Dental Assistant and Outreach Worker

**Dental Assistant and Outreach Worker - OSDCP**

**Full-Time Position Available 1 FTE (37.5 Hours per week)**
- Hiring Range: $49,745.00 - $57,145.00 per/year_

Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre (HUCCHC) has been addressing health inequities such as poverty, racism, discrimination, unemployment & homelessness, faced by years. The Centre addresses the complex needs of vulnerable, racialized, and marginalized communities by providing services such as primary healthcare, community health promotion & harm reduction services.

The Dental Assistant and Outreach Worker supports the dental team to ensure the provision of high-quality dental services. The Dental Assistant and Outreach Worker prepares patients for treatment, provides oral hygiene instruction and dental health education to clients, assists with instruments processing and scheduling client appointments. The Dental Assistant and Outreach Worker provides oral health promotion services and connects senior clients with the preventative oral care services through the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program (OSDCP)

**Key Responsibilities**:
**Clinical**
- Maintains all dental equipment and the inventory of clinical supplies, and reports any deficiencies to the Supervisor, Primary Health Care Manager.
- Acts as a recorder to the Dental Hygienists as requested and charts the information during surveys and examinations.
- Provides oral hygiene instruction and dental health education to clinic patients as needed.
- Maintains/conducts daily, weekly and monthly quality assurance standards.
- Assists with booking appointments for patients and appointment reminders.
- Assists with ordering supplies as required.

**Community Outreach**
- Build trust and engage with seniors who are living on low income and need dental care.
- Build and maintain positive working relationships with various community partners.
- Use best practice in client outreach and engagement to identify potential client for the program.
- Conduct outreach in partner locations
- Facilitate oral health promotion programs for seniors.
- Assist with answering the telephone and providing routine information to callers
- Conduct regular wellness checks
- Assist clients in arranging dental care appointments and transportation to appointments, as needed.
- Assist clients who are ineligible for the OSDCP program criteria, but who need dental care, through advocacy and by linking them with appropriate community resources.
- Assess potential additional health and social needs of all clients and link clients with appropriate community resources.
- Provide services in various locations such as other health care and social service partner agencies, seniors centres, seniors apartment buildings, long term care facilities, residential homes, and more.
- Receive and respond to inquiries regarding seniors on low incomes in need of dental care.

**General Responsibilities**
- Work within an antiracism, anti-oppression, culturally and linguistically appropriate approach.
- Attend team and community network meetings and foster collaborative relationships with community partners to advance the Hamilton Urban Core dental program.
- Performs other duties as assigned which are directly related to the responsibilities of this position.
- Works in accordance with the provisions of applicable Health and Safety legislation.
- Other duties as assigned.

**Qualifications**:

- Experience related to duties listed above normally acquired through a combination of education and related work experience. Experienced Level 2 Certified Dental Assistant a strong asset. Must possess HARP certification.
- Community outreach and health promotion skills and experience a strong asset.
- Current knowledge of and ability to follow a full range of dental clinical procedures and protocols.
- Demonstrated knowledge of supplies, equipment, and/or services ordering and inventory control.
- Demonstrated knowledge of patient evaluation and triage procedures.
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment, as well as independently in the community.
- Strong understanding of the social determinants of health needs of people in the inner city.
- Demonstrate cultural safety and cultural competency.
- Commitment to the anti-racism and anti-oppression principles.
- Demonstrated ability to set up and prepare dental equipment and instrumentation in accordance with established regulations and guidelines. Ability to operate, maintain, and troubleshoot a wide range of dental equipment in accordance with prescribed procedures and standards.
- Working knowledge of regulations and guidelines for the provision of dental outpatient services.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and process dental radiographs. Demonstrated knowledge of radiation safety procedures, standards, and protocols. Experience working with digital radiography would be considered an asset.
- Demonstrated knowledge and ability of sterile procedures. Demonstrated