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 in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part
• Experience and Education: Experience
• 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)
• OR 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
• Certification by the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB)
• The American Dental Association (ADA) recognizes DANB as the national certification for Dental Assistants
• 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
• 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• GS-5 - Dental Assistant Experience or Education: Applicants must demonstrate at least 1 year of experience equivalent to/at the next lower GS-4 grade level that demonstrates the core competencies described at that level
• Examples of GS-4 experience include: receiving and preparing patient for treatment
• 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
• etc
• OR Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study that included or was supplemented by completion of a dental assistant program by CODA
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSA's: 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 - Dental Assistant Experience: At least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower GS-5 grade level that demonstrates the core competencies described at that level
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSA's: 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
• All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package
• We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications
• Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification
• 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-06
• 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.).