Dental Assistant

About the role

The incumbent will be responsible for performing the duties of a dental assistant in an outpatient dental clinic. John D. Dingell VA Outpatient dental clinic provides a full range of ambulatory health care services to eligible veterans.

Qualifications

• Basic Requirements: 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.
• 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 (one of the following):
  • Six months experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides familiarity with the work; OR
  • Successful completion of a 1-year dental assistant program accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA); OR
  • Equivalent combinations of experience and education.
• English Language Proficiency: Dental assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a.
• Certification: Public Law 97-35 requires that persons who administer radiologic procedures meet the credentialing standards in 42 CFR Part 75. They must have successfully completed an educational program that meets or exceeds those standards, 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 (one of the following):
  • 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 the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard (only applicable to current VHA employees in this occupation who meet the criteria).
• Grade Determinations (in addition to basic requirements):
  • GS-3: None beyond basic requirements. Employees serve in career development positions, receive guidance from more experienced staff for complex patient issues, and require daily close supervision.
  • GS-4: At least 1 year of experience at the next lower level, OR 2 years of education above high school that included completion of a CODA-accredited dental assistant program. Must demonstrate 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.
  • GS-5: In addition to GS-4 requirements, at least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level demonstrating core competencies, OR successful completion of a full 4-year course of study that included or was supplemented by a CODA-accredited dental assistant program. Must demonstrate 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.
  • GS-6 (Full Performance Level): At least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level demonstrating core competencies. Must demonstrate 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; 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. Preferred experience: 4 years of Dental Assisting experience.
• Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15 lbs); light carrying (under 15 lbs); use of fingers; both hands required; walking (6-8 hours