Dental Hygienist

Summary The dental hygienist provides direct patient care and receives guidance from higher-level or supervisory staff members for only the most complex patients and requires only general supervision from a dentist. Dental Hygienists perform a wide variety of interventions which contribute to the overall oral health of Veterans. The work requires a professional knowledge of the field of dental hygiene and the biomedical sciences that relate to dentistry. Responsibilities Assignments include but are not limited to: patient medical assessment (e.g. medical/dental history, social history, vital signs, full periodontal assessment and charting), disease and treatment management recommendations, denture care, scaling and root planning, radiographs/image interpretation, patient education (e.g. post-procedure, tobacco cessation, caries and perio-disease prevention), behavior management, management of stable medically compromised patients (including risk factors), instrument sharpening, inter-s...