Dental Hygienist - Advanced Clinical

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.

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

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.