The warm and supportive atmosphere at 50-person Frontier Dental Labs in El Dorado Hills, CA, is palpable. “Maintaining a calm, organized work environment is very important to us. Consequently, we’re very strict about who we hire because they must be honest, hardworking and fit into our culture,” says Paolo Kalaw, Owner of the lab and CEO of Evident. (To read more about Evident, visit LMTmag.com/evidentSept18.) Pictured above: the lab celebrates the diversity of its staff members by hanging flags to recognize their countries of origin.

Gil Villavecer, Vice President of Sales and Professional Development—and internally known in the office as “InstaStud”—is frequently showcasing Frontier’s great work and providing dentists with tips and tricks on Instagram (his handle is @gil_frontierdental). Here, he’s videotaping a technician designing a case and then posts it on Instagram. “It’s great to post right from the bench. Plus, it’s very affirming for the technicians to see their work getting accolades,” says Villavecer.

The four Smile Designers on staff are the liaison and key point of contact between the lab and the clients. Each dentist-client works with a specific Smile Designer. They know each of the doctor’s preferences and provide a high level of customer service, which includes sharing their cell phone numbers with clients so they can text photos and videos back and forth. From l. to r.: Jon Hayner, Pedro Santos, Doug Hoyt and Brent West.

Brent West, the lab’s General Manager, gives LMT’s Kelly Carr a tour of the lab, which has a modern, open layout and was designed by West’s wife, who is an architect.

While LMT’s Editors were visiting Frontier Dental Labs in El Dorado Hills, we took a side trip to the nearby, beautiful Shenandoah Valley for some wine tasting. From l. to r.: The lab’s General Manager Brent West, LMT’s Kelly Carr and Maribeth Marsico, and Frontier’s Gil Villavecer, Vice President of Sales and Professional Development.