Dental Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Knoxville (TN); On-site; USD 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a Dental Assistant to support the dentist in direct patient care and to perform clinical and clerical functions with appropriate supervision. Applicants must meet citizenship and English proficiency requirements and may be referred if educational/licensure requirements are unmet pending completion.

The position requires CODA-accredited training or six months of relevant experience, along with radiologic certification prerequisites.

Qualifications

• English proficiency in spoken and written form as per 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).
• Six months experience in dental assisting or completion of a CODA-accredited program.
• Radiologic certification requirements and radiography training as per DoD/VA standards.

Responsibilities

• Assist dentist in patient care and perform supplemental clinical duties.
• Perform clerical tasks as needed for patient intake and records.
• Maintain and operate dental equipment and radiographs per regulations.

Skills

English proficiency

Interpersonal skills

Education

CODA-accredited dental assistant program

Tools

Dental radiography equipment

EDR - electronic dental records

Job description

This is an Open and Continuous Announcement. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available. Applicants will be reviewed 15 days after announcement opens and will continue to be reviewed every 15 days until the vacancy is filled.

The dental assistant assists the dentist in many aspects of direct patient care and performs other clinical and clerical functions independently of direct supervision. 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 appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following:

• Citizenship - You must be a citizen of the United States
• English Language Proficiency - Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).
• Experience and Education - To fulfill this requirement, you must meet one of the following:
  1. Experience: Six months experience that demonstrates your ability to perform the work, or provides familiarity with the work. OR,
  2. Education: Successful completion of a 1-year dental assistant program accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). OR,
• 1. 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. You must have successfully completed an educational program that meets or exceeds the standards described in this regulation, and is accredited by an organization recognized by the Department of Education, and be certified as radiographers in their field.
  1. Provisions for Certification of Radiologic Competence:
     1. Successful completion of the Dental Radiation Health and Safety Examination administered by the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc. OR,
• 1. 1. 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,
• 1. 1. Successful completion of a radiation health and safety program or examination approved by a state board of dentistry or the Department of Defense (DoD). OR,
• 1. 1. 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. (This is applicable for grade levels 3/4/5/6 of this series)
  2. Certification in basic life support methods is highly desirable.
  3. Certification by the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB). DANB certification is not required, but highly desirable for the appointment of Dental Assistants up to and including the full performance level, and is required for all positions above the full performance level.

Grandfathering Provision.

• Dental Assistants grandfathered under this provision 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.
• Dental Assistants 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.
• Dental Assistants 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.
• If a Dental Assistant who was retained under this provision leaves the occupation, they lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

GS-06 Staff Dental Assistant (Full Performance Level) Experience Requirement:

1. In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-06 you must possess at least one (1) year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05).
2. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
   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.

Preferred Experience:

Three (3) consecutive years of continuous chairside dental assisting experience in General Dentistry that demonstrates your ability to perform the work.

Reference:

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

Physical Requirements:

The work is sedentary but involves fine motor movements when assisting. Typically, the employee sits at a desk or table or on adjustable stool in the treatment room with some walking and standing as patients are seated or clean and dirty dental instruments area. Items carried are typically light objects and lifting of moderately heavy objects is not normally required.