Dental Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Lubbock (TX); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Lubbock, TX seeks a skilled Dental Assistant to perform a full range of duties with independence under supervision. The role includes assisting with oral surgery, periodontal therapy, endodontics, prosthodontics and implants while preparing impressions and managing radiographs.

Requirements include a CODA-accredited dental assistant program, six months of relevant experience, and radiologic competency certification. Proficiency in English is required.

Qualifications

• Six months experience demonstrating ability to perform the work or familiarity with the work.
• Successful completion of a 1-year CODA-accredited dental assistant program.
• Equivalent combinations of experience and education may qualify.

Responsibilities

• Prepare patient for treatment and assist with seating, positioning, and sterilization under dentist supervision.
• Provide chair-side assistance and four-handed dentistry during procedures as instructed by the dentist.
• Expose, process, and mount dental radiographs; maintain and label radiographic images.
• Maintain routine dental equipment and infection control procedures per standards.
• Assist with a range of procedures including oral surgery, endodontics, prosthodontics and implants.

Skills

Infection control

Four-handed dentistry

Radiographic procedures

Patient instruction

Emergency knowledge

Education

CODA-accredited dental assistant program

Tools

Dental radiography equipment

Electronic dental records

Job description

Performs a full range of duties with some independence in assigned specialties, indirect supervision from lead dental assistant (DA), DA supervisor or dentist. Using concepts of four-handed dentistry; assisting with specialty procedures including oral surgery, periodontal therapy, endodontic, prosthodontic & implant placement/restoration; anticipates surgeons/specialists needs of treatment; takes preliminary impressions; selects & manipulates a variety of gypsums & waxes.

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.
• Experience and Education
  • (1) Experience. Six months experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work, or provides familiarity with the work.
  • (2) Education. Successful completion of a 1-year dental assistant program accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).
  • (3) 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.
  • (1) Provisions for Certification of Radiologic Competence
    • (a) Successful completion of the Dental Radiation Health and Safety Examination administered by the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc.; OR,
    • (b) 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,
    • (c) Successful completion of a radiation health and safety program or examination approved by a state board of dentistry or the Department of Defense (DoD).
  • (2) 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.
  • (3) Certification in basic life support methods is highly desirable.
• Physical Requirements. See above.
• English Language Proficiency. Dental assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005 Part II chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a.

Grandfathering Provision

See Additional Information Section.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in oral surgical procedures
• Proficient in impression making
• Excellent operative and prosthodontic assisting skills
• Has completed a Dental Assistant Certification program.
• Able to expose and produce acceptable diagnostic radiographs.
• Experience in various areas of Dentistry (Endo, Restorative, Oral Surgery, Implants, Periodontics, etc.).

Grade Determinations

In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

GS-3. Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-4

(a) Experience or Education. In addition to the basic requirements, 1 year of experience at the next lower level, OR 2 years of education above high school that included completion of a dental assistant program accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

(b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 1. Basic knowledge of infection control and safe instrument handling. 2. Basic knowledge of dental procedures and medical emergencies. 3. Ability to perform basic radiographic image capture and processing/retrieval. 4. Basic knowledge of maintenance, care and storage of dental equipment. 5. Basic knowledge of patient privacy requirements.

(c) Assignment. Receiving and preparing patient for treatment including seating, positioning chair, placing napkin, performing disinfection and sterilization procedures; performing basic chair side assisting with direct instruction from treating dentist; reporting medical emergencies to dentist; preparing procedural trays/armamentaria set‑ups; exposing and processing basic dental radiographs with direct supervision; mounting and labeling dental radiographs and/or saving digital images to the electronic medical record with direct supervision; complying with standard recommendation for equipment maintenance.

GS-5

(a) Experience or Education

(1) 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,

(2) Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study that included or was supplemented by completion of a dental assistant program by CODA.

(3) In addition to meeting paragraph (1) or (2) above, the applicant must demonstrate the following KSA's:

(b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 1. Knowledge of anatomy and ability to evaluate diagnostic quality. 2. Broad knowledge of common medical emergencies and vital signs measurement. 3. Basic knowledge of instruments, materials and standardized dental procedures. 4. Ability to learn and utilize software programs used within VHA. 5. Basic communication skills to provide patient instructions according to established protocol.

(c) Assignment. Responds to basic medical emergencies; measures and records vital signs; provides pre- and post-operative instructions; maintains a field of operation during dental procedures through the use of retraction, suction, irrigation, drying, placing and removing cotton rolls; using the concepts of four-handed dentistry, assists with basic restorative procedures; mixes basic dental materials; assists in preparation of laboratory prescription forms; applies pressure indicator paste to removable prostheses; exposes and processes basic dental radiographs; mounts and labels dental radiographs and/or saves digital imaging to electronic medical records; evaluates radiographs for diagnostic quality; maintains routine dental equipment per manufacturer and dental service standards.

GS-6 Staff Dental Assistant (Full Performance Level)

(a) Experience. At least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level that demonstrates the core competencies described at that level.

(b) In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical 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.

(c) Assignment. Employee serves at the full performance level with the ability to perform full range of duties with some independence in assigned specialties. Assignments at this level include: using the concepts of four-handed dentistry; assists with specialty procedures including oral surgery, periodontal therapy, endodontic, prosthodontic and implant placement and restoration; anticipates surgeons/specialists needs at each stage of treatment; takes preliminary impressions; selects and manipulates a variety of gypsums and waxes; pours, trims and evaluates the quality of diagnostic casts; fabricates custom trays.

Physical Requirements

See Additional Information Section