Voices From The Bench

It's the 11th running of the Race For the Future in Fort Worth, TX on September 14, 2025. This is YOUR chance to make a difference in a industry we all love so much. Important links: All the money goes to The Foundation For Dental Laboratory Technology: https://dentallabfoundation.org/ All about the Race: https://dentallabfoundation.org/news-events/race-for-the-future/ Race website: https://fortworth.californiatriathlon.org/ TO DONATE: https://fdlt.memberclicks.net/donor-form#/ Select: Race for the Future Enter the name of the racer you want to support: BARB WARNER or THE CROWN JEWELS Enter the amount (One Million Dollars) It's hard to believe that IDS 2025 happened over 4 months ago and we are still bringing out conversations we got while at the exocad booth. This one is jam-packed with three conversations with 4 different people in the dental industry that really are making huge impacts. First up is two dentist that are using their time and talent to teach other clinicians from around the world how to im

It's the 11th running of the Race For the Future in Fort Worth, TX on September 14, 2025. This is YOUR chance to make a difference in a industry we all love so much. Important links: All the money goes to The Foundation For Dental Laboratory Technology: https://dentallabfoundation.org/ All about the Race: https://dentallabfoundation.org/news-events/race-for-the-future/ Race website: https://fortworth.californiatriathlon.org/ TO DONATE: https://fdlt.memberclicks.net/donor-form#/ Select: Race for the Future Enter the name of the racer you want to support: BARB WARNER or THE CROWN JEWELS Enter the amount (One Million Dollars) We are back with two great conversations that Barb and Elvis got while attending IDS 2025 in the exocad booth. First up is a Canadian Denturist who was just on the podcast back September but has a LOT to update us on. Jade Connors found some time (and found us) to update us on all the adventures she has been on since your last episode, her entry in the Candulor KunstZahnWerk (https://www.

When you think of huge advances in digital dentistry, a lot of companies and names come up. But there are two that are really making a huge impact on how we get things done and they continue to do it with the passion of the lab industry supporting it. First up is Björn Zäuner. Björn grew up in a dental family and wanted nothing to do with teeth. We've all heard this story, right? It wasn't long before Björn had a milling center and even an ortho lab. But he noticed that miss mounted cases were a problem and a main cause to most of his remakes. So he developed Bite-Finder to use AI to find the true bite and not the one "captured" with a blue bite or iOS scanner. He talks all about what it is, how it works, how to integrate it, and how you can try it for FREE for 2 weeks. Then we meet the CEO and co-creator of exocad, Tillmann Steinbrecher. We have talked to literally hundreds of people on this podcast that all sing praises for the "purple program" and this time we get to hear the origin story. Tillmann talks a

DON'T MISS the dental event of the year, November 7-8. Nowak Dental Supplies (https://www.nowakdental.com/) is hosing NOLA Lab Fest (https://www.nolalabfest.com/) in New Orleans, Louisiana. Head over to nolalabfest.com to see the line up and to register. A HUGE thanks to Aidite North America (https://www.aidite.com/) for hosting the podcast at their booth. Come find us and be on the podcast! We are once again showcasing some wonderful conversation that we got while in the exocad (https://exocad.com/) booth at IDS 2025. It's funny to travel all the way to Germany to talk to two Americans, one of them even works with Barb! First up is the CEO of the Leixir Dental Group (https://www.leixir.com/), John Krier. John talks about coming to dental from orthopedics and the differences he is noticing. Only 18 months into his new role, John has already visited every lab in the Leixir group and has started to change the culture of over 1000 employees to empower them to take ownership of the work they do. Then we meet fell

Elvis and Barb are back (once again) with more amazing conversations that they got at the exocad (https://exocad.com/) booth during the 4 days at IDS 2025 in Cologne, Germany (https://www.english.ids-cologne.de/). First up is two gentlemen out of Columbia that their lab 70 years ago decided that it was easier if they just started manufacturing their own materials. Juan David Jaramillo and Luis Diego Monsalve talk about the history of New Stetic (https://www.newstetic.com/en/), the regulation of getting it into 65 different countries, the world of making dental anesthesia, and how they use IDS as a way to connect with customers from around the world. Then we bring back the wonderful Steve Campbell from Nexus Dental Laboratory (https://nexus.dental/)in the UK. Steve is at IDS speaking for exocad and the new exocad ART (https://exocad.com/our-products/exocad-art). He talks about how with exocad, AI, and a video of a patient talking, we can create a video of the patient talking with their new teeth that haven't

