Dental Lab Technician

Veterans Health Administration; Redlands (CA); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Health Administration is seeking a Dental Laboratory Technician to construct porcelain or acrylic fixed and removable dental prostheses, orthodontic appliances, splints, and obturators. The role requires deep knowledge of oral anatomy and dentition to ensure proper design, function, and esthetics of prostheses.

Qualifications emphasize extensive experience in crowns/bridges, CAD/CAM techniques, and proficiency with 3D scanning and Hyperdent.

Qualifications

• At least ten years experience in crowns and bridges with CAD/CAM emphasis.
• Proficiency in creating high quality fixed restorations by traditional methods.

Responsibilities

• Construct porcelain or acrylic fixed or semi-fixed bridges and removables.
• Fabricate dental appliances including orthodontic devices and splints.
• Apply thorough knowledge of oral anatomy to design, fabricate, and esthetically appropriate prostheses.

Skills

CAD/CAM techniques

Hyperdent

3Shape scanning

Fixed dental restorations

3D scans

Education

Graduate education related to dental lab work

Tools

Dental lathes

Furnaces

Casting machines

Presses

Flasks

Hand pieces

Job description

The Dental Laboratory Technician constructs porcelain or acrylic fixed or semi-fixed bridge restorations, full or removable partial dentures, orthodontic appliances, dental splints, and obturators when the construction of the appliance is complicated. The duties of this position require application of 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.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/11/2026. 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 level. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-7 level) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

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.

OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed 1 1/2 years of graduate education directly related to the work of the position. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. (TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE INCLUDED IN APPLICATION PACKAGE).

Dental Service Preferences:

A minimum of ten years' experience in crowns and bridge, with five years emphasizing CAD/CAM techniques, with knowledge of the Hyperdent design software preferred. Proficiency required in creating 3D scans, with familiarity with the 3Shape scanning program desirable. Expertise in fabricating precise, high quality, fixed dental restorations by traditional methods essential.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Critical Thinking Medicine and Dentistry 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:

Long periods of standing, sitting and bending are required. It is necessary to climb onto counters in order to replenish plaster bins. The ability to lift plaster boxes weighing 30 pounds from the floor to the counter to the plaster bins is required.

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/.