This Announcement is open only to current employees of the Dental service at the W.G. Bill Hefner VA Medical Center (VAMC) and supported Facilities in Kernersville, NC. Serves in expanded function dental assistant positions independently performing more complex work in assigned specialties. Must maintain current Dental Assistant National Board(DANB) certification. DANB provide a list of permissible clinical expanded function duties specific for each state.

Duties

EXPANDED FUNCTIONS DUTIES: Duties listed in this section comprise at least 30% of the clinical expanded function dental assistant's time: - Perform mouth mirror inspection of the oral cavity - Gather diagnostic information - Perform pulp vitality testing - Charts existing restorations and conditions. - Select shades for fixed and removable prostheses - Places and remove rubber dams and matrix bands - Place and remove retraction cord - Place and remove intracoronal temporary restorations - Remove temporary crown /bridge and clean tooth preparation from debris. - Fabricates, adjust and cement temporary crown - Remove permanent cement from supragingival surfaces - Remove sutures - Place and remove surgical dresses - Perform Coronal polishing of teeth - Removes hard accretions from and polishes removable prostheses Customer Service - Shows courtesy, respect and positive attitude for patients, co-workers and the public - Provide assistance to customer with questions or concerns. Chairside Assisting - Set up operatory and /or surgery suite for planned dental procedure and cleans dental unit for timely turnover - Passes instruments safely, accurately, and efficiently - Keeps operative field clear of debris and retracts oral tissue effectively and comfortably - Prepare dental materials per manufactures instructions - Accomplish all intra- operative procedures within standard infection control protocols - Assist in routine general dental procedures using concepts of four handed dentistry - Assist in specialized dental procedures, such as oral surgery. Endodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, implant placement restorations. - Assist Dentist in charting findings and treatment plan in patients records Dental Imaging -Expose both standard and specialty dental imaging (i.e., TMJ, ceph, cone bean) - Modifies stings to achieve the images as requested by the provider - Dental Imaging safety techniques are utilized and minimize retakes - Imaging requests are accomplished within the desire time frame Infection Control - Demonstrate proper infection control procedures in setting up and cleaning operatories - Disinfect oral appliances to prevent cross contamination - Properly prepare instruments for transfer to SPS for sterilization - Follows all standard Operating procedure for Reusable Medical Equipment - Demonstrate proper infection control procedure in exposing images Information Management - Maintain patient confidentiality per HIPAA with written and verbal information - Follows computer security regulations Patient Safety - Modify care as needed by patients age and abilities (patients transfer and position) - Provides accurate and understandable instructions to patient - Participates in patient identification and time out per Joint Commission requirements - Monitor patient condition during treatment, being alert for signs of physical distress Employee Education - Complies with Employee Education requirements - Complete Mandatory Annuals trainings Dental Laboratory Functions - Pours impressions and prepare study models - Make final dentures impression trays and prepare bite rims - Fabricate athletic mouth guards - Performs other Dental Laboratory functions as time and skill levels allow Direct Patient Care - Monitor patient vital sign (BP, pulse oximeter) and condition during invasive treatment and during recovery period following procedure - Applies topical fluoride - Applies topical anesthetic at the injection site - Make impressions for diagnostic cast and preliminary impression for prosthetic fabrication - Removes plaque and soft debris from removable prosthesis - Provides patient preventive education and oral hygiene instructions - Provides post-operative and other appropriate patient education Work Schedule: Location Dependent Compressed/Flexible:Not Authorized Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified candidates in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g. Experience and Education: Experience. Six months experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides familiarity with the work. -Or- Education. Successful completion of a 1-year dental assistant program accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). -Or- Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. Certification. Successful completion of the Dental Radiation Health and Safety Examination administered by the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc.; or 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 Successful completion of a radiation health and safety program or examination approved by a state board of dentistry or the Department of Defense. -AND - 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. Loss of Credential. An employee in this occupation who fails to obtain licensure/certification/registration within the required time frame, or who fails to maintain the required licensure/certification/registration must be removed from the occupation, which may also result in termination of employment. Certification in basic life support methods is highly desirable. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 English Language Proficiency. Dental assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a Grade Determination GS-3 - None beyond the basic requirements GS-4 - 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 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): 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. Assignment. Employees at this level serve as developmental staff dental assistants. It is expected that they receive guidance from more experienced staff members for more complex patient issues and require daily and direct contact at the site of work from the assigned supervisor. GS-5 - Experience or Education: In addition to the requirements listed at GS-4 above, applicants must demonstrate at least 1 year of experience at the next lower grade level that demonstrates the core competencies described at that level -OR- Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study that included or was supplemented by completion of a dental assistant program by CODA. In addition to meeting the information above, the applicant must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1. Knowledge of anatomy and ability to evaluate diagnostic quality 2. Broad knowledge of common medical emergencies and vital signs measurement 3. 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. Assignment. Employees at this level serve as staff dental assistants for routine dental procedures. Direct supervision is given for any complex patient procedures from more experienced dental assistants or the treating dentist. GS-6 Staff Dental Assistant (Full Performance Level) - 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: 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 Assignment. Employee serves at the full performance level with the ability to perform full range of duties with some independence in assigned specialties, with indirect supervision from the lead dental assistant, dental assistant supervisor or treating dentist. GS-7 Clinical Expanded Function Dental Assistant - For all positions above the full performance level, duties must be assigned to the position at least 25% of the time. Experience. At least 1 year of experience at the next lower grade level or equivalent that demonstrates the core competencies described at that level. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical KSAs: 1. Ability to perform dental assisting expanded functions. 2. Comprehensive working knowledge of advanced imaging techniques to provide instruction (e.g., cone beam, cephalometric, advanced panoramic imaging, TMJ, etc.). Assignment: In this position, the employee performs a higher level, scope, complexity, and variety representing the clinical assignment, and applies advanced clinical skills. Representative duties at this level include, but are not limited to gathering diagnostic information, pulp vitality testing, charting of existing conditions, placing of rubber dam and matrices, selecting shades, placing retraction cord, placing, and removing temporary restorations, fabricating temporary crowns and removing permanent cement from supragingival surfaces.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address WG Bill Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center 1601 Brenner Avenue Salisbury, NC 28144 US
• Name: Kristopher Palmer
• Email: [email protected]