Dental Hygienist

Summary:

The employee performs a full range of dental hygienist assignments in a full-functioning capacity. Work is performed under the supervision of a licensed dentist and considerable independent judgment is required to provide appropriate dental services.

Description:

• Performs oral prophylaxis on patients, scaling, root planning and polishing the teeth to remove stains, plaque, and calculus from tooth surfaces using hand scalers, ultrasonic cleaning instruments and motor-or-air-driven dental polishers.
• Examines the mouth to determine if there are dental problems such as conditions of periodontal disease or tooth decay, charts findings, and reports same to dentist.
• Instructs patients in proper methods of tooth brushing and flossing techniques, care and cleaning of dentures, maintenance of oral health, and/or proper usage of non-prescription medication.
• Maintains accurate and up-to-date patient records in Dentrix.
• Creates and maintains dental treatment charts and records in Dentrix.
• Exposes and processes dental radiographs using bite wings, periapical films, and related equipment: reads dental radiographs and alerts dentist to observations.
• Conducts health screening by performing an oral examination, taking panoramic x-rays, examining and charting existing dental conditions.

Qualifications/Requirements

• Possession of an Associate’s degree in dental hygiene.
• Minimum of two (2) years experience as a Dental Hygienist preferred.
• Demonstrated interpersonal, leadership, supervisory, clinical, and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated interest in employment in a community health center.
• Bi-lingual Spanish preferred
• Demonstrated experience with dental electronic medical record preferred.