Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This announcement is open current permanent Current permanent VA employees of the facility and past/current/upcoming VHA Health Professions Trainee (HPT) Graduates.

Videos

• Provides comprehensive dental hygiene services to Veterans in accordance with established clinical standards, applicable laws and regulations, Dental Service policies, and the Veteran's individualized treatment plan.
• Obtains and documents relevant patient information and performs dental hygiene assessments, including vital signs, blood glucose monitoring when indicated, medication reconciliation, pulse oximetry, oral cancer screening, dietary assessment for caries risk, and comprehensive periodontal evaluation.
• Reviews the Veteran's medical and dental history and identifies changes in health status, medications, allergies, or other conditions that may affect dental treatment; communicates significant findings to the dentist and other appropriate health care professionals.
• Performs comprehensive periodontal charting and records clinical findings, including periodontal probing, gingival conditions, recession, mobility, furcation involvement, deposits, and other relevant oral health findings.
• Provides preventive dental hygiene services and prophylaxis for routine and complex dental cases, including Veterans with multiple dental implants, orthognathic procedures, post-surgical conditions, restorative treatment, trauma, and other complex dental treatment needs.
• Performs scaling and root planning, with or without soft-tissue curettage, using appropriate instrumentation and advanced clinical modalities based on the Veteran's periodontal condition and treatment plan.
• Administers local anesthesia and topical anesthetic agents within the scope of applicable licensure, established protocols, and the Veteran's treatment needs.
• Provides adjunctive dental hygiene procedures, including management recommendations for xerostomia, sulcular lavage, placement of appropriate intrasulcular medicaments, application and removal of periodontal surgical dressings, occlusal adjustment, application of desensitizing agents, orthodontic care support, and professional tooth whitening.
• Performs dental radiographic procedures, including advanced imaging such as cone-beam computed tomography and cephalometric radiographs when indicated, and applies appropriate positioning, exposure, image acquisition, and radiation safety practices to obtain diagnostic-quality images while minimizing unnecessary radiation exposure and retakes.
• Reviews dental imaging for technical quality and recognizes findings requiring communication to the dentist or other appropriate provider for further evaluation.
• Provides oral hygiene instruction and preventive counseling to individual Veterans and groups, adapting education to the Veteran's oral health condition, treatment plan, functional needs, and learning needs.
• Develops and delivers oral health education and training materials for Veterans, caregivers, staff, and community partners as assigned.
• Provides dental hygiene care to Veterans with complex medical, behavioral, cognitive, physical, or special care needs and modifies the delivery of services as clinically appropriate to promote safety and successful treatment.
• Cleans, disinfects, packages, sterilizes, and maintains reusable medical equipment and dental instruments in accordance with applicable VA, Dental Service, and Sterile Processing Service requirements.
• Prepares treatment areas, instruments, equipment, and supplies for scheduled and unscheduled patient care and maintains an orderly and functional clinical environment.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM (4 days a week)
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 623-61597A

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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:

Citizenship: Be a Citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with [38 U.S.C § 7407(a), Administrative Provisions for Section 7405 and 7406 Appointments.]

English Language Proficiency: Dental hygienist candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Education: Applicants must possess an Associate degree or higher from an accredited dental hygiene program. The degree must have been obtained from an institution whose accreditation was in place for the year in which the course of study was completed. Approved programs are:

1. Dental hygiene programs accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).
2. [Education completed outside of the United States must be considered at least equivalent to that gained in CODA accredited United States programs and would enable the candidate to sit for the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination, which is administered by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations.]

Licensure/Certification:

Licensure: Applicants must be currently licensed to practice as a dental hygienist with a full, current and unrestricted license in a State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia.

Certification: P.L. 97-35, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act Of 1981, requires persons who administer radiologic procedures meet the credentialing standards in 42 C.F.R. Part 75, Standards for the Accreditation of Educational Programs for and the Credentialing of Radiologic Personnel. To meet this requirement, 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. Accredited dental hygiene programs contain curriculum addressing radiologic procedures meets the requirement for certification as dental radiographers.

Grandfathering Provision: All individuals employed in VHA in this occupational series or in another occupational series performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of the qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education and licensure/trademark/registration/certification. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who meet the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:

1. Employees 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 journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
2. Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/certification requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels.
3. Employees 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.
4. Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
5. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.

Grade Determinations:

Dental Hygienist, GS-10 (Advanced Clinical):

Experience: At least one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level that is directly related to the position being filled fully meets the KSAs at that level.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA): In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-09 level, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

1. Knowledge of medical assessment techniques including interviewing and evaluating clinical findings (e.g. normal and critical lab values) to adapt treatment based on medical and psychological issues.
2. Advanced knowledge of oral and dental anatomy including root anatomy, common pathologies and anomalies, and indications for advanced radiographic imaging and proper technique to detect potential abnormalities.
3. Knowledge of medical treatment adjuncts and indications and the ability to safely administer medicaments (e.g. intrasulcular medicaments, local anesthesia, sulcular lavage, applying and removing periodontal surgical dressing).
4. Knowledge of advanced adjunctive diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, indication for use and ability to utilize safely (e.g. sonic, magneto strictive ultrasonic, and piezo ultrasonic scalers).
5. Skill in providing safe and thorough prophylaxis, root planning and soft- tissue curettage for complex periodontal and/or restorative cases and skill in providing safe care for patients with complex medical/psychiatric issues.
6. Ability to apply adult education techniques/methods, organize curriculum, judge cognitive ability, and provide healthcare education regarding relationships between medical and dental pathologies to groups, interdisciplinary staff, and other outside contacts.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is 9. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 10.

Physical Requirements: Work requires prolonged standing and sitting, repetitive hand and wrist motions for instrumentation, fine motor dexterity for periodontal procedures, and frequent bending/twisting to maintain ergonomic positioning. Must be able to lift/carry dental supply boxes up to ~25 lbs, assist with patient positioning/transfers, and don required PPE. Exposure to body fluids, chemicals used for disinfection, and radiographic equipment is inherent; adheres to safety protocols to mitigate risk.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.