Dental Hygienist

POSITION SUMMARY

Remove soft and hard deposits from teeth, teach patients how to practice good oral hygiene, and provide other preventive dental care. Examine patients’ teeth and gums, recording the presence of diseases or abnormalities. Remove calculus, stains, and plaque from teeth; perform root planning as a periodontal therapy; take and develop dental X-rays; and apply cavity-preventive agents such as fluorides and pit and fissure sealants.

Essential Position Duties

1. Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.
2. Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.
3. Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist.
4. Feel lymph nodes under patient's chin to detect swelling or tenderness that could indicate presence of oral cancer.
5. Apply fluorides and other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay.
6. Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.
7. Expose and develop x-ray film.
8. Provide clinical services and health education to improve and maintain oral health of school children.
9. Remove excess cement from coronal surfaces of teeth.
10. Make impressions for study casts.
11. Place, carve, and finish amalgam restorations.
12. Administer local anesthetic agents.
13. Conduct dental health clinics for community groups to augment services of dentist.
14. Remove sutures and dressings.
15. Performs miscellaneous duties as required by management.
16. Must maintain appropriate attendance.