Summary The employee serves as a Dental Laboratory Technician within the Dental Laboratory Section of the Dental Service at the VA Medical Center located in New Port Richey, Florida. Responsibilities ***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** The major duties of this Dental Laboratory Technician position, include but are not limited to: Performs total fabrication of both fixed/semi-fixed restorations, full/removable partial dentures, orthodontic appliances, and/or dental splints and obturators; Observes dental abnormalities presenting retention and design problems requiring special treatment planning and suggestions; Makes recommendations to be incorporated into patient treatment plans; Advises in the design of unique prothesis for trauma and cancer patients where oral tissue is mutilated or missing; Constructs wrought wire buccal arm clasps to reduce tension on teeth and prolong their life; Constructs acrylic esthetic replacements for gingival tissue removed during surgery to enhance patient self-image; Researches the best materials for use in laboratory procedures; Provides on-the-job training and basic dental laboratory instruction to hygienists, assistants, aids, volunteers, and students; Designs and constructs teaching models of different prosthetic appliances to demonstrate how proper principles of construction are incorporated into the final product; Waxes, invests, boils out, cures, and de-flasks acrylic bases for partial and complete dentures; Blocks out master casts and waxes complete dentures for try-in according to dentist prescriptions to check final tooth arrangement, appearance, and speech function; Shapes wax to contours desired in final dentures, with the thickness required to maintain facial contours, ensure comfort, and provide proper fit; Carves and contours wax to duplicate the appearance of natural oral tissues; Removes excess wax and smooths and polishes surfaces while exercising extreme care at all stages of fabrication as to not disturb the position of the artificial teeth; Reproduces dentures with a high degree of precision and accuracy by recording the relationship of teeth and ridge, removing teeth from dentures, and repositioning and waxing teeth for processing; Removes excess acrylic from dentures, grinds, and selects methods to simulate contours of natural tissue polishes dentures carefully to remove scratches, and preserves anatomical borders developed by the dentist; Bends wrought wire clasps and bars to conform to the case design outlined upon the surveyor's cast; Tempers and shapes metal with various types of pliers into various component parts to be assembled, encased, and fused together with gold solder; Finishes, polishes, heats, treats, and fits metal onto the master case; Submits articulated casts for partial denture framework fabrication to the central dental laboratory, and upon receipt of the cast framework, adds saddle areas with the teeth and processes partial dentures as previously outlined; Fabricates crown, inlays, and fixed partial dentures from gold alloys, porcelain, or acrylic materials, alone or in combination, according to the requirements of the case; Selects the appropriate porcelain or acrylic facings of proper shade, size, and shape; Articulates casts, adapts wax to die, and carves patterns to proper anatomical contour and occlusion; Provides cutout space for veneers on facial surfaces where required, selects and adapts porcelain facings using a high degree of precision; Constructs and fabricates bite raisers, cleft palate obturators, fracture splints, immediate dentures, surgical template, and orthodontic appliances; Orders and stocks laboratory supplies, performs preventive maintenance on all equipment, and maintains records of work performed; and, Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 5 days a week, 8 hour shifts, Monday - Friday, set hours to be discussed during the interview process. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicant(s) must meet at least one of the qualification requirements listed below: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Requires one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level in federal service. Specific qualifying specialized experience for this 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 construction of dental prosthetic appliances. (Resume must demonstrate the required experience. We will not make assumptions.) -OR- SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Successfully completed 1.5 years of graduate education directly related to the work of this position as a Dental Laboratory Technician. NOTE TO APPLICANTS: 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. (Education will not be credited unless transcripts are included with your application package) -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Requires equivalent combinations of experience and graduate level education as described above to fully meet the requirements of this position. 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: Physical activity requires bending, utilizing arms and the movement of hands and fingers in a very precise manual dexterity demands of dental technology. Lift 50 lbs., visual acuity is also very important because of the exacting requirements of the work, especially in color discrimination. 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 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov). Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. 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.