Voices From The Bench

Three things in life are constant. Teeth, teeth, and taxes. Yay, taxes! Are you excited for taxes yet? You should be, because there is an amazing tax credit you or your lab could be getting right now. Tracy Lustyan from the alliantgroup (https://www.alliantgroup.com/) comes on the podcast with John Beasley from Classic Craft Dental Lab in Savannah Georgia to talk about how Tracy took John through the whole process of getting the R&D tax credit (https://www.alliantgroup.com/services/r-d-tax-credit-2/). John talks about first-hand what it's like for a lab to go through it, what he had to do, how it changed his lab, and how easy it is. When you team up with the right tax company. Kettenbach (http://www.kettenbachusa.com/) is a company that wants to partner with your lab to make sure you are getting the impressions you need. You know dental offices often ask dental labs what they recommend for impression material. Tell them with confidence a material that backed with amazing customer service and proven results

There are many online groups for dental technicians. Very few of them have had a profound impact in such a short amount of time. Jeffry Tobon from DesignLab Dental (https://www.designlabdental.com/) and Sander Polanco from FMR Prosthetic Center (https://www.fmrlab.com/) saw a need for good quality education for all technicians no matter what software or systems they use. That is when they created Digital Dental Craftsmen (https://www.digitaldentalcraftsmen.com/), an online platform that allows instructors from around the globe to reach technicians of all skill levels. Jeffry and Sander talk about how they got into the industry, how they met and came up with the idea, why they created Digital Dental Craftsmen, how they find their instructors, and what exciting platform they are working on next. Stay up-to-date on DDC World at Digital Dental Craftsmen (https://www.digitaldentalcraftsmen.com/) and their FaceBook page (https://www.facebook.com/DDCraftsmen) Whip Mix (https://whipmix.com/) is very excited to ann

We welcome to the podcast two Denturists from Washington State. Vallan Charron and Melissa Brulotte, both rich in family history, talk about the early days of getting Denturism recognized, going through the school, running a practice during and after COVID, and how other states can start the processes of bringing Denturim to their state. National Denturist Association (https://nationaldenturist.com/) American Denturist School (https://americandenturistschool.com/) Bates Technical College: Denturist Program (https://www.batestech.edu/programs/denturist/) Kettenbach (http://www.kettenbachusa.com/) is a company that wants to partner with your lab to make sure you are getting the impressions you need. You know dental offices often ask dental labs what they recommend for impression material. Tell them with confidence a material that backed with amazing customer service and proven results. Give them a call at 877-532-2123 and mention the code Dental Lab Podcast 25 to get 25% off your order Special Guests: Meliss

Elvis and Barb are excited to bring you a conversation they had with Lou Azzara, the CEO of Dental Services Group (DSG) (https://www.dentalservices.net/). Lou started in the industry with Captek and now he oversees 40+ labs across the United States. He talks about how DSG handled COVID and their predictions for life after COVID. Lou explains his inspirations and why it is extremely important to him that each lab, each technician, and each patient gets treated with the care they deserve. It’s okay to fail, as long as you fail forward. We all do zirconia. There are many options out there. Are you using multi-layered zirconia? You should. Vericore ZR Pro ML (https://whipmix.com/products/vericore-zr-pro-multi-layer/) from Whip Mix (https://whipmix.com/) is a fantastic multi-layered zirconia that is designed with a built-in gradation of color that closely mimics that of natural dentition. Call Whip Mix today to learn more at 800-626-5651. Special Guest: Lou Azzara.

When a non-dental individual thinks of Ottawa, Illinois, they probably think of 4H and quilt shows. (Two things on the town's main page). But if they ever hear this episode they will know that a great dental lab started in this small town and has grown to be well respected in the area and in our industry. Jim Caruso's grandfather opened Ottawa Dental Lab back in the 30's and now the operation is 4 labs in 2 states. Jim talks about coming into the family business, the logistics of running drivers over 5,000 miles a day, life during COVID, and creating a culture that encourages technicians to succeed. Go Fleet (https://www.gofleet.com/) Cal-Lab (https://cal-lab.org/) Kettenbach (http://www.kettenbachusa.com/) is a company that wants to partner with your lab to make sure you are getting the impressions you need. You know dental offices often ask dental labs what they recommend for impression material. Tell them with confidence a material that backed with amazing customer service and proven results. Give them a

