Dental Laboratory Technician

Production:

• Independently accomplish all aspects of fabrication for a wide range of complex dental prostheses supporting dental laboratory operations. For assignments at this level dental laboratory technicians must have developed and demonstrated a degree of expertness in all aspects of the dental laboratory work and will be relied upon to carry out all aspects of their fabrication independently or with minimum supervision.
• The technician receives lab cases and prescriptions from dental staff and residents confers with the treating doctor regarding design and fabrication labels the cases and determines the urgency of the work so that cases with the highest urgency are completed first while creating a work plan to get the remaining cases done in a timely manner.
• The dental laboratory technician directly collaborates with Restorative Dentists Prosthodontists or Oral Surgeons to design and fabricate complex dental or intra-oral maxillofacial appliances. This involves (1) receiving and interpreting dental laboratory prescriptions (2) working with these specialists in developing the design of the appliance (3) confers with the treating specialist to determine a workflow that will ensure prioritization of cases with highest urgency (4) personally fabricating or overseeing the fabrication of the appliance and (5) resolving problems in its fabrication.
• The technician is involved in complex removable and fixed oral-maxillofacial appliance including fixed semi-fixed or removable implant cases partial and complete dentures when the severe nature of the dental abnormalities to be overcome require working to unusually
  close tolerances resolving particularly difficult problems of esthetics retention balance reducing tension on natural teeth and tissue and similar problems. The technician must be skilled in prosthesis design which may involve novel design elements to accommodate the patients functional needs and unique anatomy.
• Functions include pouring primary and final impressions; fabricating custom trays; fabricating bite rims; mounting casts on articulators; setting teeth for trial dentures/partials; investing packing processing and finishing dentures/partials; polishing prosthesis following adjustment; fabricating night guards; fabricating provisional prostheses; repairing broken prostheses; adding teeth to prostheses; pouring and pinning final crown and bridge impressions; sectioning dies; fabricating fluoride trays; fabricating stints; fabricating transitional partials fabricating wrought wire clasps and fabricating fixed prostheses including metal and ceramic restorations.
• Fabricates complex crowns and fixed partial dentures removable partial denture frameworks acrylic partial and complete dentures. Provide consultation to Oral Surgeons Prosthodontists and other dental and laboratory specialists in the design and fabrication of difficult intraoral maxillofacial appliances and restorations. This involves (1) working with dental specialists in developing the design of the appliance (2) personally fabricating the appliance and/or (3) resolving problems in its fabrication.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 6:00am to 2:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Dental Laboratory Technician/PD00337A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

• 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.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• 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 ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers 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)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public 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 probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification in writing that your continued employment advances the public interest.

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 10/02/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade as required by the this instance you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

NOTE:A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Individual Occupational Requitements: Specialized Experience for positions at GS-4 and above: Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:

• Use of dental laboratory material such as impression materials plasters stones hydrocolloids waxes metals acrylics porcelain and similar materials.
• Use of laboratory equipment such as hand tools dental lathes engines and hand pieces furnaces casting machines presses flasks and related equipment.
• Use of precision instruments such as articulators surveyors and microanalyzers.
• Construction of dental prosthetic appliances.

GS-8 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to:

• Fabricate acrylic or porcelain crowns bridges or facings.
• Inspects completed work for precision workmanship and conformity with the prescription.
• Resolve the majority of problems independently while performing a full range of functions required in the construction of (1) porcelain or acrylic fixed or semi-fixed bridge restorations (2) full or removable partial dentures or (3) orthodontic appliances or dental splints and obturators when the construction of the appliance is complicated because of the unusual nature or intricacy of the design required to overcome acute abnormalities.
• Visualize the relationships of the parts to the whole at each step in the construction process and remain constantly alert to those elements of design and construction that are essential to the fit of the finished appliance

For more information on these qualification standards please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at experience: Preferred at least 2 years experience utilizing CAD-CAM Technology.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Technical Competence
• Technical Problem Solving
• Communication
• Compliance Inspections
• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service

Physical Requirements: Dental Laboratory Technicians requires prolonged periods of standing or sitting depending on the task. It also utilizes optical magnification which may cause eye strain. Extensive hand gripping of an electric rotary hand piece or dental lab instrument is a daily activity. Proper pen grasp palm grasp and fulcrum techniques are required.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Required Experience:

IC