Check out the article in the latest issue of JDT about Barb and Elvis' visit to IDS: https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnadl.memberclicks.net%2Fassets%2Fjdt%2FJDTJJ25%2FFeature%2520JDT725.pdf&data=05%7C02%7CElvis%40derbydental.com%7Cc33fea7508384105f07a08ddad0e04e9%7C6fa28314e906466889bfaddab1c310c2%7C0%7C0%7C638856998445771892%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=a64QAz1D6fk6BQEJASihLI%2FzjALozgRhkauA4gpLzpE%3D&reserved=0 We all know and love Nowak Dental Supplies (https://www.nowakdental.com/) for not only their products and services, but for everything they do for our industry. This week we talk to two people from Nowak Dental Supplies (https://www.nowakdental.com/) that are bringing the conference/party of the year to New Orleans in November. Brandi Nowak is one half of the owners and she tells the story of starting in 2000. Taking over her grandfather's legacy that started in

While fresh back from the Florida Dental Lab Association meeting in Orlando, THANKS JENSEN DENTAL (https://jensendental.com/)… we are still bringing you conversations from the exocad (https://exocad.com/) booth from the largest dental show in the world, IDS in Cologne Germany (https://www.english.ids-cologne.de/). But first… We are many, many months away from Chicago in February, but our very own Barb Warner is going to be the very first female Chair of the Cal-Lab Association (https://cal-lab.org/) that is over 100 years old. Let’s make this the most well-attended event ever. Head over to Cal-Lab.org and sign up for this amazing meeting that takes place the Thursday and Friday of the same weekend as Lab Day Chicago. Let’s all plan to go and support Barb! Now, first up we chat with a dentist from India, Dr. Manish Chhabra. After going though the school, Dr. Chhabra discovered that he really had a fondness for digital design. So he opened a lab. Eventurally he meets the owner of Leixir Dental Lab Group (https

Come join us THIS WEEK at the Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/) booth during the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/attendee-information) - June 13-14 at Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, FL Register today at: FDLA.NET We return to the "Olympics of Dental", IDS in Cologne Germany. Set up very nicely in the exocad (https://exocad.com/) booth, Elvis and Barb got to talk to three more amazing people from around the world. THANK YOU EXOCAD!! We start the episode with Amy Tate who joined her uncle a year ago at nexus dental laboratory (https://nexus.dental/) because she saw all the amazing places it has taken him. Now enrolled in a 3 year online course, a mentorship, and also working in the lab, Amy is all in with dental technology and shares her hopes for the future. Then we chat with Rami Gamil, who years ago saw a need for dental technology in Egypt. After getting a degree in it in France, Rami now owns multiple locations called TriScan that provides iOS, CBCT,

Come join us at the Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/) booth during the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/attendee-information) - June 13-14 at Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, FL Register today at: FDLA.NET Back in March, Barb & Elvis traveled all the way to Cologne, Germany to set up and record at the biggest dental show in the world, IDS (https://www.english.ids-cologne.de/). A special thanks to exocad (https://exocad.com/) for giving us the space to record so many amazing people over the course of 4 days. First up is a dentist turned exocad (https://exocad.com/) designer, Hajir Shamil. Hajir talks about dentistry in Iraq and how she went to school just outside of Russia. Going back to a country that is hard to find a practice, she goes about working at a lab and falls in love with the "purple program". Find out what she thinks of her first time at IDS and why she came. Then we chat with Daniel Portal and Gerson Prada. Daniel has a history of working with

Come join us at the Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/) booth during the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/attendee-information) - June 13-14 at Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, FL Register today at: FDLA.NET Dr. Andrew Turchin knew he wanted to be a dentist as soon as he shadowed one many years ago. After spending years in New York, he moved to Aspen, Colorado and opened his own practice where he created the Ageless Smile (https://andrewturchin.com/). To do this, he created a simple mathematical equation that works on almost every patient. Simple and always keeping the end in mind, he wanted to teach other doctors this method and opened Cosmetic Confidence Coaching (https://www.cosmeticcoaching.com/). He comes on to talk about how the formula works, working with in-office technicians, and how occlusion goes beyond just the teeth. Take it from Laura Prosser, the digital marketing manager for Ivoclar North America (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_us). She would like

Come join us at the Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/) booth during the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/attendee-information) - June 13-14 at Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, FL Register today at: FDLA.NET Elvis loves him some surgical guide design software. For years he has used a bunch of them, but it was when he started using RealGuide (https://www.realguide.com/en-us/home/) from ZimVie (https://www.zimvie.com/en), he learned he found the best. Luckily a past podcast guest, Paolo Lubrano is using RealGuide everyday with his role at Implant Concierge (https://implantconcierge.com/). He is joined by Tiffany Schreppler who is the Product Manager at ZimVie. They both talk about their history with dental, how RealGuide came to be, what it does, and how it can help any lab take on a bunch of various cases easily with a more affordable option. See Paolo demo RealGuide on June 3rd at 7:00pm eastern: https://education.zimvie.com/events/course:3540796_3642934 Take

Come join us at the Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/) booth during the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/attendee-information) - June 13-14 at Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, FL Register today at: FDLA.NET We save a conversation from the Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_us) Ballroom at Lab Day Chicago to release this week so if you are at Lab Day West (https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabdaywest) you can go meet Mark Hidde from WINWINGO.com (https://www.winwingo.com/). Mark comes on to talk about owning a lab and seeing the struggles to find good talent. So he created a website where labs can create a profile to look for technicians and technicians can post that they are looking for a good lab. It's a different approach to a much-needed service in our industry. Then we have a conversation with Chris Nevarez. Chris started his dental career with Patterson. From warehouse to customer service, Chris started to really understand the ins and outs of clinical dentistry.

Come join us at the Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/) booth during the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/attendee-information) - June 13-14 at Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, FL Register today at: FDLA.NET Is the debate still going on for digital dentures? It is here and there is no going back. So as we move forward, how are we going to make sure that they are still done correctly? This is exactly what a dental technician and dentist are setting out to do. Robert Kreyer is an icon in the world of removables. From analog to the very first digitally manufactured denture, Robert has seen it all. Dr. Stephen Wagner has been doing removables for years and has embraced digital early in it's life. Together they talk about how digital dentures have evolved over time, the importance of knowing and using the fundamentals, and how the ultimate goal of digital dentures needs to be better and not faster. Bigjawbone.com Don't miss this incredible webinar with Tanya Littl

Come join us at the Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/) booth during the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/attendee-information) - June 13-14 at Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, FL Register today at: FDLA.NET This week we wrap up the episodes that we got while in the Ivoclar Ballroom at LMT Lab Day Chicago 2025. First up is Federico Manes from MODJAW (https://modjaw.com/en/). Federico talks about discovering the world of dental, using his digital background to help a lab get digital, and how they have worked out a system to bring accurate jaw motions to all design software. Then we meet Mellissa Everett. Mellissa loves being a dental technician. She loves it so much, she is usually working at two labs at the same time. She talks about finding out about dental, her desire to become a ceramist, and how her crazy work schedule has actually helped her become a better technician. We then wrap up the episode with a different conversation. Two past podcast guests com

This week we bring 3 great conversation from the great Cal-Lab Association meeting that happened in February during Lab Day Chicago. First up is someone that has to put up with Elvis on a regular basis at Derby Dental Lab (https://www.derbydental.com/), Liam Johns. Liam talks about growing up with a technician father, becoming the removable manager at a young age, and how digital excites him for the future of dental technology. Then we chat with two gentlemen from Wiand Dental Lab (https://www.wiandlab.com/), Tom Wiand and Scott Lowrey. Tom tells the story of starting the lab in the early 90s, organically growing through the years, and keeping up with technology. Scott talks about going from selling burs to selling restorations 10 years ago. Now he does education, chairside support, and helps the lab succeed. We wrap up the episode with former player for the Pittsburg Steelers, Matt Cushing. Once done, a buddy asked if he would do sales for his lab. Not knowing anything about teeth, it wasn't long before Mat

