Dental Laboratory Technician

Summary

This position is in the Dental Service at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System located in Oklahoma City, OK. The Dental Laboratory Technician performs technical work in the fabrication and repair of both conventional and complicated dental prosthetic appliances that conform to the dentist's prescription, restore mastication, facilitate normal speech, maintain or correct facial dimension and contour, are natural in appearance, and can be worn or used with maximum comfort.

Duties

• ***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Major duties and responsibilities include: Fabricates dental appliances such as complete dentures, removable partial dentures, crowns, fixed partial dentures, or combinations of fixed and removable partial dentures Constructs 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 Identifies spatial and anatomical functions and esthetic relationships at all stages of the construction of the prosthesis to produce a finished product that meets the dentist's requirements Uses dental laboratory equipment to fabricate dental appliances Applies a thorough technical knowledge of both normal and abnormal oral anatomy and dentition as these affect the design, fabrication, function, and esthetics of the dental prosthesis being constructed Surveys master casts for partial dentures to implement design prescribed by the dentists Sets up and contours artificial teeth for full and partial dentures Surveys, interprets designs, and fabricates fixed, semi-fixed, or removable partial dentures or complete dentures for cases that involve such abnormalities as acute malocclusion, or other conditions that present particular problems Fabricates acrylic or porcelain crowns, bridges, and facings Constructs stone, amalgam, or electroformed copper dies, or casts with removable dies, for use in fabricating crowns, inlays, or fixed partial dentures Fabricates acrylic or cast metal splints for the reduction or fixation of maxillary and mandibular fractures, or obturators to close an opening in the palate Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Qualifications

TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION AT THE GS-9 GRADE LEVEL, YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA: ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. ~AND~ EXPERIENCE: At least one (1) full year of specialized experience, equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-8) in the Federal Service, that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Dental Laboratory Technician, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Experience should 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; and construction of dental prosthetic appliances. At this grade level, qualifying specialized experience also includes: experience constructing porcelain or acrylic fixed or semi-fixed bridge restorations, full or removable partial dentures, or 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; applying a thorough technical knowledge of both normal and abnormal oral anatomy and dentition as these affect the design, fabrication, function, and esthetics of the dental prosthesis being constructed. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. ~OR~ EDUCATION: Successful completion of two (2) full years of graduate education or a master's degree that is directly related to the work of the Dental Laboratory Technician position. Such graduate education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Licensed professional dentists will be considered qualified for any grade level if they have, in the aggregate, the required experience in dental laboratory procedures. (Transcripts, unofficial or official, must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.) ~OR~ COMBINATION: Equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate education (beyond the first year) and specialized experience, as described above. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Requirements

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 is mostly sedentary, but also requires standing, bending, reaching, lifting heavy materials and general dental laboratory functions. Work is performed in the dental laboratory setting. Due to the various types of dental equipment, dental materials, chemicals and sterilizing agents that must be used, it is necessary to observe standard safety precautions to avoid accidents. The dental laboratory technician is required to wear personal protective equipment. 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) - See "Required Documents" below for details. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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 probationary, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. NOTE: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13054563. The application process is as follows: To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 09/14/2026. After submitting the online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder. IMPORTANT: If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under the "Track my application" link for the corresponding application. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To view the announcement status or your application status: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit.