Registered Dental Hygienist – Orthodontic Clinical Role

This is not a traditional hygiene position.

Simple Orthodontics in Larkspur is looking for a Registered Dental Hygienist who loves working with children and families and is interested in expanding their clinical career into orthodontics, long-term patient relationships, and greater professional autonomy.

We call the role Clinical Care Associate (CCA).

A CCA becomes a consistent clinical partner throughout a patient’s orthodontic journey. Rather than focusing on a single procedure or appointment, you learn the patient’s treatment deeply, build relationships with families, deliver care within your professional scope, communicate directly with patients and parents, and progressively take greater ownership of the overall care experience.

For the right hygienist, this is an opportunity to build a new clinical career without leaving dentistry.

Why an RDH might love this role

You became a clinician to take care of people.

The CCA role is designed for a clinician who wants to use a broader range of their judgment, communication skills, curiosity, and clinical maturity while developing deep, long-term relationships with patients and families.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Build long-term relationships with children and families
• Learn orthodontic treatment deeply
• Work closely and directly with the orthodontist
• Develop substantial professional autonomy
• Become responsible for an ongoing panel of patients
• Work with digital dentistry, scanning, imaging, aligner technology, and modern orthodontic workflows
• Grow from competence → autonomy → stewardship
• Work within a small clinical team where your judgment and contribution genuinely matter

The long-term goal is not simply procedural competence. A fully developed CCA becomes a trusted clinical partner who understands the why behind treatment and helps maintain continuity throughout the patient’s care.

What you would do

Depending on your licensure, training, and stage of development, responsibilities may include:

• Delivering orthodontic clinical care within your permitted professional scope
• Supporting aligner, scanning, records, attachment, appliance, and other orthodontic workflows
• Developing a deep understanding of each patient’s treatment stage and next steps
• Communicating clearly with children, adolescents, and parents
• Helping patients and families understand what is happening and why
• Monitoring treatment progress and identifying concerns
• Maintaining accurate documentation and clinical follow-through
• Anticipating patient needs rather than simply reacting to them
• Escalating clinical questions appropriately to the orthodontist
• Developing increasing responsibility for an assigned patient panel

Clinical responsibilities are assigned according to California licensure, permits, training, and demonstrated competency.

Who we’re looking for

Required

• Active California Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH) license
• Current CPR/BLS certification
• Authorization to work in the United States
• Ability to reliably work in person in Larkspur, Monday through Thursday

Orthodontic experience is not required.

We are much more interested in finding someone with:

• Strong clinical judgment
• Exceptional communication skills
• Warmth with children and families
• Curiosity and a desire to understand the “why”
• Professional maturity
• Initiative
• Accountability
• Comfort receiving direct feedback
• A desire for meaningful responsibility and autonomy

We do not expect you to arrive knowing orthodontics at a CCA level. The role has a deliberate development path, and advancement is based on competence, judgment, ownership, and readiness rather than speed.

How we work

Simple Orthodontics is a small practice, and we work closely together.

We believe in:

• Patients first
• Direct, human communication
• Clear expectations
• Significant professional trust and autonomy
• Frequent feedback rather than annual surprises
• Clinical integrity over production pressure
• Long-term professional partnership

There are no sales quotas, no individual commissions, and no pressure to sell treatment.

Schedule

Full-time, 4-day workweek

Monday–Thursday
Larkspur, California

This is an in-person clinical role.

Compensation

Base salary: $72,000–$78,000 per year, depending on experience, clinical background, and entry point into the CCA development pathway.

In addition to stable base compensation, CCAs participate in a team-based monthly bonus program tied to the overall health and performance of the practice—not individual production or sales.

As clinical responsibility and practice performance grow, total compensation can exceed $100,000 annually, with additional upside at higher performance levels and the potential to approach the equivalent of approximately $600 per worked clinical day on our four-day schedule.

Base salary and benefits do not decrease when bonus performance fluctuates.

There are no individual commissions, sales quotas, or production requirements.

Benefits

After the 90-day trial period:

• Medical insurance with employer contribution
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Life insurance
• 401(k) with up to 4% employer match
• Paid time off
• Professional development support
• Team-based bonus eligibility

A different clinical career path

This role may be especially interesting if you have ever thought:

“I love being a clinician and taking care of people, but I want a career that gives me more room to grow, think, build relationships, and take real ownership of patient care.”

You do not have to leave clinical dentistry to build something different.

The Clinical Care Associate role offers another path—centered on children, relationships, orthodontics, technology, clinical judgment, professional autonomy, and long-term professional growth.

If that sounds like the kind of career you have been looking for, we would genuinely like to meet you.

Simple Orthodontics
Larkspur, Marin County, California

Pay: $72,000.00 - $78,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Vision insurance

Application Question(s):

• This is not a traditional hygiene position. What interests you about moving into a broader clinical role involving orthodontics, children and families, long-term patient relationships, and increasing professional autonomy?
• Tell us about a time you noticed something a patient or your team needed before anyone asked you to handle it. What did you notice, and what did you do?
• You are preparing to treat a patient and notice that something in the chart, treatment plan, or clinical setup does not seem right. What would you do?
• This is an in-person clinical position in Larkspur with a 3-4-day workweek, Monday through Thursday. Are you able to reliably commit to this schedule?

Work Location: In person