Dental Therapist

Do you want to make a difference? If so, why not consider a career with the community dental service? An exciting opportunity has become available for a Dental Therapist to join our team at Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Trust Community Dental Services, supporting clinics across the county for a 12-month fixed term contract. This is an opportunity to experience delivering care in a community service setting and to gain valuable experience whilst you are with us. You will work in collaboration with the wider clinical team to deliver dental treatment and preventative care to children and adults with special care requirements including learning difficulties, physical disabilities, mental health problems, medically compromised as well as those with behavioural, social and language barriers in a clinic setting and providing domiciliary care. As you will be expected to provide support to all clinics across Gloucestershire, the ability to visit all bases in the county is essential. The post holder will be part of a specialist service and have the opportunity to work in various clinical settings including community hospitals, community health centres, domiciliary care and residential homes whilst being supported by an experienced Dental Nurse. The people who access the community dental service will have been referred to the service as they are unable to access the care they require in a general dental practice setting. The post holder will be working alongside a Specialist in Special Care and a highly experienced and friendly dental team. This is a fantastic opportunity for a Dental Therapist with a special interest in working with patients with additional needs and paediatrics in a community setting to gain valuable experience by learning new skills and experience using specialist equipment under the supervision of a very experienced team. The post holder will be encouraged to utilise their full scope of practice working under the prescription of a dental surgeon. The Community Dental Services Gloucestershire is passionate about investing in its dental team. We provide our staff with opportunities to grow their capabilities and support Dental Therapists to develop additional skills. Training will be supported to develop additional skills. The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification. We have in excess of 5000 staff working over 50 sites, providing a diverse range of services. We strive to support an organisational culture that is welcoming, builds and celebrates inclusivity and diversity and provides a sense of belonging and trust. The annual NHS Staff Survey gives our people the opportunity to tell us about their experience working at the Trust. For the 2023 survey just over 2800 colleagues gave us their views (58.5%). It was great to see from the results that colleagues are saying that: 89.7% believe they are making a positive difference to patients/service users; 73.3% would recommend the organisation as a place to work; 82.4% agree that care of patients and service users is the organisations priority; 76.7% would be happy with the standard of care for a friend or relative. Our results put us as 5th nationally as a Community, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Employer of Choice and 1st equal amongst all NHS Provider Trusts in the South West. However, we know we have more to do and will continue to drive forward our commitment to making GHC a Great Place to Work. Key Responsibilities:

Dental treatment as permitted by statute pertaining to a Dental Therapist. Communication with patients who may have more complex medical conditions or special needs patients who may have physical/learning disabilities. To ensure appropriate and enhanced methods of communication are used where suitable; such as easy read or Makaton. Display at all times clinical operative competence. Ensure efficient and effective treatment of patients who have booked appointments. Liaise and work closely with Senior Dental Officers, Dental Officers and Dental Nurses in order to provide an effective treatment service to those patients with identified treatment need. To treat phobic/nervous patients under the use of conscious sedation. To provide at home (domiciliary visits) to patients that are housebound. Undertake fieldwork contributing to national epidemiology programmes BASCD. To attend trust events to promote oral health. The Post holder will demonstrate evidence of continuous Professional Development ensuring contemporary knowledge of current practices. Utilising the full therapist scope of practice, providing treatment by referral, or under direct access. This post requires the Therapist to work in a Community Dental Clinic which provides care for patients requiring special care dentistry.

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