Voices From The Bench

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

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 two technicians that work well together can, only great things can come out of it. Bobby Kenney started in a model room soon after the Army. Eventually he found his way to Barksdale Dental Laboratory (https://barksdaledentallab.com/) to help them open their removable department. Seeking warmer weather and more experience, Bobby went to Florida to work in-office doing implants and conversions. After a small tour of other labs, he took all this knowledge back to Barksdale. Blake Barksdale is the lab manager creating a QUALITY production lab. Makes sense that they are together again. We have a lot of fun talking about full arch workflows with photogrammetry, using exocad, learning for dentists, and growing the lab though education. Join John Wilson from Sunrise Dental Lab (https://www.sunrisedentallaboratory.com/index.php) and many others in the Ivoc

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! Resin 3D printing is going strong in our industry. Almost to the point of not remembering how we functioned without one. Well it's time for the next "phase" of 3D printing. Metal. This week we talk to Josh Williams from GPS Digital RPD (https://gpsdigitalrpd.com/) in Orlando, Florida. Josh runs a 100% digital metal printing facility specializing (as of now) in partial frameworks. He talks about his early days of learning the analog method of making frames, owning his own lab in a bait shop, and partnering up with GPS Dental (https://gpsdental.com/) to take it all digital. Josh also talks about researching the printers, the complete workflow, how they overcame issues, and some of the maintenance these highly fascinating machines take to produce perfect fitting metal frameworks. What we love is that Josh doesn't sell printers or metal. He just uses them e

Be sure to get a SUPER LIMITED edition ZIPPERED HOODIE (or shirt) before JANURARY 6th. Get your "Dental Technicians: Making Dentist Look Good Since the 1700s" HERE! (https://www.bonfire.com/vftb-the-zippered-hoodie-era/) HAPPY 2024! We are super excited to start another year of the podcast with a wonderful guest that is a ceramist in London. Alina CeClan's mother recommended a dental technology school while she was in Romania. Not loving it at first, she struggled. But by the third year she was as obsessed with teeth as the rest of us. Love took her to the UK where she discovered that she is more suited for quality over quantity and fell in love with MIYO. Now she's killing it on Instagram and teaching others in other countries her skills. 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 powder

Happy Holidays and HAPPY 300th episode of Voices From the Bench. Elvis and Barb can't thank everyone enough for listening every week that has brough us to 300 weeks since we recorded the first episode. Also, a big thanks to our sponsors (show them some love) and to all the guests we have had on. (You should also go show them some love too by telling them how much you loved their episode) Be sure to get a SUPER LIMITED edition ZIPPERED HOODIE (or shirt) before JANURARY 6th. Get your "Dental Technicians: Making Dentist Look Good Since the 1700s" HERE! (https://www.bonfire.com/vftb-the-zippered-hoodie-era/) You have heard Elvis talk about the Mastering exocad (https://exocad.com/) Course he took from the Institute of Digital Dentistry (https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/). Well we had the amazing opportunity to talk to the instructor of the series, Marjorie Andrade. Marjorie has a fascinating and fast-tracked journey into the world of teeth. While still in Brazil, she went to technician school and found her

We love talking to dentist on the podcast. We also love talking to people from different countries. This week we double down on both as we chat with Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny who comes to us all the way from New Zealand. Dr. Ahmad grew up with dentist parents that both owned their own practices. After graduating, he ended up at his father’s practice where he was introduced to digital dentistry. He attended a study club where a seller of a IOS system talked about how good it was when he knew it wasn’t. That drove him to start reviewing IOS systems. The non-biased reviews grew in popularity and the Institute of Digital Dentistry (https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/) was born. Now iDD covers a ton of topics covering all aspects of digital dentistry with multiple instructors. We cover all things digital, the importance of still having a lab, dentistry in New Zealand, and his new podcast Digital Dentistry Decoded with iDD (https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/digital-dentistry-decoded-podcast/). Are you in the

We talk to many vendors and milling centers on the podcast. But never have we talked to a company in Australia that does both. Sam Talassinos grew up in his father’s lab and never wanted to be in the industry. After a brief time in retail, Sam found himself in the lab (of course) and introducing digital to their workflow. It took a bad experience while getting some new equipment that drove him to open XYZ Dental (https://xyzdental.com.au/), offering milling services and equipment to other labs in the area. Sam talks about growing up in the industry, how he approaches customer service, and why he joined the board of Australian Dental Industry Association (https://www.adia.org.au/) to help the profession grow. Are you in the market for top-notch digital equipment, such as mills, scanners, or furnaces? Well, the time to act is NOW! Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_li), has introduced unbeatable rates exclusively for customers in North America. Ivoclar has made it easier for you to invest in cutting-edge dig

This week we finally get another implant company on the podcast. At the DTG Symposium (https://dtgevents.com/product/2023-dtg-symposium/) we met Joel Gonzales from MegaGen America (https://megagenamerica.com/). Joel likes to keep it real when talking about dental surgeries because he’s been there. Starting as an assistant in the Air Force and then working with a strict Prosthodontist, He started his implant career with Lifecore and it wasn’t long before MegaGen wanted him to be the VP of America. From surgical protocols, to why he thinks we are doing too much bone reduction, why guides are not being used correctly, what makes a morse taper implant connection better, to why MegaGen not only come in different sizes and lengths, but why they come in different core sizes and thread sizes. There is SO MUCH implant stuff covered, you don't want to miss it. Are you in the market for top-notch digital equipment, such as mills, scanners, or furnaces? Well, the time to act is NOW! Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_l