VA San Diego is hiring a dental assistant to perform assigned duties under a lead dental assistant and/or treating dentist.

Duties

As a dental assistant you will perform a range of duties assigned by the lead dental assistant and/or the treating dentist. You will be responsible for the set-up/room turnover, chair-side assisting duties, and dental laboratory tasks. Duties include, but are not limited to: Using the concepts of four-handed dentistry. Assisting with specialty procedures including oral surgery, periodontal therapy, endodontic, prosthodontic and implant placement and restoration. Anticipating surgeons/specialists needs at each stage of treatment. Taking preliminary impressions. Selecting and manipulating a variety of gypsums and waxes. Pouring, trimming, and evaluating the quality of diagnostic casts. Fabricating custom trays. Work Schedule: 7:00am - 3:30pm Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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. 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 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 (DoD). 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: To qualify for the GS-3: Experience or Education: None beyond the basic requirements. To qualify for the 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 KSAs: Basic knowledge of infection control and safe instrument handling. Basic knowledge of dental procedures and medical emergencies. Ability to perform basic radiographic image capture and processing/retrieval. Basic knowledge of maintenance, care and storage of dental equipment. Basic knowledge of patient privacy requirements. To qualify for the GS-5: Experience or Education: 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 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, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Knowledge of anatomy and ability to evaluate diagnostic quality. Broad knowledge of common medical emergencies and vital signs measurement. Basic knowledge of instruments, materials and standardized dental procedures. Ability to learn and utilize software programs used within VHA. Basic communication skills to provide patient instructions according to established protocol. To qualify for the GS-6: 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: Ability to identify normal oral anatomy. Advanced knowledge of instruments, materials, and standardized dental procedures used in all phases of restorative, surgical, endodontic and periodontal care and procedures. Ability to monitor and perform basic interpretation of vital signs. Ability to independently provide procedure-specific patient education and appropriate referral of patient concerns to treating dentist. Ability to capture standard and special dental images of good diagnostic quality in traditional or digital formats. Ability to perform maintenance on dental equipment used for routine and specialty dentistry. Ability to enter and retrieve data utilizing electronic dental records. Ability to perform dental assistant-appropriate laboratory procedures. References: VA Handbook 5005, part II, appendix G36, "Dental Assistant Qualification Standard" 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: Light lifting and carrying, use of both hands, fingers, reaching above shoulders, walking, standing, sitting, depth perception, rapid mental and muscular coordination.

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 San Diego VA Medical Center 3350 La Jolla Village Drive San Diego, CA 92161 US
• Name: Maria Quiles
• Phone: (352) 278 - 0482
• Email: [email protected]