Dental Hygienist PT

Under the supervision of Dental Office Manager, performs all aspects of a dental hygienist, including preventive dental hygiene, periodontal scaling and root planning, charting, equipment sterilization and maintenance, and exposing radiographs. Educate patients, health care providers and the community on how to maintain good oral health. All Nimkee staff must adhere to mandated reporting laws.

• Provide registered dental hygienist duties to eligible patients in accordance with Indian Health Service and Saginaw Chippewa Tribal policies and credentialed privileges granted by the Nimkee medical Executive Committee.
• Provide oral prophylaxis (utilizing ultrasonic and/or hand instruments), scaling and root planning, periodontal maintenance, intraoral soft tissue and oral cancer screening exams, and yearly periodontal charting, including periodontal pocketing and recession.
• Administer local anesthetic if needed (only to patients 18 or older, per Michigan licensure rules).
• Provide individualized oral home care instruction including demonstration of proper brushing and flossing techniques; counsel patients in dental disease prevention, systemic risks, care of dental appliances, dental health and dietary information and answer patient questions. Encourages patients to demonstrate increased knowledge and skill in oral hygiene procedures. Clean dental appliances in ultrasonic.
• Apply fluoride varnish and dental sealants.
• Expose and label digital radiographs, including bitewing, periapical, occlusal and panoramic views, and utilize as appropriate to perform hygiene duties.
• Prepare the dental operatory prior to each patient and clean operatory afterwards.
• Record patient information in Dentrix (Electronic Dental Record), including medical changes, coding procedures, clinical notes periodontal charting, assist with recording information during hygiene exam with dentists, and sign clinical note within 24 hours. Enter blood pressure and pulse into EHR.
• Clean, disinfect and stock dental operatories including changing traps, cleaning suction lines, etc.
• Clean, sterilize and sharpen instruments, utilizing ultrasonic and autoclave; stock clean instruments.
• Utilize public health principles to assist with community prevention activities and provide community education (schools, health fairs, etc.) when requested.
• Serve as a dental representative on various committees as requested, which could include Medical Executive Committee, Infection Control Committee, Safety Committee, Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement Committee and/or HIPAA Committee.
• Provide nutritional counseling, tobacco screening and cessation counseling, as needed.
• Replace and remove sharps containers when full.
• Schedule hygiene recall appointments.
• Adhere to patient confidentiality and comply with clinic policies and federal regulations under the Privacy rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
• Provide excellent customer service for all internal and external customers of the operations at all times. Provide solutions for customer concerns and continually focus on customer service as our top priority.
• Must maintain strict confidentiality and present a positive, professional demeanor and image at all times.
• The above duties and responsibilities are not an all-inclusive list but rather a general representation of the duties and responsibilities associated with this position. The duties and responsibilities will be subject to change based on organizational needs and/or deemed necessary by the supervisor.

• Contact with patients for the purpose of providing direct care dental services.
• Contact with Nimkee Clinic staff and Tribal Operations staff.
• Contacts may also include dental supply vendors, staff from outside dental labs, and specialists to which patients may be referred.

• Registered Dental Hygienist.
• Must be able to pass background check to meet the employment eligibility requirements as they pertain to the position.

• Two years working experience in dental hygiene.

• Michigan Registered Dental Hygienist license.
• Certification to expose dental radiographs.
• Ability to obtain HIPAA Certification, Blood Borne Pathogens Certification, BLS Certification and Safety Training within thirty days of hire.
• Native American preference shall apply to all positions.

• Knowledge of current dental…