Dental Therapist / Hygienist, SW Cleft Service

NHS; Bristol; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider is seeking a dynamic Dental Therapist/Hygienist for the South West Cleft Service. This role involves delivering specialized dental care to patients with cleft lip and palate in a supportive, multi-disciplinary environment. Ideal candidates will have experience with complex needs and a commitment to high-quality patient care. Join a dedicated team at a prominent dental hospital in Bristol, where you can make a significant impact on patient lives.

Qualifications

• Experience working with children and adults with complex needs.
• Knowledge of safeguarding issues.

Responsibilities

• Provide dental hygiene/therapy service for patients with cleft lip and/or palate.
• Implement hospital's oral health policy and propose changes.

Skills

Communication

Manual Dexterity

Empathetic Skills

Education

Degree / Diploma in Dental Hygiene and/or Dental Therapy

Job description

Go back University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)

Dental Therapist / Hygienist, SW Cleft Service

The closing date is 30 May 2025

Want to do something different? Are you looking for a new challenge in your career?

We are recruiting for a dental therapist/hygienist in the South West Cleft Service and are looking for a dynamic and enthusiastic individual to join our supportive multi-disciplinary team.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a dental therapist or hygienist to work within a regional Cleft centre. This role can be as challenging as it is rewarding and will provide the incumbent post holder with the potential to further their skills utilising the full range of treatments with support from paediatric and restorative dentists, orthodontists, and surgeons.

Applications are invited from caring and enthusiastic dental therapists/hygienists for this post which will be based in the Bristol Dental Hospital at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston. The post holder will deliver dental care and advice to adult and paediatric patients accessing the South West Cleft Service as prescribed by a dentist/orthodontist/surgeon within the service.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide a dental hygiene/therapy service at Bristol Dental Hospital for patients with cleft lip and/or palate, and similar conditions, who are under the care of the Consultant Cleft Orthodontist, Consultant Cleft and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Consultants in Paediatric and Restorative Dentistry and the Special Care service.

The priority patient group for this post is children and adults born with cleft lip and/or palate, under the care of the South West Cleft Service. The post holder will provide clinical care and preventative treatment to this patient group. A proportion of this cohort have complex needs and patients with high levels of anxiety and challenging behaviour also require dental care.

The work will cover the full range of treatments currently permitted under the General Dental Council Regulations, including all extended duties for Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists, provided that specific clinical duties are only undertaken if trained and competent to do so.

The post holder will take responsibility for implementing the hospital's oral health policy, and may propose changes to practices/procedures, within the South West Cleft Service in the Bristol Dental Hospital.

About us

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as 'Good' overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward- thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone's throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we're meeting our pledge.

Job responsibilities

For a more detailed job description, main responsibilities, and person specification, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.

Person Specification

Knowledge and Experience

• Experience of working with children and adults with complex needs
• Knowledge of safeguarding issues
• Working within a team (and ability to self-direct their workload)

Skills and Abilities

• Highly specialist manual dexterity, with the skills to provide the full range of treatments currently permitted under the General Dental Council's Scope of Practice including all extended duties for dental hygienists
• Competence to develop oral healthcare services for designated groups of patients across the trust
• Communication and empathetic skills with patients at a level more advanced than those required for routine care in a general setting
• Ability to work positively and professionally with a variety of staff eg. surgeons, orthodontists, dental nurses, technicians and administrative staff
• Sufficient computer and keyboard skills
• General knowledge of the patient's journey from birth to 20 years across all disciplines for patients born with an orofacial cleft
• Knowledge of the dental and oral health issues relating to patients born with orofacial clefting
• Knowledge of the care of patients undergoing treatment for cancer of the head and neck and special care dentistry

Qualifications and Training

• Degree / Diploma in Dental Hygiene and/or Dental Therapy plus demonstrative experience of working with children and adults with complex needs
• Professional portfolio of continuing professional development
• Respecting Everyone
• Recognising Success
• Working Together

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)