Dental Assistant Senior

Title: Dental Assistant Senior

State Role Title: Direct Service Associate III

Hiring Range: $18.75-$20.00

Pay Band: 2

Agency: Virginia Department of Health

Location: VIRGINIA BEACH HQ

Agency Website: Jobs.virginia.gov

Recruitment Type: State Employee Only - E

Job Duties

The Virginia Beach Department of Public Health (VBDPH) is currently seeking a hardworking, dependable, organized, caring and experienced individual that enjoys working with children to be a part of our team as a full-time dental assistant to work at our dental clinic. Locations include Virginia Beach Health Department and the Dental Trailer at Birdneck Elementary School.

Under the direction of the dentist, the dental assistant will assist in four-handed dentistry, to include pediatric restorative and preventive procedures, provide patient education, chart existing oral conditions, expose and process intraoral/extraoral digital x-rays, clean and disinfect dental instruments and operatories and maintain dental equipment. Other responsibilities will include maintaining patient charts, filing, scheduling appointments, answering phones data entry and conducting financial interviews to determine patient eligibility.

This position also may regularly perform procedures for high-risk populations, comprising indigent or incarcerated patients or medically compromised patients diagnosed with HIV+, TB or hepatitis. Follows OSHA guidelines, disinfects operatory, disinfects & disposes of infectious waste, monitors autoclave function.

Dental Assistant Duties:

• Performs dental assistant duties within assigned parameters
• Assists in four-handed dentistry
• Performs dental assistant duties accurately and with skill applies topical anesthetics, medicinal agents, fluorides, and sealants
• Exposes and processes intraoral and extraoral digital x-rays
• Educates patients/parents by giving oral hygiene, plaque control and postoperative instructions
• Charts patients’ conditions at the instructions of the dentist
• Ensures patient is prepped properly and protective coverings are applied
• Gathers patient history and updates accurately 

Administrative Duties:

• Obtains documentation to determine eligibility
• Schedules appointments, files dental records, completes forms and maintains records
• Appropriately and confidentially gathers information for health history and eligibility, processes billing, and uses the computer for data entry and retrieval
• Orders dental and office supplies so there are no lapse in supplies for daily operation
• Instructs/trains dental assistants and hygienist students when requested

Maintenance of Operations/OSHA Compliance:

•  Disinfects, cleans, and sterilizes instruments
•  Disinfects and cleans dental operatories and equipment
• Properly disposes of sharps instruments and contaminated materials following OSHA regulations
•   Prepares daily set up and operatory trays so that care is delivered in timely manner

Other Duties:

• May conduct or assist with community outreach programs’ school screenings, presentations and events to promote oral health.
• May perform other duties as assigned; may be required to assist in the event of an emergency declaration.

 

This position is a Health-Care Personnel. VDH requires all Health-Care Personnel (HCP) to provide documentation of immunization or evidence of immunity to the following: hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella; a one-time dose of tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) vaccine regardless of the interval since the last dose of tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccine was administered (Td or Tdap boosters shall be received every 10 years); and the current year's seasonal influenza vaccination.

Wage employees are subject to the following conditions of employment:

• Wage employees serve at the will and pleasure of the appointing authority.
•  Continuing employment is based on available funding and business need.
• Wage employees are not covered by the provisions of the Virginia Personnel Act. Therefore, they are not eligible for benefits which are provided to salaried employees, such as leave credits, holiday pay, insurance, access to the grievance procedure, etc.