Dental Assistant

Summary The Dental Assistant serves as a staff dental assistant at the Dayton VAMC for routine patient care and performs a full range of duties; direct supervision is given for any complex patient procedures from more experienced dental assistants or the treating dentist. Performs assigned selected procedures with independence. Assists the dentist in many aspects of direct patient care and performs other clinical, clerical, and administrative functions of direct supervision for routine services. Responsibilities Duties Include: Interact with management, co-workers, patients, and the general public are consistently courteous, respectful, and cooperative in nature. Employee will display a cooperative attitude and will effectively work with others to implement the organizations mission and goals. Employee will ensure productivity is maintained to support the needs of the service. Incumbent must be able to identify normal oral anatomy; have advanced knowledge of dental instruments, materials and standardized dental procedures used in all phases of restorative, surgical, endodontic and periodontal care and procedures; ability to anticipate surgeons/specialists needs at each stage of treatment; perform infection control practices in accordance with standard protocols; monitor and perform basic interpretation of vital signs; concepts of four-handed dentistry; independently provide procedure-specific patient education and appropriate referral of patient concerns to treating dentist; capture standard and special dental radiographic images of good diagnostic quality in digital formats; perform maintenance on dental equipment used for routine and specialty dentistry; performs dental assistant-appropriate laboratory procedures; takes preliminary impressions, manually and digitally; selects and manipulates a variety of gypsums and waxes; pours, trims and evaluates the quality of diagnostic casts; fabricates custom trays, bite guards and retainers. Incumbent complies with standard recommendation for equipment maintenance. Maintains routine dental equipment per manufacturer and dental service standards. Retrieves all pertinent patient records prior to seating the dental patient. Assists patient in scheduling future visits. Keeps clinical spaces, work areas, computer areas, and shared common areas neat, organized, and free of clutter. Demonstrates proper infection control procedures in setting up and cleaning operatories and all aspects of patient care. Properly disinfects oral appliances to prevent cross contamination. Maintains both routine and specialty dental equipment per manufacturer instructions and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs.) Follows all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Reusable Medical Equipment (RME). Employee performs duties using safe ergonomic work practices. Wears radiation monitoring badge. Maintains patient confidentiality per HIPAA with written and verbal information. Follows all security regulations when using any government-owned electronic device. Incumbent is required to have an active Radiographers License. Captures both standard and specialty dental imaging (i.e. cone beam) characterized by diagnostic quality and accurate orientation. Modifies settings to achieve the images as requested by the provider. Dental imaging safety techniques are utilized, retakes are minimized, and the incumbent has radiographs available on the operatory screen for provider review. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday – Thursday, 7:30am – 5:00pm and every other Friday, 8:00am – 4:30pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility. Telework: Not Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 91669A. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. 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). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) – See “Additional Information” below for details. 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. Experience and Education: Experience: Six months experience that demonstrates the applicants 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 Associations Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA);(TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) or Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) 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 include: Successful completion of the Dental Radiation Health and Safety Examination administered by the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc.; (CERTIFICATION MUST BE UPLOADED) 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; (CERTIFICATION MUST BE UPLOADED) 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 MUST BE UPLOADED) Grandfathering Provision: 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 for GS-06: At least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05). 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. In addition to the above experience, 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 Reference: VA Handbook 5005/46 Part II, Appendix G36. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. Physical Requirements: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand and walk. This work requires long periods of standing and walking as well as considerable bending and stooping. Patient mental and physical status will require the incumbent to be able to assist patients during transfer that is required of examinations and treatment. The incumbent of this position is expected to understand, remember, and apply oral and/or written instructions or other information; understand, remember, and communicate routine, factual information: understand problems and to collaborate and explore alternative solutions; understand opposing points of view and to integrate different viewpoints; organize thoughts and ideas into understandable terminology; organize and prioritize own work schedule; count accurately; and understand and follow basic instructions and guidelines. 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/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. VA Healthcare System Serving Ohio, Indiana and Michigan (VISN 10) advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veterans community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor Americas Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.