Dental Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • Fort Meade, SD

15h • Onsite

About The Position

The Dental Assistant position is within the VA Black Hills Health Care System and supports operations at the Fort Meade, South Dakota location. The incumbent assists the dentist with direct patient care and clerical functions, including work performed independently of direct supervision. The vacancy may be filled at GS-03 through GS-06, with GS-06 identified as the full-performance level.

The position involves preparing and turning over treatment areas, assisting with routine and specialized dental procedures, capturing diagnostic dental images, performing dental-assistant laboratory procedures, monitoring patients during treatment, and providing patient education. It also includes scheduling assistance, documentation, supply-clerk and timekeeping duties, and maintaining patient confidentiality. The work schedule is Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Telework and virtual work are not available.

Requirements

• Meet the basic experience or education requirement: six months of qualifying experience, successful completion of a one-year CODA-accredited dental assistant program, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Meet radiologic competence requirements through an accepted examination, course, or radiation health and safety program approved by the specified authorities. Non-certified applicants who otherwise qualify may receive a temporary appointment and must obtain certification during that period.
• Be proficient in spoken and written English.
• Meet the applicable experience, education, and knowledge, skills, and abilities for the selected grade level, GS-03 through GS-06. GS-06 requires at least one year of experience equivalent to GS-05 and the specified technical KSAs.
• Demonstrate, at the GS-04 level, basic knowledge of infection control, safe instrument handling, dental procedures, medical emergencies, radiographic image capture and processing or retrieval, dental-equipment care, and patient privacy, as applicable to the qualifying pathway.
• Demonstrate, at the GS-05 level, knowledge of anatomy, diagnostic-image quality, common medical emergencies and vital-sign measurement, instruments and materials, standardized dental procedures, ability to learn VHA software, and basic patient-instruction communication skills, as applicable to the qualifying pathway.
• Demonstrate, at the GS-06 level, ability to identify normal oral anatomy; advanced knowledge of instruments, materials, and standardized procedures across restorative, surgical, endodontic, and periodontal care; ability to monitor and basically interpret vital signs; independently provide procedure-specific patient education and refer patient concerns; capture standard and special dental images; maintain dental equipment; use electronic dental records; and perform dental-assistant laboratory procedures.
• Be a U.S. citizen, subject to the stated exceptions for non-citizens under VA policy.
• Pass applicable pre-employment screening, including a drug test for tentatively selected applicants in testing-designated positions, a background/security investigation, and a pre-employment physical evaluation or examination.
• Meet applicable federal employment requirements, including Selective Service registration for males born after December 31, 1959, onboarding and identification-document requirements, and seasonal influenza vaccination requirements for VA health care personnel.
• Serve a one- or two-year trial period, subject to written certification for continued employment upon completion.

Nice To Haves

• Certification in basic life support methods is highly desirable.
• Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) certification is highly desirable but is not required.
• General dental assisting experience is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Show courtesy, respect, and a positive attitude toward patients, coworkers, and the public.
• Set up the operatory or surgery suite for planned procedures and clean the dental unit for timely turnover.
• Pass instruments safely, accurately, and efficiently; keep the operative field clear and retract oral tissues effectively and comfortably.
• Prepare dental medicaments and impression materials according to manufacturers’ instructions.
• Perform intra-operative procedures in accordance with standard infection-control protocols and comply with Reusable Medical Equipment requirements.
• Assist with routine general dental procedures and specialized procedures, including oral and maxillofacial surgery, endodontics, and surgical periodontics.
• Capture dental images of diagnostic quality with accurate orientation and exposure; use imaging safety techniques and minimize retakes.
• Assist patients with scheduling appointments and filling schedule gaps caused by late cancellations and missed appointments.
• Assist the dentist with charting findings and treatment plans in patient records.
• Perform timekeeping, dental supply-clerk, and local administrative-assistant duties.
• Maintain patient confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA requirements for written and verbal information.
• Monitor patients’ condition and vital signs during treatment and watch for signs of physical distress.
• Pour impressions and prepare study models; make final denture impression trays and prepare bite rims.
• Remove sutures and periodontal surgical dressings; take impressions for diagnostic casts and preliminary impressions for prosthetic fabrication.
• Remove temporary crowns or bridges and clean tooth preparations; recement and fabricate temporary crowns.
• Perform coronal polishing and place rubber dams and matrix bands.
• Provide postoperative and other appropriate patient education.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, consisting of 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster-care placement of a child.
• Eligible full-time employees may qualify for a childcare subsidy after 60 days of employment, subject to income and other eligibility limits; the subsidy is up to 25% of eligible childcare costs, with a stated monthly maximum of $416.66.
• Traditional federal pension with five-year vesting and a federal 401(k) with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term-life, and long-term-care insurance; many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed