What are the responsibilities and job description for the Public Health Dental Hygiene - Dental Care Manager position at UPMC?
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