Dental Hygienist, Community Outreach & Preventive Care

JOB PURPOSE : To provide dental hygiene care and education to patients in traditional and non-traditional settings in the dental clinics, integrated medical sites, or community outreach settings.

Essential Job Functions:

• Promotes the patients’ dental health by delivering comprehensive dental hygiene services in a quality-oriented and cost effective manner.
• Supports the capacity of the dentists to deliver patient care by acting as a dental auxiliary in providing expanded function services to the patients.
• Supports the dentist and dental team members and works in a professional, cooperative and

congenial manner with the entire dental staff (i.e., dentist, hygienists, residents, students, dental assistants, and dental receptionists).

• Develops strong working relationships with medical providers that enhance communication regarding the oral health needs of their patients.
• Collaborates with a broad spectrum of health professionals while working across traditional boundaries to achieve success.
• Develops rapport with patients, family, staff members and management.
• Supervises and participates in the training of dental hygiene students and coronal polishing certified
• dental assistants.
• Works clinical sessions and/or supervises dental hygiene students during clinical sessions as assigned

by the Dental Director, and is prepared to begin work during these clinical sessions in a punctual

• manner.
• Provides comprehensive dental hygiene services in a traditional dental team environment at the direction of the team dentist.
• Ability to deliver dental hygiene care which is considered reasonable, prudent, and within the abilities of a

dental hygienist; to include, but not limited to, the following procedures:

• Radiology: Takes high quality, diagnostic images as prescribed by the dentist.
• Preventive: Performs dental prophylaxis, the application of topical fluorides including fluoride varnish, and the application of pit and fissure sealants.
• Patient Education: Instructs patients in all phases of oral hygiene, home care technique, nutritional counseling and tobacco cessation utilizing motivational interviewing techniques.
• Periodontics: Performs periodontal scaling/root planning, conservative periodontal therapy (i.e., placement of controlled-release chemotherapeutic agents), and periodontal maintenance procedures.
• Adjunctive: Administers local anesthesia, nitrous oxide analgesia under supervision of a dentist and all other services allowed within the scope of the AZ Dental Practice Act regarding regulation of dental hygienists.

• Provides ancillary services in support of the Dentist’s practice, to include but not limited to the following procedures:
• Diagnostic data collection for comprehensive examination appointments.
• Triage of emergency patients.
• Local anesthetic injections for the dentists’ patients.
• Suture removal and post-op care including dressing change.
• Polishing of amalgam restorations.
• Taking and recording vitals on patients
• Performs and documents medication reconciliation.
• Tooth Charting and treatment planning for the dental team as needed.
• Periodontal probing and charting

• Provides dental hygiene care in non-traditional settings such as medical integrated clinics and outreach events.
• Delivers high quality dental hygiene care to a diverse patient population according to the following
• five life cycles:
• Prenatal, Pediatric,
• Adolescent,
• Educates patients on their unique oral health needs and desires using current best practice methods to encourage behavior change (e.g. Motivational Interviewing). This may include:
• Nutritional counseling for control of dental disease,
• Tobacco counseling for the control and prevention of oral disease
• Helps the patient to identify and select self-management goals.
• Assists Special Needs patients with complex medical conditions.
• Employs the SOAP method of recording patient treatment in the electronic dental record.
• Performs all hygiene clinical procedures to include prophylaxis for adults and children, periodontal maintenance, periodontal scaling, root planing, topical fluoride treatment, placing sealants and the use of interim caries arresting medicament application (i.e. Silver Diamine Fluoride).
• Utilizes emerging tele-dentistry technologies such as intra oral cameras and mobile x-ray units.
• Performs dental hygiene duties using both permanent and portable dental equipment.
• Maintains dental operations by maintaining/sharpening the dental hygiene instruments, facilitating and assisting in the sterilization of the working surfaces of the dental operatory, facilitating water disinfection protocols as well as the sterilizing and maintenance of the hygiene instrumentation (i.e., hand pieces, hand instruments, etc.)
• Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability in work assignments, including the use of portable equipment.
• Attends clinical sessions as assigned by the Dental Director/Dentist Team Leader, and is prepared to
• begin work during these clinical sessions in a punctual manner.
• Maintains a satisfactory level or better on the annual performance evaluation and keeps licensure and
• credentialing current and updated.
• Staff evening or Saturday clinics as determined by current clinic policies at the direction of the Dental
• Director.
• Performs administrative duties associated with the practice of dental hygiene with accuracy and timeliness including:
• chart documentation
• assisting in the completion of medical consultations
• referrals
• insurance pre-authorizations
• correspondence

• Administers and maintains the patient re-care system.
• Follows OSHA regulations/guidelines and established policies and procedures regarding employee

safety, infection control and sterilization.

• Follows HIPPA regulations/guidelines and established policies and procedures regarding patient confidentiality.
• Maintains a clean, safe, and hygienic work environment in compliance with all Policies and Procedures including but not limited to work areas, workstations, examination rooms, hand washing, infection prevention and control etc. for this position.
• Demonstrates an understanding of and proficiency with the application of all compliance and reporting requirements respective to Joint Commission Certification (JCC) standards.

Minimum Education and Experience:

• Registered Dental Hygiene (RDH) Degree from a dental hygiene school accredited by the American Dental Association (A.D.A.)

If applicable, equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered, and must be directly related to the functions and responsibilities of the job.

Required Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations:

• Active and unencumbered Dental Hygienist License from the Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners.
• Arizona Local Anesthesia Certificate.
• Current certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) for health care providers.
• Level I fingerprint clearance card: current valid and in good standing or have applied for it within seven working days after beginning employment.
• Employees in this position are required to have reliable transportation that can meet any operational reassignments of the organization during the workday. If an employee is driving during work hours, the employee is required to possess a valid driver’s license and must comply with Arizona vehicle insurance requirements.

Preferred Education, Experience, Skills, Abilities:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health from an accredited university.
• Three (3) years’ experience as a Dental Hygienist.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) with the ability to speak, read and writein both languages.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities; known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; and for sincerely held religious beliefs, observances, and practices to perform the essential functions of the job.

El Rio Health does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), political affiliation, military service, or other non-merit-based factors. It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions are based on job-related factors.

El Rio Health requires all AZ employees to have a Level One Fingerprint Clearance card. A.R.S. 36.425.03. New hires and transfers must submit their fingerprint clearance card or fingerprint receipt before their hire date or transfer date. Level One (1) Non-IVP Fingerprint Clearance card must be received within 30 days after the new employee hire date or transfer date.

All employees are strongly recommended to obtain and maintain vaccination status (i.e., as recommended by CDC and/or other public health agencies) to include an Influenza vaccination. Subject to exemptions and accommodations when required by law. (Policy: Adm-016 & Adm-045).

All employees are required to undergo drug testing prior to employment and will be subject to post-accident, reasonable suspicion, return to duty and follow up drug and alcohol testing in compliance with Federal and State regulations for alcohol and controlled substance testing. Employees in positions holding responsibility for the safety and welfare of others will also be classified as safety sensitive.

El Rio Health is a non-profit 501(c)(3) Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and abides by all applicable federal Drug-Free Workplace standards. El Rio Health is an equal opportunity employer.