Dental Laboratory Technician

Overview

This position is in the Dental Clinic at the Washington DC VA Medical Center (DC VAMC). The Dental clinic provides General Dentistry as well as specialty care in Prosthodontics - Periodontics - Endodontics and Oral Surgery for eligible outpatient - inpatient - community living center (CLC) and homeless Veterans.

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 11/02/2026. 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. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-8. 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 announcement. In this instance - you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: 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 OR - Education
- To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have One full year of graduate education. GS-9 Specialized

Experience:

You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-8 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to:
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. Collaborates with Restorative Dentists - Prosthodontists - or Oral Surgeons to design and fabricate complex dental or intra-oral maxillofacial appliances.

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