Dental Hygienist

Clarification from the agency

This position is open to current, permanent VA Employees. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Dental Hygienist provides direct patient care under the general supervision of the dentist and performs other clinical and clerical functions independently of direct supervision. It is expected that they provide direct patient care and receive guidance from higher-level or supervisory staff members for only the most complex patients.

Duties included but not limited to the following:

Customer Service/Veteran-Centered Care

• Shows courtesy, respect, and a positive attitude for patients, co-workers and the public;
• Provides assistance to customers with questions or concerns, provides service recovery.
• Delivers care that reflects the Veteran's and the family's personal goals, personal preferences, and freedom of choice;
• Demonstrates knowledge and application of patient and family-centered care in written care plans, instructions to patients, and in observation of the actual care provided;
• Demonstrates non-judgmental understanding of the Veteran's and family's knowledge, values, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds;
• Demonstrates collaborative orientation to working with patients and families.

Patient Care

• Sets up operatory for planned dental procedure and cleans dental unit for timely turnover;
• Complies with patient identification, time-out and reusable medical equipment processes;
• Handles instruments safely, accurately, and efficiently;
• Takes and records vital signs, reviews medical history;
• Charts oral conditions;
• Assesses patient's medical, dental, anxiety/phobias, medications and comorbidities; Assesses the impact of patient's medical and dental condition on maintaining oral health;
• Recognizes age-related changes in individual patients, adapts patient environment, and maximizes patient's physical comfort;
• Provides routine oral prophylactic care;
• Provides gross debridement, scaling and root planning procedures.
• Provides subgingival curettage;
• Cleans dental prostheses, fixed and removable;
• Applies appropriate topical fluoride solutions or varnishes;
• Manages dental recall system, referring patients to the doctor for additional care when needed;
• Administers topical anesthetic agents;
• Administers local anesthesia (check to ensure hygienist's state license allows and certification is current);
• Applies desensitizing agents;
• Performs routine maintenance of equipment components such as suction traps, water lines, etc.;
• Accomplishes all procedures within standard infection-control protocols.

Patient Education

• Provides patient education appropriate to the Veteran's needs and oral condition; Explains hygiene procedures, indications, complications and expected outcomes to individual patient and caregiver;
• Prepares and provides education on periodontal disease, wellness, health maintenance, oral hygiene practices, parafunctional habits, and effect of illness, addictions, medications and tobacco on the oral cavity.

Dental Imaging

• Takes diagnostic quality images that are accurately oriented and exposed;
• Utilizes dental-imaging safety techniques with minimal retakes.

Infection control and Equipment Sterilization

• Demonstrates proper infection-control procedures in setting up and cleaning up operatory and in exposing images;
• Properly prepares instruments for sterilization by SPS standards;
• Prepares instruments in a manner that does not delay clinical care.

Clerical Functions

• Assists patients in scheduling appointments;
• Assists in filling gaps in the schedule due to late cancellations and failed appointments;

Information Management

• Maintains patient confidentiality per HIP AA with written and verbal information; Follows computer security regulations.

Patient Safety

• Modifies care as appropriate for patient's age and abilities (patient transfer and position);
• Modifies care based on patient's medical, dental, anxiety/phobias, medications and comorbidities;
• Provides accurate and understandable instructions to patients;
• Participates in patient identification and time out per TJC requirements;
• Monitors patient condition during treatment, being alert for signs of physical distress.

Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm - Monday - Friday
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• 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:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• 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:
  • Dental hygiene programs accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).
  • 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
  • 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 meeting the requirement for certification as dental radiographers.
• Exceptions for Non-Certified Dental Hygienist
  • Non-certified applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for licensure, may be given a temporary appointment, not to exceed two years, as a graduate dental hygienist pending certification (GS-5 level only).
• English Language Proficiency: Dental hygienist candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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).

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

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

GS-9 Dental Hygienist (Full Performance Level)
Experience. At least 1 year of experience at the next lower grade level that demonstrates the clinical competencies described at that level.

• Knowledge of state-of-the-art preventive dentistry measures for patient instruction and training
• Knowledge of anatomy and physiology in order to interpret the examination request accurately; to understand the functioning and interrelationship of the various anatomical structures appearing on the radiographic image and the various stages of the examination to judge the acceptability of the radiograph for diagnostic use; and to present for viewing.
• Knowledge of The Joint Commission (TJC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and related regulations and guidelines pertaining to dental matters.
• Skill in providing individual and group oral health care instructions to inpatients, outpatients, Nursing Home Care Unit patients, etc.

Assignments. Employees at this level serve as staff dental hygienists at the full performance level. They provide direct patient care and receive guidance from higher-level or supervisory staff members for only the most complex patients and require only general supervision from a dentist. Assignments at this level include but are not limited to patient medical assessment (e.g. medical/dental history, social history, vital signs, full periodontal assessment and charting), disease and treatment management recommendations, denture care, scaling and root planning, radiographs/image interpretation, patient education (e.g. post-procedure, tobacco cessation, caries and perio-disease prevention), behavior management, management of stable medically compromised patients (including risk factors), instrument sharpening, inter-service communication.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-8 level, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
1. Knowledge of hygiene procedures to explain the process and indication, complications and expected treatment outcomes for each.
2. Knowledge of proper usage of dental radiography equipment, radiation safety, assessment of proper image capture and interpretation of films.
3. Knowledge to select appropriate available fluoride products and indications/limitations for safe and proper application.
4. Skill in detecting plaque and calculus, dental abnormalities/pathologies, assessing inflammation and providing safe instrumentation for each procedure.
5. Skill in educating patients and caregivers on periodontal disease, wellness, health maintenance, oral hygiene practices, parafunctional habits, and effects of illness, addictions, medications and tobacco on the oral cavity.
6. Ability to assess the patient's medical, dental, anxiety/phobias, medications and comorbidities to administer safe patient care.
7. Ability to assess the impact of patient's medical and dental condition on maintaining oral health, recognize age-related changes in individual patients, adapt patient environment, and maximize patient's physical comfort.

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-09.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

How you will be evaluated

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

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

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.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• License
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• License
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

Next steps