The amazing people we talked to in the Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_us) Ballroom during the 40th anniversary of LMT Lab Day Chicago just keep coming and this week we have a stellar line up. First up is Eric Kukucka. Eric came on the podcast years ago to talk about his multiple denturist practices in Canada. But he has since sold them and has joined the Aspen Dental (https://www.aspendental.com/) group as their Vice President of Clinical Removable Prosthetics & Design Technologies. Eric talks about going from making dentures for hundreds of patients to working with a team to produce quality dentures for millions. Then we chat with Chelsea Homire, who has years of dental assistant experience, but when given the oppritunity to learn the in-office lab work, she took off. With a passion for printing, Chelsea is now teaching other offices (and even a few labs) how they can optimize their digital workflow. We wrap up the episode with Brittany Mitchell. You might know her becuase she designed (and made the d

Way back in February, thousands of dental technicians gathered in Chicago for the 40th anniversary of LMT Lab Day Chicago. While stationed in the Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_us) Ballroom, we got to talk to many wonderful people that make up our industry. We start this episode with a technician that followed his dentist uncle in Mexico and went to dental technician school. Christopher Hernandez soon found himself making sleep apnea devices for years before finding his new home at Clear Choice doing All-on-X cases. Then we welcome back to the podcast, Greg Everett. Last time we talked to Greg, he was with a company that manufactured milling burs. Now he works on the whole mill with his new company Denteon (https://denteon.com/). Specializing in Roland Mills, Greg provides a service to complete rebuild or repair your mill so you can continue to get your monies worth for years longer than expected. We suggest visiting denteon.com if you have any Roland Mills. We wrap up the episode with Ivoclar's own Joe

We are back from IDS in Cologne, Germany. THANK YOU exocad for hosting us and everyone, be prepared for some amazing new features coming to you soon! Along with a TON of crazy good conversations. So when we got an email from the creators of a device that Elvis uses all the time asking to be on the podcast, we jumped at the opportunity. Luckly we were all going to be at the Cal-Lab Association (https://cal-lab.org/) meeting that happens the same week at Lab Day Chicago. This time, Elvis sits down with Danny Yao and Dr. Russell Crockett. Danny has a long history in sales with implants and full arch workflows. Dr. Crockett is a practicing Prosthodontist that loves to design better ways to do dentistry. Meeting awhile ago, Danny saw Dr. Crockett’s prototype for a way to get accurate full arch records using just an iOS scanner. Together they created OptiSplint (https://digitalarches.com/collections/optisplint%C2%AE-the-easiest-and-most-accurate-implant-positioning-system-for-full-arch) and ArchTracer (https://digi

Thanks to the AMAZING people at exocad (https://exocad.com/ids), Elvis and Barb THIS WEEK will be recording for the first time at IDS in Cologne, Germany (https://www.english.ids-cologne.de/). March 25 - 28 in Hall 1, booth A040/C041. Come see us, be on the podcast, and see all the amazing things exocad is doing for your lab! Already we are missing everyone at LMT Lab Day Chicago 2025. Luckily, we talked to a lot of people that weekend and can still highlight some of the amazing people we met. First up on this episode is Julia Glancey who comes to Chicago all the way from the UK. Julia talks about her journey working for her dentist father, doing a little demolition, before finally finding a home in a dental lab. Entering the industry though management, it wasn't long before she was teaching herself the lab work and getting into full arch restoration. Now Julia is working with a team remotely from all over to provide exceptional care to patients. Next we talk to Shavit Kohen, who is a student at the New York

Thanks to the AMAZING people at exocad (https://exocad.com/ids), Elvis and Barb will be recording for the first time at IDS in Cologne, Germany (https://www.english.ids-cologne.de/). March 25 - 28 in Hall 1, booth A040/C041. Come see us, be on the podcast, and see all the amazing things exocad is doing for your lab! This year, we are thrilled to welcome back Renata Budny, our very first guest, alongside two inspiring students from the New York City College of Technology: Sevastiani Perselis and Rebca Nikedemos The episode begins with Renata sharing her experiences over the past seven years, reminiscing about the first time she joined us at CDT Fest and how that moment sparked her journey with our podcast. This year, she brings along two remarkable students who have unique stories and backgrounds, each with a passion for dental technology. Sevastiani, originally from Greece, shares her journey of moving to America at a young age with her family. She discusses the challenges of adjusting to a new culture and th