The dental assistants facilitate direct patient care by working together with the dentist in restorative, prosthodontic, maxillofacial prosthodontic, periodontal, endodontic, and oral surgery procedures. They prepare the patients for treatment, schedule appointments, assist with the aspirating of air/water syringes, expose dental radiographs, and take impressions for provisional crowns.

Duties

The dental assistant is an oral healthcare professional trained to provide supportive procedures for the dentist and for the patients. The incumbent performs a wide range of intra-oral dental procedures and provides chair side assistance in the clinic and operating room setting, as needed. Assistants should use time out protocols to confirm patients' identity with at least two hospital approved identifiers before seating and preparing patients for treatment. The dental assistant will:

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. English Language Proficiency. Dental assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, of VA Handbook 5005, Qualification Standards. Basic Experience and/or 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. 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). ***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.***Certification in basic life support methods is highly desirable. 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): All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including certification [(for positions above the full performance level)] that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) Such employees [ ] may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or [changed to lower grade] within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Such employees [MUST] meet the [certification] requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels. (2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. (3) Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. (4) If an employee who was retained under this provision leaves [the] occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Grade Determinations - In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met: Dental Assistant, GS-03 Experience or Education: None beyond the basic requirements. Dental Assistant, GS-04 Experience or Education: 1 year of experience at the next lower level OR; 2 years of education above high school that include completion of a dental assistant program accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on [Dental] Accreditation [CODA]. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities, 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 Dental Assistant, GS-05 Experience or Education: In addition to the requirements listed at GS-4 above, applicants must demonstrate at least 1 year of experience equivalent to 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities, In addition to the education or experience listed above, 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. Dental Assistant, GS-06 (Full Performance Level) Experience: At least 1 year of experience [equivalent to] the next lower grade level, GS-05, that demonstrates the core competencies described at that level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 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 5005/46, 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: The physical demands of the work include moderate lifting (15-44 lbs), heavy carrying (45 lbs and over), ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, good distant vision in one eye, ability to hear whisper voice. There is moderate walking (3-4 hrs.) and some extended periods of standing (3-4 hrs.).

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address West Palm Beach VA Medical Center 7305 North Military Trail West Palm Beach, FL 33410 US
• Name: Kristen L. Johnson
• Phone: 813-816-7155 X100172
• Email: [email protected]