Bay View Dental Lab: Investing in Employees' Growth
Posted Sep 09, 2025 in Labs & Profiles
I’ve worked in many places, but none compare to Bay View Dental Laboratory when it comes to investing in employee growth. Owners Buddy and Rick Shafer believe in educating all of our 53 team members, irrespective of their role within the company.
Every year, our Chesapeake, VA lab hosts 15 to 20 educational events at our in-house, state-of-the-art educational facility, for both technicians and dentists. The staff is strongly encouraged to join the dentist-focused courses to broaden our clinical knowledge. If there’s not enough room in the facility for us, there are monitors installed at our benches where the courses are live streamed.
For lab-specific topics, Buddy brings in experts for customized hands-on training. Recently, we learned advanced design tips from exocad expert Daniel Portal and pink porcelain techniques from Master Ceramist Federico Presicci of Zirkonzahn.
Buddy also sends us to outside courses, like LAB DAY Chicago every...

