POSITION SUMMARY: Responsible for providing preventive oral health education and dental hygiene services patients.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Work with administrative staff/front desk staff to schedule hygiene patients with efficiency.
- Accurately chart each patient’s periodontal health.
- Counsel patients on oral health, including the role of nutrition.
- Check on patient comfort during treatment and help allay patient anxiety.
- Apply cavity-preventative agents, such as fluorides and sealants.
- Perform thorough and gentle prophylaxis to patients.
- Accurately and appropriately record provided treatment.
- Take radiographs for patients as prescribed by dentist.
- Administer local anesthetics, if allowed by dental practice act.
- Perform scaling, root planning and selective polishing or patients as appropriate.
- Review patient health and dental history forms and update as necessary.
- Oversee cleanliness of the treatment room according to sterilization procedures.
- Counsel patients in Tobacco Cessation.
- Securely store and handle patient records in compliance with office policies and procedures and all applicable legal requirements, such as the HIPAA privacy and security regulations.
TYPICAL WORKING CONDITIONS & PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
- Work is performed in a clinical dental setting. Contact with patients and staff.
- Exposed to medicinal preparations, communicable disease, toxic substances, and other conditions common to a clinic environment.
- Requires at times, working in fast-paced clinical setting, in emergency situations or during irregular hours.
- The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
- Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel while working on the facilities. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit and talk or hear while working with employees to resolve facility problems. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms and stoop or kneel.
- The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision and ability to adjust focus.
EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS:
- Good interpretation skills to maintain effective rapport with patients, dentists, other staff members and community.
- Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to customers, clients, and other employees of the organization.
- Must be familiar with Microsoft office and capable of learning electronic healthcare systems software.
- Ability to speak Spanish is highly desirable.
EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS/LICENSES:
- Graduate from a CODA accredited program with a minimum of an associate degree in applied science.
- Licensure to practice Dental Hygiene in the State of Michigan.
