Dental Assistant

Work or learn to work closely with patients and dentists. Assist in care of patient's teeth, recordkeeping, appointment scheduling, taking x-rays.

We are accepting applications year-round with eligible applicants being placed on a standing register and referred for consideration as vacancies occur with referral at multiple grade levels and locations. Referral is based on the date management request is received.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, your resume must state sufficient experience and/or education, to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are applying. See Required Documents Section for additional information on what to submit to support your resume.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer and part time experience. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

Individual Occupational Requirements: These standards describe the minimum qualification requirements (for example, educational, medical, age, experience, etc.) for each occupational series. Individual Occupational Requirements for basic education, license, experience, and other qualifications for the Dentist Assistant occupational series are listed below.

CERTIFICATION TO ADMINISTER RADIOLOGIC PROCEDURES

Public Law 97-35 requires that persons who administer radiologic procedures meet the credentialing standards in 42 CFR Part 75. Essentially, persons must (l) 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 (2) be certified as radiographers in their field. The following meet these (basic) requirements:

• Persons employed by the Federal Government as radiologic personnel prior to the effective date of the regulation (January 13, 1986) who show evidence of current or fully satisfactory performance or certification of such from a licensed practitioner such as a Doctor of Medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, podiatry, or chiropractic who prescribes radiologic procedures to others.
• Persons first employed by the Federal Government as radiologic personnel after the effective date of the regulation who (a) received training from institutions in a State or foreign jurisdiction that did not accredit training in that particular field at the time of graduation, or (b) practiced in a State or foreign jurisdiction that did not license that particular field or did not allow special eligibility to take a licensure examination for those who did not graduate from an accredited educational program, provided such persons show evidence of training, experience, and competence, as determined by OPM or the employing agency.

Specialized Experience: (for positions at GS-4 and above): Experience in dental assistance to general or specialized dentistry, dental assistant (expanded function) work, or any combination of these appropriate to the position being filled. OR

Education and Training:

• For GS-3: Successful completion of (a) a 1-year dental assistant program or completion of l year of a dental hygiene program accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Accreditation that included a course in radiation physics; radiation biology; radiation health, safety, and protection; X-ray films and radiographic film quality, radiographic techniques; darkroom and processing techniques; and film mounting; or (b) practical nurse training approved by the appropriate State, territory, or District of Columbia accrediting body.
• For GS-4: Successful completion of a 2-year dental assistant program or completion of a 2-year dental hygiene program accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Accreditation that included at least 12 semester hours of courses such as those shown above for GS-3.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR GS-02 GRADE:

• Three (3) months of general experience. OR
• Successful completion a high school education or equivalent.

General Experience: No subject-matter knowledge is required but any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position. Such as; performing record keeping, sorts and counts, files and retrieves records alphabetically and numerically, and observes higher grade dental assistants in the performance of chair side assisting duties.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR GS-03 GRADE:

• Possession at least six (6) months of general experience that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position, Examples of general experience include dental office assistant, dental office clerk or dental office receptionist. OR
• Combination of education and experience that when combined fully meet the minimum qualifications for this position. The total percentage equals at least 100 percent to qualify for this GS-3 grade level.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR GS-04 GRADE:

• One year of experience: At least 6 months of general experience that demonstrates the ability to perform or a familiarity with patient scheduling; and dental terminology to ensure accurate recording of dental treatment. And At least 6 months of specialized experience in dental assistance to general or specialized dentistry, dental assistant (expanded function) work, or any combination of these appropriate to the position being filled. OR
• A combination of experience and post-high school education. If education is used to meet specialized experience requirements, then such education must include courses directly related to the work of the position.

Time In Grade
Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade Requirements: Merit Promotion (status) candidates must have completed one year of service at the next lower grade level. Time-In-Grade provisions do not apply under the Excepted Service Examining Plan (ESEP).

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the cut-off date or the closing date of the announcement. Cut-off date(s) are established based on the date the human resources office receives management request for a list of eligibles or every 10 days thereafter. The job announcement is open continuous until the closing date.

Responsibilities:

Duties at the grade GS-02 level:

• Assist higher grade dental assistants in accomplishing dental support work and comparable activities in order to gain the knowledge, skills and experiences required for performance at the next grade level.

Duties at grades GS-03 and GS-04 level:

• Acts as receptionist and schedule patients for treatment.
• Responsible for accurate recording of examination information and treatment performed.
• Keep all instruments sharpened and properly sterilized.
• Responsible for routine chair-side assisting.
• Expose, process, and mount intra and extra-oral radiographs.

Salary : $28,880