Dental Assistant

The dental assistant facilitate of 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. Among other ancillary procedures with the objective of helping clinicians achieve optimal oral health.

Major duties but not are limited to: The assistant is responsible to appoint the patient, maintain proper infection control techniques, and follow radiation safety procedures. Preventative maintenance procedures for digital X-rays equipment and exposing good diagnostic quality images with minimal radiation exposure to patients are fundamental to VA healthcare.

Review that prophylactic antibiotics were taken by patients prior to treatment and verify the time of day it was administered. Ask patient if there are any changes in medications and or medical conditions since last appointment. Inform of any changes to the primary dentist to document in electronic medical record. Take vital signs on patients before procedure starts and document it for provider. Prepares consent forms for any surgical procedures.

All dental assistants should be familiar with expanded dental assisting functions. Some examples include;
Open computerized medical record & X-rays on screen in operatory prior to dentist entering operatory.
Maintain clean field of operation.
During post operative care, remove sutures, dispense gauze and mouth rinses as prescribed by dentist.
in computer.
Give pre and post op instruction to patients after treatment is completed.
Breakdown operatory after procedure completed. Follow proper reusable medical equipment protocols for cleaning and disinfecting dental equipment.
Dispense any educational materials and/or supplies patient may need.
Inventory supply levels.
Maintain required 40 hours of continuing education.
Perform assigned detailed duties. Some examples are as follows#:

• Code cart pre-maintenance
• Glucose pre-maintenance
• Awards committee

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 41717F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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:
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement .

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: 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).

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.

Certification in basic life support methods is highly desirable.

GS-6 Grade Determination:
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 :

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
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


Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is 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).

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/.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.