Public Health Dental Hygiene – Dental Care Manager

This position will require travel to Butler, Lawrence and Mercer Counties.

Occasional weekend hours may be required to attend community events.

This position does offer work from home flexibility – with a requirement to attend community events

Public Health Dental Hygiene Practitioner (PHDHP) provides dental care through government sponsored programs including Medicaid and CHIP. The program is focused to aid in serving the oral healthcare needs for the underserved population, with emphasis on children ranging from ages 0-21. In this position, the PHDHP will concentrate on providing education on proper oral healthcare, brushing and flossing techniques, provide nutritional counseling and tobacco cessation counseling as appropriate and apply topical fluoride applications in addition to other duties as specified, within the scope of practice as a PHDHP. A clinical evaluation or screening may be done and review of the oral structures in addition to cleaning teeth, applying sealants and topical fluoride and may perform certain radiologic image capture without the direct supervision of a dentist.

Responsibilities:

• Assesses dental condition and needs of member using patient screening procedures including medical history and medications.
• Develops dental health program and strategy within the various areas identified as having gaps in coverage.
• Provide education material and effective outreach to identify eligible members as well as work with private practice pediatricians, Federally Qualified Health Centers(FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), or schools to promote oral health care and overall wellness.
• Applies protective topical agents, sealants and fluoride and related procedures within the scope of practice for a PHDHP
• Work with local agencies such as WIC, head start, nurseries, pre-schools, and child care programs and other agencies in the target areas to identify parents and programs for offering education, enrollment and treatment opportunities; provide comprehensive age appropriate education programs related to all aspects of good dental care; work with the community navigators to identify schools and agencies to recruit for our education and enrollment treatment programs.
• Maintain records of all outreach and communications (internally and externally)
• Contacts parents/guardians via telephonic outreach to provide oral health educational and counseling
• Refers members for follow up with a dentist for an annual dental exam and assists member to obtain an appointment with a local dentist

Qualifications:

• High school diploma is required.
• Resident of Counties Served (Butler, LAwrence, Mercer) strongly preferred
• Certification by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State Board of Dentistry as a Public Health Dental Hygiene Practitioner
• Bachelor of Science Degree in dental hygiene, health science or allied health from an accredited college or university, preferred.
• 5 years of dental hygiene experience in a dental practice, school or clinic, required.
• Technical skills to perform dental assessments, fluoride application, and all dental hygiene duties, required.
• Ability to interact with doctors, dentists, patient/families, and Health Plan clinical staff to obtain and relay information on oral hygiene status, required.
• Licensure, Certifications, and Clearances:
• Certification by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State Board of Dentistry as a Public Health Dental Hygiene Practitioner.
• CPR required based on AHA standards that include both a didactic and skills demonstration component within 30 days of hire
• Basic Life Support (BLS) OR Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• Dental Hygienist
• Act 31 / Act 33 / Act 34 / Act 73 with renewal

UPMC is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran

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