Elvis and Barb talk to the guys that run Alien Milling Technologies (https://www.alienmilling.com/). These two brothers, after leaving their dad's lab, opened up a milling center in California that does design and milling all right here in the US. Saro and Raffi Hatzakortzian talk about how they got into the milling business, what's it it like running a milling center, what exciting things they are working on, and how Alien Milling can be a partner for any lab. BEGO™ Varseo XS 3D Printer and the printed temporary crown (https://www.alienmilling.com/collections/bego/products/bego-varseo-xs-3d-printer-bundle) Whip Mix (https://whipmix.com/) is very excited to announce the new PRO 4K large format 3D printer from Asiga. It’s ideal for printing any kind of model, dentures, splints, surgical guides, impression trays and more. The Asiga Pro 4K DLP printer (https://whipmix.com/products/asiga-pro-4k/) is priced at under $25,000, has a large build plate and is available in both 65µm and resolution versions. For info

Barb loves a good lab story about taking over a parents lab and then passing it on to their kids. Jerry Kaizer from Murray Kaizer (https://www.murraykaizer.com/) is just one of those tales. Jerry talks about starting in the lab, working with his brother and sister, becoming a leader in the removable business, bringing all his kids into the lab, and what we can do as the current generation of technicians to make sure the next generation understands the fundamentals. Also the last collection of "Audio Thanks" that listeners have sent in to celebrate Dental Technician Appreciation Month! Kettenbach (http://www.kettenbachusa.com/) is a company that wants to partner with your lab to make sure you are getting the impressions you need. You know dental offices often ask dental labs what they recommend for impression material. Tell them with confidence a material that backed with amazing customer service and proven results. Give them a call at 877-532-2123 and mention the code Dental Lab Podcast 25 to get 25% off you

June is CDT and Dental Technician Appreciation Month. There is no better way to celebrate than talking to a couple of people who have volunteered their time to help promote, educate, and strengthen our industry. First up is Dennis Urban CDT from Dental Services Group (https://www.dentalservices.net/) who is also the Chairperson on the National Board of Certification (NBC) (http://nbccert.org/homepage.cfm). Dennis talks about getting his CDT, finding the motivation to get on the board to promote it, and what the NBC is doing to make sure technicians still have the opportunity to get certified during these difficult times. Then we talk to Sean Siegel from Castable Ceramics (https://www.castableceramics.com/) (also the Chairperson of the Foundation of Dental Laboratory Technology (http://dentallabfoundation.org/)) and Shawn Nowak from Nowak Dental Supplies (https://www.nowakdental.com/) (also the Fiscal Officer of the Foundation). They give us an update on the Foundation, all the grants and scholarships tha

There are names in our industry that almost everyone knows. One of those names is Peter Pizzi. Maybe you have seen him speak? Maybe you read his articles in the IDT magazine (https://www.aegisdentalnetwork.com/idt), that he is editor-in-chief of? Elvis and Barb had a fantastic casual conversation with Peter as he tells them about the early days of getting into dental technology, who was his influencers and where he picked up his skill. They also talk about how he puts his lectures together, how he got hooked up with Inside Dental Technology magazine, and what he thinks we should be doing as a profession to ensure that we survive all the changes happening. Kettenbach (http://www.kettenbachusa.com/) is a company that wants to partner with your lab to make sure you are getting the impressions you need. You know dental offices often ask dental labs what they recommend for impression material. Tell them with confidence a material that backed with amazing customer service and proven results. Give them a call at 8

June is CDT and Dental Technician Appreciation Month. Send us your audio thanks to info@voicesfromthebench.com. Super easy but super supportive! With all the canceled dental laboratory shows, it was nice to release all the conversations we got at the Argen (https://argen.com/#/) booth at LMT Lab Day Chicago 2020. But sadly, it has now run out. But we end them with two great recordings. First up is Michael Thomas CDT and Shannon Foscue who run Edge Dental Solutions (https://www.edgedentalsolutions.com/). With the experience and knowledge they got with Affordable Dentures (https://www.affordabledentures.com/), they started a company that helps dental technicians and labs reach their full potential. THEN we have our annual conversation with the one and only Judy Fishman from LMT. She is joined by the Event Coordinator Jenny Abbott-Cole as they talk about this years show, the next exhibit hall, and LMT magazine going digital. Whip Mix (https://whipmix.com/) is very excited to announce the new PRO 4K large

