Summary The position is located within the Dental Service at the Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System in Tulsa, Oklahoma, responsible for direct collaboration with a trained Prosthodontist, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, General Dentists and Dental Residents to design and fabricate complex dental or intra-oral maxillofacial appliances. Responsibilities The technician is involved in design, fabrication or modification of complex removable and fixed oral-maxillofacial appliance including tooth supported crown and bridge, implant supported crown and bridge, tooth or implant supported partial denture, conventional or implant supported complete denture, maxillary obturator, mouth guards, occlusal guards, fluoride trays, or any other dental appliance needed. Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Works in conjunction with the professional dental staff in the treatment and care of disabled veterans to include removable and semi-fixed partial dentures, complete dentures, crowns, fixed bridges, intra-oral implants, and sub-mandibular Bosker implants. Reviews overall program needs and strives to reduce cost of material by evaluation of techniques in fabrication of the restoration, change procedures in construction phase to improve service or reduce costs. Evaluates all techniques associated with dental laboratory technologies both active and proposed; determines the need for change or the advantages of new technology or products. Assists in the prescription of all prosthetic devices as a consultant to the staff dentists, oral surgeons, first and second year general practice residents, in developing the design of complex dental intra-oral appliances. Plans workflow, establishes work methods, procedures and evaluates products. Alerts the team to any problems with the existing procedures or techniques and formulate plans for appropriate improvements. Demonstrates and teaches techniques to staff dentists, oral surgeons, dental residents and other dental technicians. Manages the over-flow work sent to local support laboratories and assures a high standard of construction is maintained. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Dental Laboratory Technician/PD12706A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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 You may be required to serve a probationary/trial period 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 dentification 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) Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/07/2025. 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-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 Requirement (IOR): The Dental Laboratory Aid and Technician Series, 0683 has a minimum qualification entry requirement: Specialized Experience: 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. AND, You may qualify based on your experience as described below: 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: Through and proficient technical knowledge in all areas of removeable and fixed prosthodontics as well as implants; proficient and knowledgeable in the equipment necessary to construct dental restorations; ability to function as an active member of the interdisciplinary team, assisting staff dentist, oral surgeons, and dental residents in the design and fabrication of the intra and extra oral appliances and restorations; ability to test new or modified dental laboratory materials or equipment, while considering tensile strength, hardness, and workability of alloys, the stability of impression materials or the efficiency and usefulness of new equipment; proficient knowledge to fabricate removeable dentures, crowns, bridge and implants; understanding of design and construction of unusually complex dental restorations to overcome problems when working on unusually close tolerances, resoling difficult problems or esthetics, phonetics, and function on natural teeth and tissue. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analytical Thinking Critical Thinking Forward Thinking Technical Competence 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. 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. Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary, but also requires standing, bending, reaching, lifting heavy materials and general laboratory functions. Work is performed in the dental laboratory setting. Due to the various @types of dental equipment that must be used, it is necessary to observe standard safety precautions to avoid accidents. 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/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
