Valplast® Flexible Partials

The digital transition in labs is not just about fabrication processes; the operational side of the lab business is changing too. Speakers at the 2014 DLOAC Meeting look at the continuously evolving role of the technician. Also: new products announced at the show.

Though first developed in the 1950s by Arpad Nagy of Valplast, flexible partial dentures didn’t take off until the 1980s; as the cosmetic wave hit dentistry, dentists and patients alike looked for solutions that were both functional and esthetic.

Today, flexible dentures make up 20% of the average workload for full service and removable laboratories, according to LMT’s 2012 Removable Survey, and demand is on the rise: half of these labs are selling more flexible partials than they were five years ago.

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