A Big thanks to all the Dental Technicians out there for keeping our industry strong! We have an episode packed full of great technicians from all around the world. Remember when we could still travel. When we were set up at the Argen (https://argen.com/) booth at LMT Lab Day Chicago 2020 we talked to a great technician/dentist duo. Tommy Rodgers CDT from Iverson Dental Labs specializes in full arch hybrids and teamed up with a Dr. Mike Clark who understands the need for treatment planning with a good technician to do those cases. THEN all the way from Romania, we talk Ionut "Bob" Pitu who talks about what our industry is like over there and why he traveled to Lab Day. THEN we sit down with Joshua Fitzgerald again to talk with him about running a one-person lab and using social media as a tool of advertising. Record yourself giving thanks to that special person or group in our industry and send it to us at info@voicesfromthebench.com. We will play them during all the episode in June to celebrate Dental Te

Happy Memorial Day 2020.... the oddest one ever. First up we wanted to bring you some more "Vendor Perspective’s" from our industry and how they are dealing with the pandemic. We talk with Shawn Nowak from Nowak Dental Supplies (https://www.nowakdental.com/nowak/) who talks about what they did when everyone shut down, what they have been doing, and what Nowak is doing as we all start getting back to work. Get your PPE gear: https://www.dental-ppe.com/ (https://www.dental-ppe.com/) Back in February, most of the industry went to Chicago for LMT Lab Day 2020. We were set up at the Argen (https://argen.com/#/) booth recording pretty much anyone that would sit down. One of the best parts of doing that is all the people that we get to record that we might not record remotely. This week we bring you three conversations we got while at the biggest event in our industry. First up are two last-year students of the IU Fort Wayne Dental Technology program. Bob Martin and Samuel Kenchanh come on to talk about why they s

NADL Free Webinar - Navigating the New Normal in Dentistry: A Panel Discussion May 21st: 2:00 - 3:00 EST Barbara Warner Wojdan, CDT, AAACD: Mike Cash, CDT, Rudy Ramirez, and Larry Weiss, CPA (https://nadl.org?m7efn0) Elvis and Barb wanted to bring a perspective of the pandemic response from the vendor side of things. Elvis talked to Pat Higgins, who is the new Vice President of Marketing and New Business Development at Whip Mix (https://whipmix.com/). Pat comes on to talk about what Whip Mix did when the pandemic started, what they are doing during, and what they have planned for the future. Two things in life are certain. Bad dentist equals bad impressions and taxes. We talked to two CPAs about dental laboratories maximizing tax credits from their research and experimentation. Adam Herman and Doug Kolker from Mueller Prost (https://muellerprost.com/) have been working with labs for a long time and understand our industry. They provide some wonderful ideas for labs to get some much needed cash during these

Remember when we all packed into a hotel convention center in a very busy city to talk about the dental laboratory industry? How crazy were we? :-) Elvis and Barb are back with more conversation they got while at the Argen booth at LMT's Lab Day Chicago 2020. First up we talk to a very well-rounded dental technician that has moved more in 6 months then most move in a lifetime. But all this experience has helped David Lindsay make the decision to become a denturist. He tells his story and shares some insight that he has learned along the way. Then we are joined by the dental product manager from Formlabs, Sam Wainwright. Sam talks about the history of Formlabs, what they are working on now, and what we can expect from this popular 3d printer company. Whip Mix (https://whipmix.com/) is extremely proud to introduce the Whip Mix VeriBuild 3D Printer (https://whipmix.com/products/veribuild-lcd/) with features rarely seen in economically priced printers. Your lab or dental practice can now print extremely precise

Elvis and Barb had the extreme pleasure to speak with Béatrice Robichaud who is the co-founder of Panthera Dental (https://pantheradental.com/) and Kim Solomon who is the Senior Vice-President of US sales. Béatrice and Kim tells us the story of how Pantera got started, Why they got into sleep apena devices (https://pantheradental.com/d-sad/), the use of tele-dentistry, and how Panthera stepped up to print PPE for hospitals. Download the .STL file of Panthera's 3D Printed Face Shield (https://pantheradental.com/covid-19/) Kettenbach (http://www.kettenbachusa.com/) is a company that wants to partner with your lab to make sure you are getting the impressions you need. You know dental offices often ask dental labs what they recommend for impression material. Tell them with confidence a material that backed with amazing customer service and proven results. Give them a call at 877-532-2123 and mention the code Dental Lab Podcast 25 to get 25% off your order Special Guests: Béatrice Robichaud and Kim Solomon.

As states start to allow dental offices to open up to non-emergency patients, labs are starting to get back to work. Of course, it will be a slow start, but it is a sign of things starting to get back to the "new normal". First up is a weekly update from Bennett Napier from the NADL (https://nadl.org/) talking about the next webinar and what's new with our industry and the COVID-19. NADL Free Webinar - Protecting Patients and Staff when Re-Opening The Dental Practice (https://nadl.org/news/#n1369)  Thursday, April 30, 2020 2:00pm-3:00pm EDT ADA Report on 2020 and 2021 Dental Spending based on Covid 19 Impact (https://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Science%20and%20Research/HPI/Files/HPIbrief_0420_1.pdf?la=en%3F&utm_source=adaupdate&utm_medium=email&utm_content=cv-hpi-modeling-impct-of-covid-19-on-dental-spending&utm_campaign=covid-19&fbclid=IwAR3iB9XI4ZSNRIA2vEAfPFc8WQm_Iv5ZYRDBFVC6ivLcBU5oQ6jfTYTcxbk) This week we are back to LMT Lab Day Chicago 2020. Recording from the Argen (

YAY! Half of April 2020 is done! That is something to celebrate, right? We welcome Bennett Napier from the NADL back on the podcast to update us on our industry and the COVID-19. NADL Interactive Roundtable Discussion: Big Picture Thinking for Dental Laboratories post COVID-19 - A Strategic Conversation Webinar Wednesday, April 22, 2020 1:00pm-2:00pm EDT (https://nadl.org/news/#n1339) ADA News Stories (https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/ada-news-archive) Remember when a whole bunch of people could get in a room to celebrate what they love? Those were the days! And to relive those days we take you back to the glory days of LMT Lab Day Chicago 2020. There Elvis and Barb set up at the Argen (https://argen.com/#/) booth and invited anyone to sit down and tell their story. First up we have the first couple to sit down with us. While Barb was out being president Elvis got to talk to Scott and Randi James who are doing amazing job running a family lab in Minnesota. Then they both got to talk with Ferna

We are back with another conversation from the pre-COVID-19 days. Long before LMT Lab Day Chicago we got contacted by a orthodontics doctor who is helping labs get into clear aligners. Dr. Amanda Wilson has spent time in private practice and has work along a few big aligner companies. Now she owns StraightSmile Solutions (https://www.straightsmilesolutions.com/) that works with doctors and LABS to help them get into this booming aspect of our industry. Good information for a very popular item with dental laboratories. StraightSmile Solutions' GP Webinar Page (http://gpwebinar.com/dr-wilson31775959) Clear Aligner manufactures for laboratories: Smile Shapers (https://smileshapers.com/#) Argen Clear Aligners (https://argen.com/clear-aligners#/) Have you tried Whip Mix’s Vericore ZR Pro zirconia (https://whipmix.com/products/vericore-zr-pro/) discs yet? They not only produce very natural looking crowns and bridges, but they are very strong, at 1,140 megapascals. When it comes to zirconia use in dentistry, high st

What a bleeping week. Hard to imagine that this will end and everything will get back to normal. But until then, the podcast must go on! First up is an important update from Bennett Napier from the NADL (National Association of Dental Laboratories) (https://nadl.org/). NADL Recorded Webinar COVID-19 Safety and Infection Protection Guidance for Dental Laboratories (https://nadl.org/news/#n1283) Executive Summary of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act (https://nadl.org/news/#n1276) Let's get a sense of being normal, shall we? Back in January Elvis and Barb, thanks to Kettenbach (http://www.kettenbachusa.com/), got to go to the Voices of Dentistry Summit. First up they talked to the co-host of DA Rockstars podcast (https://www.dentalassistantsrock.com/da-rockstars-podcast) and super cool dental assistant, Ronda Holman. She talks about the relationship between dental assistants and laboratories, interviews Elvis and Barb a little, and why she loves being a dental assistant. Then they t

What a terrible week for our world, country, and industry. More and more states enacted the "Stay-at-Home" mandate and dentist seeing only emergency patients, the labs are getting next to no work. We hear every day of layoffs, Furloughs, and closings. It is sad but at the same time important that when the COVID-19 virus starts to "die off", that we are more than ready to get back to being the growing industry that we were just a few months ago. To update us of what the dental laboratory industry needs to know is once again Bennett Napier from the NADL. COVID-19 Safety and Infection Control Guidance for Dental Laboratories Webinar (https://nadl.org/news/#n1248) April 1, 2020 2:00pm-3:00pm EST CARES Act Relief Bill (https://nadl.org/news/#n1237) CDC Update for Dental March 27, 2020 (https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol/statement-COVID.html) To keep a sense of normalcy in our lives, we continue with the original conversations we were going to bring you. This week brings three interviews we got at th