Be sure to come see ELVIS and BARB in the IVOCLAR Grand Ballroom AB during LMT Lab Day Chicago 2023

It's hard to name a company that was hand making porcelain denture teeth in the 30s that is still around today making teeth. One such company is Candulor. This Swiss company is a global leader in products for removable technicians. Joining us is Alexander Ewert, the Director of Marketing and Education. Alexander talks about the early days of Candulor, some of the products they excel at, amazing yearly contest for removable technicians, and how they have positioned themselves as high quality providers of both clinical and technical educational courses.

Swiss School of Prosthetics

Episode 147: The Need for (the Curve of) Spee with Steffen Rohrbach and the Swiss School of Prosthetics

Special Guest: Alexander Ewert.

Be sure to come see Barb on stage and join a great association. The Cal-Lab meeting February 23 & 24 in Chicago!

Over the years, we have talked to a lot of families in dental. Husband and wife. Fathers and Sons. Mothers and Daughters. Bothers. Sisters. But never have we talked to 5 family members at the same time all in the industry. Let us introduce you to the Szara's (sort of). Many of you might already know. First up is the guy that started it all, Wayne Szara Sr. Wayne went to technical school, he did dental technology in the Navy. After he opened up his own lab in his house and taught at the local dental technology program. He introduced the profession to his brother-in-law. Mike Capps (the non-Szara), who had the passion to be his own boss and went on to open a great lab outside of Chicago called Technic Dental Lab. Wayne had two sons that spent their youth with dad in the house working in the lab, and there was no way they couldn't be influnced to join this great industry. Wayne Szara Jr went through the school but took a different path and spent some time with Sterngold before spending the last 20 years with ZimVie teaching people around the world about implants and attachments. Steve Szara decided to get into Ortho, opened his own lab, and also created a name for himself online teaching and inspiring others in ortho lab work. And now, Steve's daughter Erin Szara after years helping her dad in his lab and growing up with all this dental inspiration, starts her journey in dental school to become the dentist that all the others originally wanted to be.

Elvis and Barb on Steve Szara and Cade Tippett YouTube channel from 2019!

Special Guests: Erin Szara, Mike Capps, Steven Szara, Wayne Szara CDT, and Wayne Szara Sr.

This is the LAST week to get the limited edition “4 out of 5 Dentist Recommend a Dental Technician” shirt before Lab Day Chicago! Order before January 22nd. All profits go towards the Foundation For Dental Laboratory Technology.

We love learning about the people behind the Instagram accounts. We have been following the adventures of @RVAtoothfairy for a while. There we can see the beautiful full arch zirconia that she obviously puts a lot of work into. But it wasn’t until we talked to her that we learned so much more she has done in our industry. Marithe Baclagon wanted to be a dentist and remembers the exact moment when the laboratory side of it became her passion. After attending a dental technology school and working at a lab, she went back to the school to help develop and create the digital dentistry program. Now she’s at a private practice using all the latest technology and teaching other technicians, dentists, and staff how to produce the best full arch restoration using the best materials.

Special Guest: Marithe Baclagon CDT, Te, M.Ed..

Get a "4 out of 5 dentists recommend a dental technician" shirt highlighting the LMT Lab Day Chicago meeting!

As we get into 2023, we get to celebrate our 250th episode of the podcast! What an honor it is to bring you so many great conversations with all the wonderful people in our industry. This week we get to talk to Tra' Chambers from Express Dental Laboratory out of Oklahoma. Tra's story is a bit different than what we usually hear. Starting as an assistant, then a practice manager, and then a lab owner, Tra' was able to understand what the dental offices needed from a lab when he started his own. Great stories from the early days of same day crowns with the Cerec system to positioning himself a leader in the digital dental lab workflow.

Special Guest: Tra’ Chambers.

Vision 21 - Janurary 19-21 at the Aria in Las Vegas!

Do you remember the early 2010 and doing zirconia? Because milling machines were not yet affordable to most labs, milling centers did most of the work. One of the biggest players back then was CAP (Custom Automated Prosthetics). One of the founders and the CEO was Rob Nazzal. Rob comes on the podcast to talk about getting into the dental industry, becoming a milling center known for great customer service, and pivoting the business as more and more labs got their own milling machines. 7 years after, Rob is now providing labs a fantastic software that takes the data you already and makes it easy to read and use to grow your lab called icortica.

Special Guest: Rob Nazzal.

When we think of advances in digital dentistry, 3D printing is at the top of the list. Many companies have entered the field, but only a few have stood out as leaders that changed the ways other companies create their product. Once such company is Keystone Industries. Makers of finger nail acrylics, they hired a lawyer that saw potential. Ira Rosenau admittedly knew nothing about dental. With a lot of hard work, education from friends in the industry, and a lot of smart scientist, Ira brought KeySplint to market. Ira talks freely about what it take to create, design, test, and validate a printed splint material that has forever set the bar for what patients, doctors, and labs need.

Special Guest: Ira Rosenau.

Elvis and Barb on episode 362 of Tale of two Hygienist. Listen TODAY!

Imagine being a solo lab owner in a town of only 4 dentists… and being related to 3 of them! Meet Anne Koelzer, owner of AMK Dental Lab in O’Neill Nebraska. Anne comes from a family FULL of dentist but decided that her future is in the dental lab industry. After attending lab school and a short time at another lab, she returned to the family practice to be their technician. Soon she built and opened her own lab and is getting work from all over the rural areas. Anne talks about getting the InLab system, printing 3d dentures, teaching offices and staff MIYO, putting on events, balancing work and life, and running a lab in the middle of nowhere.

Check out the MIYO course with Anne and Dr. Vetter in Fargo, North Dakota!

Special Guest: Anne Koelzer.

We can’t believe we have gone this long with out talking to someone from Affordable Dentures and Implants. Luckily Ashleigh Henderson was willing to step up to the mic and tell us all about life there. Ashleigh started as a assistant and soon found the blood to be too much. After a clear aligner company and Aspen, Ashleigh then found her current home at Affordable. She talks about the training, the workflow, meeting patient expectations, going digital, and the benefit of Instagram.

Special Guest: Ashleigh Henderson.

All good things must come to an end. Unfortunately. This episode is finishing the conversations we got while at the Whip Mix Digital Forum back in October. We start with the famous Step Toothmaster Bay. Step talks about his name, his start in the industry, the DTG, and what he is up to now. Then we talk to the man who is putting the priority of training at the top of our industry, James Mahan with PTC. James talks about the history of PTC, all the levels and type of education they provide, and how they are keeping relevant in today's digital workflow.

A BIG thanks to Whip Mix for putting on such an amazing event!

Special Guests: James Mahan CDT and Step Toothmaster Bae .

We continue this week to showcase all the wonderful people that were lucky enough to attend the Whip Mix Digital Forum in Louisville, Kentucky last October. This time it's two conversations, each with a past podcast guest that brought a friend. First up is one of the co-founders of Ladies of the Mill and owner of Oak Dental Designs, Jill Swafford. Jill brings along her first employee, Eiron Simmons who joined Jill with zero experience. They talk about working together, moving into the new facility, and what we might see at the next Ladies of the Mill Summit. Then we are joined by Todd Hydock from Zest Dental Solutions. Todd was at the show exhibiting and doing a hands-on course with Dr. Michael Scherer. Dr. Scherer talks about his practice, his love of overdentures, the new Locator Fixed solution, and everyone's favorite shade? Great stuff from Louisville!

Special Guests: Dr. Michael Scherer, Eiron Simmons, Jillian Swafford, and Todd Hydock.