hire people.
Another option to find out if a company drug tests is to search sites like Glassdoor and job specific forums. Many employees will create forums to post anonymously. These forums might be stand alone, or they might be found on sites like Reddit.
We have another article posted on this site which covers the question in a more broad discussion. It's geared towards all sorts of companies, and not just medical and dental offices.
What Sort of Drugs Are Tested?
There are many different types of drug tests used in pre-employment screening. Most businesses use companies that handle the drug testing. These companies might be a lab such as Quest or LabCorp, or they might be another outside source.
The typical drug tests are named according to how many drugs they test for: 10 Panel, 6 Panel, etc…
Most companies will use a comprehensive drug test that covers all of the illegal drugs –and this will include things such as THC.
You can check the websites of the drug testing companies to see exactly what is tested for.
For instance, if you are sent to a LabCorp site, you can read on their website what they test for.
As a general rule, the drugs are all going to be those drugs that are illegal. There are instances when prescriped drugs such as Anti-Anxiety or ADHD drugs can show up…in this case you will have to provide a
Should You Be Upfront During The Interview About Drug Testing Concerns?
This is a very personal question. If you are someone who is going to fail a common drug test, then it’s important to consider that before the interview.
Many jobs in the private sector will not drug test—however when you are applying to work at a medical office, even if it is a private medical practice, the odds are that you will be drug tested and have to take a background check.
As discussed above, the barrier to entry to work in the medical field is much different than in corporate world.
If your drug test is going to fail due to a commonly used recreationally drug such as THC, and you are in a state where this is allowed—then you might want to bring it up ahead of time.
Realize, however, that many dental offices will not want someone who does recreationally drugs. They might not say it during the interview, but there is a bias against people who do drugs.
So, if you think that you won’t have to take a drug test, then you can simply not bring it up. In fact, if it turns out that the company would not drug test--then brining it up might be one of the worst things you can say during the interview.
Most dental offices know that once a person is offered a job contingent upon a successful background check and drug screen, there are many applicants who simply ghost them.
It’s a similar situation with nurses when applying for work. Nurses often times will refuse to take drug tests—or try and provide their own copies which are not verifiable—and hospitals know the reasons. This is why nurses often work for agencies or move jobs often—because they are skirting credential requirements and can easily find work at places with lax procedures.
There are really three options:
- Be upfront regarding your use of illegal substances if you think the job will test and you still want it.
- Gamble that the job won’t test, and when they do decide then if you want to ghost the office or take a test and fail.
- Research the job beforehand -using online review sites such as Glassdoor or Reddit—and see if it’s a possible concern upon interviewing.
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