Dental Hygienist - Advanced Clinical

Summary Dental hygienists at this level are advanced-level practitioners in assigned areas. Higher-level duties consist of significant scope, complexity, and range of variety, and will be performed most of the hygienist's time. Serves as coordinator of the Dental Hygiene Student Program and provides hands-on clinical instruction to dental hygiene or dental assisting students during their clinic rotations, including all training required by the Sheridan College Dental Hygiene Program. Duties Provides comprehensive dental hygiene services to Veterans in accordance with established clinical standards, applicable laws and regulations, Dental Service policies, and the Veteran's individualized treatment plan. Obtains and documents relevant patient information and performs dental hygiene assessments, including vital signs, blood glucose monitoring when indicated, medication reconciliation, pulse oximetry, oral cancer screening, dietary assessment for caries risk, and comprehensive periodontal evaluation. Reviews the Veteran's medical and dental history and identifies changes in health status, medications, allergies, or other conditions that may affect dental treatment; communicates significant findings to the dentist and other appropriate health care professionals. Performs comprehensive periodontal charting and records clinical findings, including periodontal probing, gingival conditions, recession, mobility, furcation involvement, deposits, and other relevant oral health findings. Provides preventive dental hygiene services and prophylaxis for routine and complex dental cases, including Veterans with multiple dental implants, orthognathic procedures, post-surgical conditions, restorative treatment, trauma, and other complex dental treatment needs. Performs scaling and root planning, with or without soft-tissue curettage, using appropriate instrumentation and advanced clinical modalities based on the Veteran's periodontal condition and treatment plan. Administers local anesthesia and topical anesthetic agents within the scope of applicable licensure, established protocols, and the Veteran's treatment needs. Provides adjunctive dental hygiene procedures, including management recommendations for xerostomia, sulcular lavage, placement of appropriate intrasulcular medicaments, application and removal of periodontal surgical dressings, occlusal adjustment, application of desensitizing agents, orthodontic care support, and professional tooth whitening. Performs dental radiographic procedures, including advanced imaging such as cone-beam computed tomography and cephalometric radiographs when indicated, and applies appropriate positioning, exposure, image acquisition, and radiation safety practices to obtain diagnostic-quality images while minimizing unnecessary radiation exposure and retakes. Reviews dental imaging for technical quality and recognizes findings requiring communication to the dentist or other appropriate provider for further evaluation. Provides oral hygiene instruction and preventive counseling to individual Veterans and groups, adapting education to the Veteran's oral health condition, treatment plan, functional needs, and learning needs. Develops and delivers oral health education and training materials for Veterans, caregivers, staff, and community partners as assigned. Provides dental hygiene care to Veterans with complex medical, behavioral, cognitive, physical, or special care needs and modifies the delivery of services as clinically appropriate to promote safety and successful treatment. Cleans, disinfects, packages, sterilizes, and maintains reusable medical equipment and dental instruments in accordance with applicable VA, Dental Service, and Sterile Processing Service requirements. Prepares treatment areas, instruments, equipment, and supplies for scheduled and unscheduled patient care and maintains an orderly and functional clinical environment. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM (4 days a week) Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 623-61597A Qualifications Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: Citizenship: Be a Citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with [38 U.S.C § 7407(a), Administrative Provisions for Section 7405 and 7406 Appointments.] English Language Proficiency: Dental hygienist candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Education: Applicants must possess an Associate degree or higher from an accredited dental hygiene program. The degree must have been obtained from an institution whose accreditation was in place for the year in which the course of study was completed. Approved programs are: Dental hygiene programs accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). [Education completed outside of the United States must be considered at least equivalent to that gained in CODA accredited United States programs and would enable the candidate to sit for the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination, which is administered by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations.] Licensure/Certification: Licensure: Applicants must be currently licensed to practice as a dental hygienist with a full, current and unrestricted license in a State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia. Certification: P.L. 97-35, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act Of 1981, requires persons who administer radiologic procedures meet the credentialing standards in 42 C.F.R. Part 75, Standards for the Accreditation of Educational Programs for and the Credentialing of Radiologic Personnel. To meet this requirement, they must 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 be certified as radiographers in their field. Accredited dental hygiene programs contain curriculum addressing radiologic procedures meets the requirement for certification as dental radiographers. Grandfathering Provision: All individuals employed in VHA in this occupational series or in another occupational series performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of the qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education and licensure/trademark/registration/certification. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who meet the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions app