Voices From The Bench

Voices From the Bench is headed back to Florida THIS WEEK for the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/) all thanks to the great people at Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/). You know, the makers of MIYO! (https://miyoworld.com/). Come visit Elvis & Barb in the Jensen booth June 7 & 8 in Orlando. Register today at FDLA.NET! Could you imagine buying a lab without knowing anything about teeth? Well, that is exactly what Thomas Brainsky did. Thomas is an entrepreneur that thought it was a great idea and soon learned the hard way that it isn't easy. Thomas talks about buying the lab, of course buying a second lab, struggling with growth and retention, learning what his lab does differently, connecting with David Lesh, changing his marketing, and all about the lessons he learned along the way. Discover How Employers are benefiting from an Annual Tax savings upwards of $300 to $600 per employee with ZERO Net Cost & Increasing their employees NET Take Home Pay (https://capstonehealthpl

Voices From the Bench is headed back to Florida for the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/) all thanks to the great people at Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/). You know, the makers of MIYO! (https://miyoworld.com/). Come visit Elvis & Barb in the Jensen booth June 7 & 8 in Orlando. Register today at FDLA.NET! We all know that a majority of labs use 3shape (https://www.3shape.com/). We also know that a majority of the labs outsource designs in some capacity. Have you ever wondered how it works so efficiently? This week Elvis and Barb chat with Cole Bishop who is the Global Head of Design Quality with 3Shape Design Services (https://www.3shape.com/en-us/services/design-services). Cole comes from a long background of working in dental labs and really understands that no two people want the same design. He talks about his journey, getting into digital, developing the design options for Full Contour, transition to 3shape, and helping them to develop the 90 second AI design servic

Our first episode since returning from the AMAZING Exocad (https://exocad.com/) Insights meeting in SPAIN! Thank you to all the wonderful people that put on the show and to everyone that stopped by and recorded with us. We can't wait to release all the episodes! Go show some love to Jaume Aisa Moreno (https://www.facebook.com/jaume.aisamoreno) who is reuniting Elvis with his podcast laptop! Shaana Gripp started off as a dental assistant because of her grandmother. After getting into doing some lab work, found out that she really enjoyed it. In the early 2000s she was exposed to CEREC and a passion for designing started. Moving to a full-time position in a lab was where she picked up all the skills as they moved her from models, waxing, and eventually ceramics. Now Shaana is running an in-office lab that does the work of 8 dentists in 4 locations. Shaana talks about her journey, learning how to self-teach, daily life in her lab, and how photography plays a big part in her full arch work. Wanting to take your

Voices From the Bench is headed back to Florida for the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/) all thanks to the great people at Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/). You know, the makers of MIYO! (https://miyoworld.com/). Come visit Elvis & Barb in the Jensen booth June 7 & 8 in Orlando. Register today at FDLA.NET! After countless past guests on the podcast (and Barb) sing the praises of the MIYO system (https://miyoworld.com/), it only makes sense that we talk to the makers of it, Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/). Kevin Mahan has been with Jensen Dental for 32 years and has seen the company go from alloy and refining to a leader in the ceramic space. Kevin talks about his journey, the story of how they got the name MIYO, and how he meet Kite Saito. Kite is an amazing ceramist from Ozark Prosthodontics (https://ozarkpros.com/). He talks about his journey to America to fulfill a dream of being a blues guitarists, learning about the dental technology program at the LA city

Voices From the Bench is headed back to Florida for the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/) all thanks to the great people at Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/). You know, the makers of MIYO! (https://miyoworld.com/). Come visit Elvis & Barb in the Jensen booth June 7 & 8 in Orlando. Register today at FDLA.NET! Most people don't like to talk about health insurance. Because it's usually with some insurance broker that doesn't know anything about the dental lab industry and is just looking to make money off of us. But one man is changing all of that. Michael Clark was the Senior Vice President of Domestic Sales and Marketing for Argen (https://argen.com/) for 10 years. Michael spent years learning, helping, and growing dental labs around the country. After some personal "events", Michael decided to fall back on another passion of his, providing good employee benefits. But because of his love for the dental lab industry, he is focusing on labs and technicians. Michael talks about

It's time again to raise money for the Race For the Future 10.0 (https://dentallabfoundation.org/news-events/race-for-the-future/)! This year it's being held in Fort Worth, Texas on September 15th. Go to dentallabfoundation.org and click the “donate today” button. Log in or create an account, then select the “Race for the Future” option and enter The Abutments or Barb Warner to donate. All the money goes towards furthering the education for dental technicians. Voices From the Bench is headed back to Florida for the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/) all thanks to the great people at Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/). You know, the makers of MIYO! (https://miyoworld.com/). Come visit Elvis & Barb in the Jensen booth June 7 & 8 in Orlando. Register today at FDLA.NET! This week we showcase that last 4 conversations we got while in the Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_us) Ballroom at LMT Lab Day Chicago 2024 (https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday). First up is Randi James from Renst

Want to go on the ULTIMATE exocad (https://exocad.com/) vacation? Endless fun, epic weather, amazing food, exotic culture, and two days all about the greatest software in dental, exocad. Join Elvis and Barb on May 9 and 10 on the beautiful Spanish island of Mallorca (https://www.spain.info/en/region/mallorca-island/). It's called exocad Insights 2024 and it's full of amazing speakers, great breakout sessions, evening events, and attendees from all over the world. Don't wait, register today at exocad.com/insights2024 and use the code VFTB15 to save 15% off the fee. We will see you there! Voices From the Bench is headed back to Florida for the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/) all thanks to the great people at Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/). You know, the makers of MIYO! (https://miyoworld.com/). Come visit Elvis & Barb in the Jensen booth June 7 & 8 in Orlando. Register today at FDLA.NET! We back to the episodes we got while in the Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_li)

The shirts and hoodies are BACK! Back in January we sold "Dental Technicians: Making Dentist Look Good since the 1700s" shirts for Lab Day. So many people asked us to bring them back, so we did! Get them here before April 18! https://www.bonfire.com/vftb-the-zippered-hoodie-era/ This week we talk all about the exocad (https://exocad.com/) event of the year, exocad Insights 2024 (https://exocad.com/insights2024). Christine McClymont is the Global Head of Marketing and Communication for exocad and comes on to tell us all about the speakers, topics, the expert’s corner, and parties that are happening May 9 and 10 in Mallorca, Spain. Also joining her is Dr. August de Oliveria who is a speaker at Insights, but also talks about his journey in digital, some of the lessons he has learned, and what he’s doing now with virtual reality and augmented reality in dentistry. The Vectra Face Scanner Dr. de Oliveria talked about: https://www.canfieldsci.com/imaging-systems/vectra-m3-3d-imaging-system/ Want to go on the ULTIM

Want to go on the ULTIMATE exocad (https://exocad.com/) vacation? Endless fun, epic weather, amazing food, exotic culture, and two days all about the greatest software in dental, exocad. Join Elvis and Barb on May 9 and 10 on the beautiful Spanish island of Mallorca (https://www.spain.info/en/region/mallorca-island/). It's called exocad Insights 2024 and it's full of amazing speakers, great breakout sessions, evening events, and attendees from all over the world. Don't wait, register today at exocad.com/insights2024 and use the code VFTB15 to save 15% off the fee. We will see you there! The shirts and hoodies are BACK! Back in January we sold "Dental Technicians: Making Dentist Look Good since the 1700s" shirts for Lab Day. So many people asked us to bring them back, so we did! Get them here before April 18! https://www.bonfire.com/vftb-the-zippered-hoodie-era/ We have even more conversations this week from the Ivolcar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_li) Ballroom at LMT Lab Day Chicago 2024 with: James "The Dent

The shirts and hoodies are BACK! Back in January we sold "Dental Technicians: Making Dentist Look Good since the 1700s" shirts for Lab Day. So many people asked us to bring them back, so we did! Get them here before April 18! https://www.bonfire.com/vftb-the-zippered-hoodie-era/ Want to go on the ULTIMATE exocad (https://exocad.com/) vacation? Endless fun, epic weather, amazing food, exotic culture, and two days all about the greatest software in dental, exocad. Join Elvis and Barb on May 9 and 10 on the beautiful Spanish island of Mallorca (https://www.spain.info/en/region/mallorca-island/). It's called exocad Insights 2024 and it's full of amazing speakers, great breakout sessions, evening events, and attendees from all over the world. Don't wait, register today at exocad.com/insights2024 and use the code VFTB15 to save 15% off the fee. We will see you there! On June 9 & 10, Voices From the Bench will be back at the Florida Dental Lab Association Symposium (https://www.fdla.net/symposium) that's to the won

Want to go on the ULTIMATE exocad (https://exocad.com/) vacation? Endless fun, epic weather, amazing food, exotic culture, and two days all about the greatest software in dental, exocad. Join Elvis and Barb on May 9 and 10 on the beautiful Spanish island of Mallorca (https://www.spain.info/en/region/mallorca-island/). It's called exocad Insights 2024 and it's full of amazing speakers, great breakout sessions, evening events, and attendees from all over the world. Don't wait, register today at exocad.com/insights2024 and use the code VFTB15 to save 15% off the fee. We will see you there! On June 9 & 10, Voices From the Bench will be back at the Florida Dental Lab Association Symposium (https://www.fdla.net/symposium) that's to the wonderful people at Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/). Be sure to check out FDLA.NET to see the line up and to register. This week we start the conversations that we recorded in the Ivoclar Ballroom during Lab Day Chicago 2024. This week brings us: Michael Wandling from Sum

QUEENS -Women In The Industry event is happening April 5th & 6th 2024 at Bellisimo Castle! Check out queenswomenintheindustry.com to register for this wonderful event Elvis and Barb cannot believe Voices from the Bench is still going after 6 years! We owe it all to the listeners, the sponsors, and of course the guests that make this podcast what it is. 6 years ago, one educator agreed to be our very first guest, not knowing that she would be coming back every year. Renata Budny is a professor in the Restorative Dentistry (https://www.citytech.cuny.edu/restorativedentistry/dental-laboratory-aas.aspx) program at New York City College of Technology (https://www.citytech.cuny.edu/)and updates us on the school, how students find it, where they go after, and how as an industry we can help the school help the industry. This year, Renata brings on the podcast a recent graduate that has a unique story on why he signed up, Paul Beck. Paul talks about his experience in the program, what he learned, and why he decided

Want to go on the ULTIMATE exocad (https://exocad.com/) vacation? Endless fun, epic weather, amazing food, exotic culture, and two days all about the greatest software in dental, exocad. Join Elvis and Barb on May 9 and 10 on the beautiful Spanish island of Mallorca (https://www.spain.info/en/region/mallorca-island/). It's called exocad Insights 2024 and it's full of amazing speakers, great breakout sessions, evening events, and attendees from all over the world. Don't wait, register today at exocad.com/insights2024 and use the code VFTB15 to save 15% off the fee. We will see you there! One of Elvis and Barb's favorite meetings every year is Cal-Lab (https://cal-lab.org/). Barb loves it so much she sits on the board and will be the Chair in 2026. This year the board asked if Voices From the Bench would record during their cocktail reception on Thursday night. We jumped at the chance to have an opportunity to talk to such amazing lab owners and managers. On this episode we talk to: Basil Callahan, the VP of D

Aleksandra Polczynski is an artist. Without even knowing what a dental technician was, she met and married a Master Dental Technician. The lab he worked at offered her a job after looking at some of her drawings. From there a passion and a career was born. She nailed her first few wax ups and was soon a ceramist. After partnering up with companies like GC America (https://www.gc.dental/america/) and Straumann (https://www.straumann.com/us/en/dental-professionals.html), Aleksandra was soon teaching others the art of full arch composite and staining. Wanting to do more, she partnered up with a dentist and opened Visual Dental Arts (https://www.facebook.com/p/Visual-Dental-Arts-100063516994366/) where she gets to work one-on-one with patients to give them the results they want. Aleksandra talks about her life in office, teaching, the craziness of Lab Day Chicago, and how she embraced technology to enhance her analog and artistic side. Did you know that not all Zirconia is the same? ZirCAD Prime (https://www.ivoc

We are all back from Lab Day and very tired.... but yet we are still all going to the bench because the work never stops. THANK YOU Ivoclar, for hosting us over the weekend! This week we get to meet John Rano. John's dad was a dental technician, so it only made sense that John would end up in the family business. At the age of 14, John started learning what he could. By 18, he was doing conversions. But John wanted more. So after working at another lab and learning even more, John opened Unique Solutions Dental Lab (https://www.uniquesolutionsdentallab.com/). John comes on to talk about his journey, what he learned about providing a positive environment for new employees, and using digital for his full arch workflow. Did you know that not all Zirconia is the same? ZirCAD Prime (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_li/products/digital-processes/ips-e.max-zircad-prime-family) Zirconia from Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_us) is uniquely produced with Gradient Technology which allows two powders that normally sinte

Be sure to come see us in the Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_li) Ballroom during LMT Lab Day Chicago 2024 (https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday). Register today! We will also be recording Thursday night during the Cal-Lab Association (https://cal-lab.org/) Meeting that same weekend! Check out this amazing event and register today (https://cal-lab.org/annual-meeting/)! How do you market your lab? By talking about the materials that you use? Do you mention how many years of experience your technicians have. Sure, that is one way to go, but how would you like your lab to be known for offering a distinctive value to dentists and their patients. This week we brought back on two guests that have partnered up to help labs market their uniqueness. Rob Laizure from Full Contour and 3shape Automate (https://www.3shape.com/en-us/services/automate) and Sasha Der Avanessian from Harvest Dental (https://harvestdental.com/) understand branding. Brought together by their love of the industry and seeing labs succeed, they talk

Be sure to come see us in the Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_li) Ballroom during LMT Lab Day Chicago 2024 (https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday). Register today! We will also be recording Thursday night during the Cal-Lab Association (https://cal-lab.org/) Meeting that same weekend! Check out this amazing event and register today (https://cal-lab.org/annual-meeting/)! What were you doing at the age of 20? Probably not what Tyler McCabe is doing. Tyler at the age of 20 is already a traveling dental technician going between the offices to do chairside conversions. Tyler's dad and aunt were dental technicians, he is was always fascinated with what there were doing and always ask that they show him how. Eventually he took off to grow his career, and after a few bad labs, Tyler found the bloody role that he likes. Tyler talks about his journey, their process for full arch immediates, his plans for the future, and a scary story of how he literally died in the dental chair. American Denturist College (https://adc.edu/

Be sure to come see us in the Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_li) Ballroom during LMT Lab Day Chicago 2024 (https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday). Register today! Come enjoy and sun with us on May 9 -10, 2024 in Mallorca, Spain at exocad Insights! An amazing line up of speakers all talking about an amazing design program! Register here! (https://exocad.com/insights2024) This week we prepare for what is sure to be the best LMT Lab Day Chicago ever! Once again Elvis and Barb will be in the Ivoclar Ballroom all weekend recording all the amazing people in our industry willing to sit down with us. But what else is going on in the ballroom? One of the speakers on stage is Jessica Love (formerly Birrell). Jessica comes on the podcast to talk about her artistry beginnings, how she discovered dental technology, opening her own lab, discovering new ways to teach emax, getting into speaking, and how she now owns Capture Dental Health & Beauty Center (https://www.capturedentalarts.com/) that takes what a dentist sees in th

Be sure to come see us in the Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_li) Ballroom during LMT Lab Day Chicago 2024 (https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday). Register today! It's always good, as technicians, to get a clinical perspective of all the work we do. Let's be honest, without the clinical side.... We wouldn't have work. But getting to talk to a clinician that LOVES and APPRECIATES lab work is even better. Dr. Wendy Clark is an Associate Professor of Prosthodontics at UNC Adams School of Dentistry (https://dentistry.unc.edu/). You would think since she is a professor, she would only teach analog ways. This is so not true. Dr. Clark is a fan of the digital denture workflow and teaches it to her students right along with the analog method. Dr. Clark talks about her history with digital dentures, how the workflow has improved over the years, what causes them to succeed, and what causes them to fail. If you don't think dentists are coming out of school wanting digital dentures.... think again. The demand is there and on

Be sure to come see us in the Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_li) Ballroom during LMT Lab Day Chicago 2024 (https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday). Register today! When you see a tooth, what do you think? Some notice its shape. Some notice its Vita shade equivalent. This week’s guest notices the amount of moss, raspberry, and midnight is in it. Amanda Carson was always an artist. She even got two degrees in it. But after finding out about dental labs and visiting one for only one day. She was hooked. It wasn’t long before she realized that her skills are best used in ceramics and that is when she discovered MIYO (https://miyoworld.com/). Amanda takes the time to explain how she uses this oddly colorfully named system and even dumbs it down so Elvis can understand. Now she’s teaching others how to apply MIYO and has partnered up with a dentist to create a dental lab where she can control the communication and quality she h always wanted to put out. Click here to see when Amanda will be doing table clinics at the Je