Dental Hygienist at IB

Imperial Beach Community Clinic; Imperial Beach (CA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Imperial Beach Community Clinic is seeking a Dental Hygienist to provide hygiene care and maintain patient records in a busy clinic.

You will perform prophylaxis, scaling, and radiographs, while educating patients on oral health and prevention strategies. The role requires license verification and 2–5 years of relevant experience.

Qualifications

• Must be licensed to practice in state and meet other applicable state requirements.
• 2–5 years of experience in dental hygiene.
• Completed at least 2 years of post-secondary education from an accredited dental hygiene program.
• Experience providing prophylaxis and taking X-rays.

Responsibilities

• Provide hygiene treatment to patients.
• Review daily hygiene schedule with staff and manage patient flow.
• Perform prophylaxis, scaling, root planning, and polishing as needed.
• Take radiographs as prescribed by the dentist.
• Maintain sterile treatment room and manage instruments.
• Record treatments accurately and educate patients on oral health.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Verbal communication

Education

Post-secondary education in dental hygiene

2–5 years dental hygiene experience

Prophylaxis and radiography experience

Job description

Description

Dental Hygienist

Reports to: Dental Director

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsible for providing hygiene treatment to patients

SPECIFIC DUTIES

Patient Management

• Review daily schedule with the administrative assistant for hygiene patients
• Work with administrative assistant to schedule hygiene patients with efficiency
• Review patient health and dental history forms and update as necessary
• Accurately chart each patient’s periodontal health
• Perform thorough and gentle prophylaxis for patients
• Perform scaling, root planning and selective polishing for patients as appropriate
• Polish restorations
• Administer local anesthetics, if allowed by dental practice act
• Place medicaments subgingival for periodontal disease treatment
• Take radiographs of patients as prescribed by dentist
• Apply cavity-preventive agents, such as fluorides and sealants
• Communicate with patients in an understandable and professional way
• Check on patient comfort during treatment and help allay patient anxiety
• Accurately and appropriately record provided treatment
• Teach proper oral hygiene techniques to patients
• Counsel patients on oral health, including the role of nutrition
• Perform other tasks assigned by the dentist

Treatment Room Management and Sterilization

• Check treatment room for cleanliness and make necessary changes
• Check and turn on treatment room equipment
• Gather and review patient charts for the day
• Clean treatment room at the end of the day and turn off equipment
• Maintain a supply inventory for hygiene treatment
• Review, select and submit orders for patient education materials for the practice
• Submit supply orders to business manager once a month or as necessary
• Properly discard all disposable items from each visit
• Assemble soiled instruments and place in sterilization area
• Clean treatment room surfaces with disinfectant solution
• Pre-soak soiled instruments in a disinfectant
• Sort and package instruments by tray for proper sterilization
• Load, activate and vent the sterilization unit according to manufacturer’s directions
• Store instruments and trays in appropriate places

Records Management

• Securely store and handle patient records in compliance with office policies and procedures and applicable legal requirements, such as HIPAA regulations
• Accurately record medical and dental histories
• Accurately file patient information
• Arrange patient charts
• Assist in the administration of the recall system

Office Participation

• Be an active participant in team meetings
• Promote team concept by interacting with others in the office

Requirements

Education/Experience

• Must be licensed to practice in state and meet other applicable state requirements
• Must have 2 to 5 years of experience in a dental hygiene position
• Must have completed at least 2 years of post-secondary education from an accredited dental hygiene program
• Experience providing prophylaxis and taking X-rays

Interpersonal

• Good interpersonal skills to maintain effective rapport with patients, dentists and coworkers
• Effective verbal skills to communicate with patients and staff