Dental Hygienist

Defense Health Agency; Waynesville (MO); On-site; USD 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Defense Health Agency seeks a Dental Hygienist at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The role includes performing prophylaxis, deep scaling, and radiology procedures, while maintaining patient records and referring abnormalities to the dentist.

You will educate patients on home care tailored to their needs and ensure adherence to all clinical standards. Must hold a current US state dental hygiene license and radiology certification, with specialized experience in advanced procedures.

Qualifications

• Licensed dental hygienist in a US state or DC.
• Experience performing advanced dental procedures and patient examinations.
• Ability to administer radiologic procedures per regulatory standards.

Responsibilities

• Perform complete and advanced oral prophylaxis on various patients.
• Conduct deep scaling, root planing, and sub-gingival curettage under local anesthesia.
• Take intra-oral impressions for study models.
• Maintain patient treatment records and progress notes.
• Examine mouth, throat, and refer abnormalities to the dentist.
• Educate patients on home care techniques tailored to individual needs.

Skills

Oral prophylaxis

Deep scaling

Root planing

Intra-oral impressions

Record keeping

Radiology procedures

Education

State dental hygienist license (US)

Job description

Overview

Dental Hygienist:

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri is home of the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School, Army Engineer School, and U.S. Army Military Police School. Fort Leonard Wood trains and educates nearly 90 thousand troops a year. Surprisingly, the Fort also trains Marines, Airmen, Sailors, Coast Guardsmen and international students from allied nations. With more than 22,000 military members and their families, Ft Leonard Wood provides us with a diverse and well skilled population.

Fort Leonard Wood, situated in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, is a sportsman’s paradise with some of the most beautiful scenery, hosting many large lakes, rivers, streams, and forests ideal for fishing and hunting. Fort Leonard Wood covers more than 61,000 acres located in Pulaski County with a population of nearly 52,607. Bordering the installation to the north are the towns of Waynesville and St. Robert, with an estimated combined population of 9,170. The installation is situated between St Louis and Springfield, Missouri 1 ½ to 2 hours respectively. Also 30 minutes equidistant between Rolla and Lebanon along I-44. It is also a great place to raise a family along with a low cost of living.

Working for the Department of Defense comes with an abundance of benefits and perks to include competitive compensation packages, paid-time off, medical benefits, student loan repayments, and retirement package with Thrift Savings Plan to include matching employer contributions. For more information, please visit the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/benefits/

Duties

Responsibilities

• Perform complete and advanced oral prophylaxis on ambulatory and non-ambulatory patients.
• Perform deep scaling, root planning, and sub-gingival curettage under local anesthesia.
• Take intra-oral impressions to prepare study models.
• Maintain patient's record of treatment, recording oral conditions of the teeth and surrounding tissues, progress and therapy notes, etc.
• Examine patient’s mouth, throat, and pharynx, referring abnormalities to dentist.
• Plan and adapt instructions in home care techniques, tailoring them to oral hygiene needs and oral problems of individual patients.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the experience requirements described below. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document .

Licensure:

Must be currently licensed to practice as a dental hygienist in a State or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia.

Radiology Certification:

Public Law 97-35 requires that persons who administer radiologic procedures meet the credentialing standards in 42 CFR Part 75. Essentially, they must (1) have successfully completed an educational program that meets or exceeds the standards described in that regulation and is accredited by an organization recognized by the Department of Education, and (2) be certified as radiographers in their field. The following meet these requirements:

• Persons employed by the Federal Government as radiologic personnel prior to the effective date of the regulation (January 13, 1986) who show evidence of current or fully satisfactory performance or certification of such from a licensed practitioner such as a Doctor of Medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, podiatry, or chiropractic who prescribes radiologic procedures to others.
• Persons first employed by the Federal Government as radiologic personnel after the effective date of the regulation who (a) received training from institutions in a State or foreign jurisdiction that did not accredit training in that particular field at the time of graduation, or (b) practiced in a State or foreign jurisdiction that did not license that particular field or did not allow special eligibility to take a licensure examination for those who did not graduate from an accredited educational program, provided that such persons show evidence of training, experience, and competence as determined by OPM or the employing agency.

Requirements

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Specialized Experience

One year of specialized experience which includes performing advanced dental procedures on patients; completing oral examinations and performing or interpreting routine x-rays to identify tooth structures, calculus or abnormalities. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-06).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.