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Indian Health Service is Hiring a Dental Hygienist Near Lake, MN

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, your resume must state sufficient experience and/or education, to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are applying.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer and part time experience. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

For positions requiring positive education requirements, or if you are using education to meet all or part of the qualification requirements, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or an itemized list of college courses which includes equivalent information from the transcript (course title, semester/quarter hours, and grade/degree earned) in your resume.

BASIC REQUIREMENT(S):

Licensure: Applicants for all grade levels and specializations must be currently licensed to practice as dental hygienists in a State or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia.

NOTE: Public Law 97-35 requires that persons who administer radiologic procedures meet the credentialing standards in 42 CFR Part 75. Essentially, they must (l) have successfully completed an educational program that meets or exceeds the standards described in that regulation, and is accredited by an organization recognized by the Department of Education, and (2) be certified as radiographers in their field. The following meet these requirements:

(l) Persons employed by the Federal Government as radiologic personnel prior to the effective date of the regulation (January 13, 1986) who show evidence of current or fully satisfactory performance or certification of such from a licensed practitioner such as a doctor of medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, podiatry, or chiropractic who prescribes radiologic procedures to others.

(2) Persons first employed by the Federal Government as radiologic personnel after the effective date of the regulation who (a) received training from institutions in a State or foreign jurisdiction that did not accredit training in that particular field at the time of graduation, or (b) practiced in a State or foreign jurisdiction that did not license that particular field or did not allow special eligibility to take a licensure examination for those who did not graduate from an accredited educational program, provided that such persons show evidence of training, experience, and competence as determined by OPM or the employing agency.

In addition, to the Basic Requirements, you must also meet the Minimum Qualifications stated below.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Your resume must demonstrate at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector performing the following type of work and/or tasks:

GS-05: Dental hygiene curriculum, plus appropriate experience, totaling four (4) years or four (4) year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree in dental hygiene or a in a directly related field of study or one (1) year of experience as a licensed dental hygienist.
GS-06: One (1) year of experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level
GS-07: One (1) year of experience equivalent to at least the GS-06 level
GS-08: One (1) year of experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level

Specialized Experience Examples include:
GS-05: Examine and assess patients,refer patients with abnormalities to the dentist; perform oral prophylactic care and in provide oral health education services to patients; and expose and interpret oral X-rays.
GS-06: Examine and assess patients, determine if systemic conditions are present and plan treatments; under direction and supervision perform oral prophylaxis and provide therapeutic care, perform deep scaling, root planning and subgingival curettage, place temporary fillings and administer local anesthesia, place and remove rubber dams and apply sealant; provide oral health education service to individuals and groups; take, develop and interpret intraoral and extraoral X-rays
GS-7: Examine and assess patients, determine if systemic conditions are present and plan treatments; independently and without direct observation preform oral prophylaxis and provide therapeutic care, perform deep scaling, root planning and subgingival curettage, place temporary fillings and administer local anesthesia, places and remove rubber dams and apply sealant; provide oral health education service to individuals and groups; take, develop, and interpret intraoral and extraoral X-rays; and design, implement, and evaluate major aspects of the preventive program.
GS-08: Plan and evaluate preventive health programs for patient groups; develop and revise instructional material; administer oral prophylactic and dental hygiene treatments; under direct supervision administer local anesthesia; record medical and dental histories, administer caries prevention agents, desensitize root surfaces, root planning, sealant application, takes and pour impressions for casts, removing sutures.

Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for all grade levels and positions for which both education and experience are acceptable.

Evaluation of Education: The academic curriculum in dental hygiene must have been accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, American Dental Association.

Evaluation of Specialized Experience: Qualifying experience for clinical dental hygienists includes experience in performing oral prophylactic care and in providing oral health educational services to patients. Additionally, at the higher grade levels, qualifying experience includes (1) performing advanced oral prophylactic, therapeutic, and preventive procedures in cases of periodontal diseases or inflammation or on patients with other medical or dental problems, (2) placing temporary fillings, and (3) finishing amalgam restorations. Applicants for positions involving the use of X-rays must have had experience in taking and interpreting X-rays.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement. Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade Requirements: Merit Promotion (status) candidates must have completed one year of service at the next lower grade level. Time-In-Grade provisions do not apply under the Excepted Service Examining Plan (ESEP).

Responsibilities:

• Perform oral healthcare and risk assessment that include the review of health history, dental and periodontal charging, and oral cancer screening and evaluation.
• Complete a comprehensive dental and periodontal charting that includes detailed description and evaluation of the gingiva and periodontium.
• Provide patient education on biofilm plaque control and home care protocol by incorporating techniques and products that will become part of an individualized self-care oral hygiene program.
• Remove biofilm plaque and calculus (soft and hard deposits) from teeth both coronal and apical to the gingival margin using dental instruments.
• Place temporary filling, polish and finish amalgam restorations, remove overhanging margins of fillings, and reduce sharp edges of fractured teeth.

Job Summary