Dental Assistant

Summary

Dental assistant for routine patient care and with indirect supervision from the lead or supervisory dental assistant or the treating dentist; direct supervision is given for any complex patient procedures from more experienced dental assistants, lead dental assistant, supervisory dental assistant, or the treating dentist.

Assists the dentist in many aspects of direct patient care and performs other clinical and clerical functions with direct supervision, as needed.

Duties

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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Customer Service

• Shows courtesy, respect, and a positive attitude towards patients, co-workers and the public
• Aids customers with questions or concerns, provides service recovery

Chairside Assisting

standards

Dental Imaging

Infection Control and Equipment Sterilization

Clerical Functions

Information Management

Patient Safety

Employee Education

Dental Laboratory Functions

Direct Patient Care

Work Schedule : Monday-Friday, 8 : 00 am to 4 : 30 pm, (Subject to change based on the needs of the service)

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus) : Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance) : Not Authorized

Pay : Competitive salary and regular salary increases

Paid Time Off : 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)

Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience.

Parental Leave : After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.

Child Care Subsidy : After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66 .

Retirement : Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA

Insurance : Federal health / vision / dental / term life / long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Telework : Not Available

Virtual : This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 564-00310F / 5464-00311F / 564-00312F / 564-00313F

Permanent Change of Station (PCS) : Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider :

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification / licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements :

(a) United States Citizenship : Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g.

(b) Experience and Education

(1) Experience. Six months experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work, or provides familiarity with the work.

OR

(2) Education. Successful completion of a 1-year dental assistant program accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on [Dental] Accreditation (CODA).

(3) Experience / Education Combination . Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying.

(c) Certification . Public Law 97-35 requires that persons who administer radiologic procedures meet the credentialing standards in 42 CFR Part 75. Essentially, they must 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 be certified as radiographers in their field.

(1)Provisions for Certification of Radiologic Competence

OR

(b) Successful completion of the Principles and Practice of Dental Radiology and Radiographic Safety courses and examinations developed by the Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Dentistry.

OR

(c) Successful completion of a radiation health and safety program or examination approved by a state board of dentistry or the Department of Defense (DoD).

(2) Non-certified applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for certification of radiologic competence may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate dental assistant under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405 (a) (1) (D). Failure to obtain certification during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment. This will result in removal from the GS-681 series and may result in termination of employment.

(3) Certification in basic life support methods is highly desirable.

(4) Certification by the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB). The American Dental Association (ADA) recognizes DANB as the national certification for Dental Assistants. DANB certification is not required, but highly desirable for the appointment of Dental Assistants up to and including the full performance level, and is required for all positions above the full performance level.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations : In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

(1) GS-3

(a) Experience or Education . None beyond the basic requirements.

(b) Assignment. Employees at this level serve in dental assistant career development positions. It is expected that they receive guidance from more experienced staff members for more complex patient issues, and require daily close supervision.

(2) GS-4

(a) Experience or Education. In addition to the basic requirements, 1 year of experience at the next lower level, OR 2 years of education above high school that included completion of a dental assistant program accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs :

(b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

1. Basic knowledge of infection control and safe instrument handling.

2. Basic knowledge of dental procedures and medical emergencies.

3. Ability to perform basic radiographic image capture and processing / retrieval.

4. Basic knowledge of maintenance, care and storage of dental equipment.

5. Basic knowledge of patient privacy requirements.

(3) GS-5

(a) Experience or Education

(1) In addition to the requirements listed at GS-4 above, applicants must demonstrate at least 1 year of experience equivalent to at the next lower grade level that demonstrates the core competencies described at that level.

OR

(2)Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study that included or was supplemented by completion of a dental assistant program by CODA.

(3) In addition to meeting paragraph (1) or (2) above, the applicant must demonstrate the following KSA's :

(b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

1) Knowledge of anatomy and [ability to evaluate diagnostic quality.

2) Broad knowledge of common medical emergencies and vital signs measurement.

3) Basic knowledge of instruments, materials and standardized dental procedures.

4) Ability to learn and utilize software programs used within VHA.

5) Basic communication skills to provide patient instructions according to established protocol.

4) GS-6 [Staff Dental Assistant (Full Performance Level)

a) Experience. At least 1 year of experience [equivalent to] the next lower grade level that demonstrates the core competencies described at that level. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical KSAs :

(b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

1) Ability to identify normal oral anatomy.

2) Advanced knowledge of instruments, materials, and standardized dental procedures used in all phases of restorative, surgical, endodontic and periodontal care and procedures.

3) Ability to monitor and perform basic interpretation of vital signs.

4) Ability to independently provide procedure-specific patient education and appropriate referral of patient concerns to treating dentist.

5) Ability to capture standard and special dental images of good diagnostic quality in traditional or digital formats.

6) Ability to perform maintenance on dental equipment used for routine and specialty dentistry.

7) Ability to enter and retrieve data utilizing electronic dental records.

8) Ability to perform dental assistant-appropriate laboratory procedures

Preferred Experience : None indicated.

Reference : For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06 . The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-06 .

Physical Requirements : Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Work Environment : Work is performed in an office / clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

Education

Note : Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here : If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit :

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave : Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration / Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA / OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.