Dental Hygienist - On Call

At Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, we honor all members of our community and acknowledge the dignity of each person we serve. Our purpose is to provide high quality, comprehensive primary health care to the communities of Washington and Yamhill counties with a special emphasis on migrant and seasonal farm workers and a view to removing barriers to health care. We strive to provide an environment that welcomes and values the people we employ and serve.

If you are unsure whether you meet all the required qualifications for this role but are interested and passionate about this potential position, we encourage you to apply.

Job Summary: The Dental Hygienist provides preventative and therapeutic oral prophylaxis and educates patients in the control and prevention of oral disease such as caries, and periodontal disease through proper oral hygiene and regular professional care in a variety of settings.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide appropriate periodontal services as treatment planned by the dental provider.
• Provide routine prophylaxis to adult and pediatric patients, including full mouth scaling, polish, and use of topical fluoride as needed.
• Differentiate types of periodontal disease, prioritize and sequence treatment properly including scaling, root planing, local anesthesia, and delivery of chemotherapeutic agents as indicated by the periodontal involvement of the patient.
• Report status of periodontal health and recommend proper interval for reevaluation/recall.
• Remove overhangs of filling materials and polish amalgams when endorsed.
• Place soft relines, when endorsed.
• Perform full mouth periodontal charting that includes probing depths, mobility, furcations, recession, and mucogingival involvement.
• Perform and document a complete head and neck exam, including soft tissue pathology.
• Expose diagnostic digital radiographs using existing dental radiography software.
• Provide restorative treatment, with dentist supervision, if a restorative endorsement is obtained.
• Utilize nitrous oxide in treatment of patients, if permit is obtained.
• Provide chair-side oral hygiene instruction in plaque control, appropriate use of home fluoride and desensitizing agents, and/or dietary and tobacco counseling.
• Engage in preventive teledentistry visits, as needed.
• Participate in grant-specific activities related to goals, deliverables, and outcomes as needed.
• Educate caregivers as to oral healthcare needs of accompanied patient.
• Assist with other clinic responsibilities as needed including office maintenance.
• Participate in the education of dental and dental hygiene students.
• Provide training to co-workers, in the form of lunch and learns of other structured activities emphasizing OHI and patient education.
• Maintain, clean, sterilize, and sharpen instruments.
• Place dental sealants.
• Deliver anesthetic as requested by treating dentist.
• Comply with “Universal Precautions” for infection control.
• Review patient’s medical history and dispense or confirm PAC.
• Produce documentation necessary and consistent with generally accepted professional dental standards.
• Maintain 90% compliance in 90% of areas reviewed in annual chart audit.
• Help in the organization, implementation, and facilitation of current grants (state, local, private) related to dental health services.
• Inventory supplies related to work.
• Develop and modify prevention programs.
• Attend office trainings and meetings along with CDE as required.
• Work with interpreters and non-English speaking patients.
• Complete all required VG training as assigned.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Travel as needed within Washington and Yamhill Counties.
• Valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, safe driving record and active auto insurance coverage.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Handle protected health information (PHI) in a manner consistent with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)

SBHC-Specific Duties and Responsibilities

• Comply with all Oregon Health Authority Sealant Certification requirements.
• Document patient visit information following care.
• Comply with all requirements of Virginia Garcia contracted partners.
• Maintain a 90% sealant retention rate if working in the school sealant program.
• Educate patients on the health benefits of Virginia Garcia Services in an effort to increase patient participation.
• Follow up with patients identified at risk of health problems in an effort to get them into treatment.

HIPAA Requirements:

The Dental Hygienist will have access to (PHI) during the course of their work activities. The DH will use this information to prepare both patients and medical records for visits with the provider and to keep the flow of work going smoothly in the clinic. Applying the minimum necessary standard of HIPAA, the designated records sets to which this employee will have access to include: the full medical records, and the scheduling and demographics functions of the practice management system in the view only mode.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required

• Good oral and written communication skills.
• Proficiency in English, both spoken and written language. Bilingual English and Spanish preferred.
• Knowledge of dental hygiene procedures, techniques, and tools.
• Knowledge of medications used in conjunction with dental hygiene.
• Knowledge of medical record keeping and dental charting.
• Knowledge of OSHA Bloodbourne Pathogens Standards and adherence to safety rules and standards.
• Skill in cleaning teeth and examining the mouth and teeth for anomalies, operating x-ray equipment.
• Experience anesthetizing patients preferred.
• Ability to keep accurate and legible records.
• Ability to perform dental assistant duties as needed.
• Ability to work effectively with dental team and patients.
• Proficiency with Microsoft office suite (Word, Excel, Outlook).
• Ability to be culturally sensitive and to relate to people of varied racial, educational, and socio-economic backgrounds.
• Ability to work with patients who have limited knowledge of proper oral hygiene.

Education and Experience Required

• Associate degree or higher from an accredited dental hygiene program.
• Active license to practice dental hygiene issued by the Oregon Board of Dentistry.
• Current BLS/CPR/AED certification for healthcare provider.
• Expanded Practice Permit or must acquire permit within 90 days of hire.
• Nitrous Oxide Permit preferred.
• Restorative functions endorsement preferred.

As a condition of employment for a medical or dental provider at VGMHC, these employees agree to provide services to non-health center patients under the following circumstances:

• Community-Wide special clinics at VGMHC School-based clinics and other school linked clinics
• Health Fairs
• Immunization campaigns
• Migrant camp outreach
• Homeless outreach
• Hospital related activities- for providers with hospital privileges, cross-coverage for patients of the community in the hospital is expected
• Coverage in certain individual emergencies- community members may experience a medical emergency in or around one of our health centers. VGMHC medical providers are expected to respond medically appropriately to these emergencies.

Physical Requirements

Percentage of time spent

• Sitting: up to 75%
• Standing: 25%
• Walking: 25%
• Use of Computer: 25%
• Ability to Lift/Carry up to 30 lbs.

Work Environment

• Work in a well-lighted, ventilated environment
• Potential exposure to blood borne pathogens and hazardous chemicals

Immunization:

Staff members must meet immunization requirements as stated in VGMHC’s immunization policy and state and federal guidelines.

Job descriptions represent a general outline of the essential and major job duties, functions and qualifications required. They cannot be all-inclusive and comprehensive due to the dynamic nature of work performed to accomplish VGMHC’s Mission.

VGMHC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. No person is unlawfully excluded from consideration for employment because of race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, veteran status, marital status or physical challenges. The policy applies not only to recruitment and hiring practices, but also in the areas of placement, promotion, transfer, rate of pay and termination.