Dental Hygienist, School-Based Health Center

Denver Health•Denver, CO

8d•$93,600 - $127,700•Onsite

About The Position

We are recruiting for a mission-driven Dental Hygienist, School-Based Health Center to join our team! At Denver Health, purpose isn’t just something we believe in—it’s something we live every day, for life’s journey. Our Values Respect | Belonging | Accountability | Transparency. Department SBHC-DPS Dental Program.

Requirements

Associate's Degree Dental Hygiene Required or Bachelor's Degree Dental Hygiene
4-6 years Direct clinical practice Required or 1-3 years In a medical-dental integrated or school-based dental setting Required
Dental Hygienist - DORA - Department of Regulatory Agencies Required
BLS-Basic Life Support (BLS/CPR) - AHA - American Heart Association or American Red Cross Required
LOCAL-Local Anesthesia - DORA - Department of Regulatory Agencies Required
ITR-Interim Therapeutic Restorations Permit - AAPD - American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
Knowledge of dental hygiene procedures and techniques sufficient to be able to perform the full scope of preventive dental hygiene services, including dental hygiene diagnosis of dental disease, oral health screenings, oral cancer screening, oral-systemic health education, fluoride treatment, dental sealants, prophylactic cleanings, and NSPT, (scaling and root planning).
Critical thinking skills for determining when appropriate referrals are needed to dental specialists, medical care and/or behavioral healthcare.
Knowlege of trauma informed care practices willingness to provide equitable care in a system that provides LGBTQ+ affirming and culturally diverse healthcare.
Knowlege of motivational interviewing practices and ability to have effective coaching conversations with patients and their families around nutrition, oral-systemic health, oral diseases, home hygiene and substance use.
Complies with Dental Practice Act for continuing education requirements.
Knowledge of ALARA principles for prescribing and capturing dental radiographs.
Knowlege of mandatory reporter processes

Nice To Haves

With the appropriate certification as determined by the Dental Practice Act: Prescribes and applies silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for arresting caries, dentinal hypersensitivity and caries prevention.
With the appropriate permit from the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) and as determined by the Dental Practice Act: After prescription of an interim therapeutic restoration (ITR) from a supervising dentist, places ITR on pediatric and adult patients.
May administer nitrous oxide for patient management under direct supervision according to the dental practice act.

Responsibilities

Performs dental hygiene services for the care and treatment of patients in the School-Based health centers.
Performs dental hygiene assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning for dental hygiene services.
Identifies dental abnormalities for immediate referral to a Denver Health (DH) community health clinic (CHC) dentist.
Provides preventive measures including prophylactic cleaning, the application of fluoride and dental sealants.
Take digital images for diagnosis and identifying dental abnormalities and for referral to a DH-CHC dentist.
Administers topical and injectable local anesthetic as needed.
Interviews patients/guardians to obtain medical and dental history and hard charts all existing dental restorations and suspected conditions.
Completes a comprehensive periodontal assessment whenever indicated by oral conditions or as necessitated to properly diagnose for the dental hygiene treatment plan.
Takes intraoral images for documentation, patient education and for referral to a DH-CHC dentist.
Complete Caries Risk Assessment for all patients.
Completes patient care notes within 72 hours of registration.
Assists with sterile processing preparation.
Completes daily maintenance of portable dental units.
May be asked to fill-in at the dental sealant program, in the community dental clinics or in the Medical-Dental Integration programs.