Job opening: Dental Assistant
Salary: $33 905 - 54 625 per year
Published at: Oct 31 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.
Duties
If you are NOT a federal employee, apply under CBST-12184437-24-TB
Duties include but are not limited to:
Sets up operatory and/or surgery suite for planned dental procedure and cleans dental unit for timely turnover
Receives and prepares patient for treatment including seating, positioning chair, and placing napkin
Retrieves all pertinent patient records prior to seating patient
Performs disinfection and sterilizing procedures
Prepares procedural trays/armamentaria set ups
Performs basic chairside assisting with direct instruction from treating dentist;
Keeps operative field clear of debris and retracts oral tissues effectively and comfortably
Accomplishes all intra-operative procedures within standard infection-control protocols;
Reports medical emergencies to dentist
Assists in routine general dental procedures
Assists with basic restorative procedures
Maintains a field of operation during dental procedures via retraction, suction, irrigation, drying, placing and removing cotton rolls
Mixes basic dental materials
Assists in preparation of laboratory prescription forms
Provides patient-preventative education and oral hygiene instruction
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Functional Statement #: 502-00314-F /502-00315-F / 502-00316-F / 502-00317-F
EDRP Authorized: Contact
[email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
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:
United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
English Language Proficiency. Dental assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part.
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). Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying.
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. Provisions for Certification of Radiologic Competence (a) Successful completion of the Dental Radiation Health and Safety Examination administered by the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc.; 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).
NOTE: 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.
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:
GS3:
Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.
GS4:
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:
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.(KSAs must be clearly reflected in resume under description of duties in order to be found qualified for this position/grade level).
GS5:
Experience or Education: In addition to the requirements listed at GS-4 above, applicants must demonstrate at least one 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.
In addition to meeting paragraph (1) or (2) 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. 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. (KSAs must be clearly reflected in resume under description of duties in order to be found qualified for this position/grade level).
GS6:
Experience. At least one 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. (KSAs must be clearly reflected in resume under description of duties in order to be found qualified for this position/grade level).
Preferred Experience:
2 years experience as Dental Assistant experience
References: VA Handbook Appendix G36
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-6.
Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary but also demands standing, walking,
bending, twisting, and carrying light items.
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 Alexandria VA Medical Center
2495 Shreveport Highway
Pineville, LA 71360
US
- Name: Teri Bankhead
- Phone: 2057719942
- Email: [email protected]
Map