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Posted: March 10, 2026 (4 days ago)

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Dental Laboratory Technician

Veterans Health Administration

Department of Veterans Affairs

Fresh

Salary

$58,436 - $75,964

per year

Closes

March 16, 2026More VA jobs →

GS-8 Pay Grade

Base salary range: $46,479 - $60,424

Typical requirements: 1 year specialized experience at GS-7. Graduate study or significant experience.

Note: Actual salary includes locality pay (15-40%+ depending on location).

Job Description

Summary

This job involves creating custom dentures and dental prosthetics in a lab to help veterans with their oral health needs, handling everything from initial impressions to final assembly.

It's a hands-on role in a government hospital setting in Buffalo, New York.

A good fit would be someone with practical experience in dental lab work or related graduate education, who is detail-oriented and comfortable using specialized tools.

Key Requirements

  • Proficiency in basic written and spoken English
  • One year of specialized experience in dental laboratory work, including using materials like plasters, waxes, metals, acrylics, and porcelain
  • Experience with dental lab equipment such as hand tools, lathes, furnaces, casting machines, and precision instruments like articulators and surveyors
  • Ability to construct dental prosthetic appliances, primarily removable prosthodontics like dentures and partials, with some fixed work
  • Or, 1.5 years of graduate-level education directly related to dental laboratory technology
  • Or, a combination of qualifying experience and education
  • Ability to perform sedentary work with some standing, walking, bending, and light lifting in a dental lab environment

Full Job Description

The Dental Laboratory Technician position supports the care of the Veteran population through the provision of primarily removable prosthodontic lab work.

The employee fabricates and constructs dentures and partials from start to finish completing all aspects of removable prosthodontics and some fixed prosthodontic work.

IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION AT THE GS-8 LEVEL YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING: 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~ SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess 1 year of specialized experience, equivalent to the next lowered level in the Federal service, that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) needed to successfully perform the duties of the position and that is typically in or related to this Dental Laboratory Technician position to be filled.

Specialized experience for the position includes: using dental laboratory material such as impression materials, plasters, stones, hydrocolloids, waxes, metals, acrylics, porcelain, and similar materials; using laboratory equipment such as hand tools, dental lathes, engines, and hand pieces, furnaces, casting machines, presses, flasks, and related equipment; using precision instruments such as articulators, surveyors, and microanalyzers; and constructing dental prosthetic appliances.

(THIS EXPERIENCE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RESUME TO BE CREDITABLE.) ~OR~ EDUCATION SUBSTITUTION: You must have successfully completed one and one-half years (1 1⁄2) of graduate level education directly related to the Dental Laboratory Technician 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 one year of full-time study; if that number cannot be obtained from the transcript, 18 semester hours will be considered as one full academic year of graduate study.

(COPY OF TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED AT TIME OF APPLICATION) ~OR~ COMBINATION: You must possess equivalent combinations of experience and education as described above to fully meet the requirements of this position.

(THIS EXPERIENCE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RESUME TO BE CREDITABLE AND COPY OF TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED AT TIME OF APPLICATION) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Analytical Thinking Applies Technology to Tasks Medicine and Dentistry Quality Assurance Technical Competence IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week.

All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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.

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; religious; 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.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary but also requires standing, walking, bending, lifting and carrying of light dental items.

The work environment involves risks typically associated with performing dental laboratory work.

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/.

Major 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: Surveying master casts for partial dentures to implement design prescribed by the dentist.

Studying master cast to identify the undercuts and teeth to be used for retention of the denture and blocks out undesirable undercuts.

Troubleshooting and adapting the design of the prosthodontic to fit the individualized need of the patient to restore function. Setting up and contouring artificial teeth for full and partial dentures.

Surveying, interpreting designs, and fabricating 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 in providing for retention of the denture, and improving or restoring mastication or other mouth functions.

Constructing acrylic crowns, bridges, or facings.

Constructing stone, amalgam, or electroformed copper dies, or casts with removable dies, for use in fabricating crowns, inlays, or fixed partial dentures.

Fabricating porcelain crowns, fixed partial dentures, or facings. Performing other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

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Posted on USAJOBS: 3/10/2026 | Added to FreshGovJobs: 3/10/2026

Source: USAJOBS | ID: CARZ-12900296-26-JAF