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They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas; well, I’m going to spill a few beans about the NADL’s Vision 21 event which took place in Vegas last month. As always, it was an excellent meeting. About 300 people attended and 50 of them were first timers; if Vision 21 isn’t on your radar,...

In late September, Helene, a Category 4 hurricane, hit a number of states along the East Coast. Asheville, NC, home to Image Dental Arts, was especially devastated. “It was like a tornado of 15 feet of water had filled the entire first floor of the lab which houses all of our offices, porcelain...

As we’re about to turn the page on 2024, we have several new things in store for you next year!

We’re excited to be launching Webinars Powered by LMTmag.com. Similar to LAB DAY Online that we sponsored during the COVID years, you can watch educational webinars on technical and business topics...

Welcome to the second half of our 2024 coverage on personnel strategies. In the last issue, we reported on our Job Satisfaction Survey and apps to streamline human resource functions and enhance employee engagement. (If you missed the issue, visit

I’ve been immersed in analyzing data from our first-ever survey about artificial intelligence and learning all about this fascinating technology that is impacting so many aspects of our lives. Just as I finished writing the Survey Report (see page 18), I received an email from the ADA announcing...

Welcome to LMT’s annual Buyer’s Guide, an indispensable 5-in-1 directory you can use for all your inventory needs throughout the year. Even though we’ve been publishing this Guide for 35 years, we’re always looking for ways to enhance it and make it easier for you to find what...

In May, I had the pleasure of visiting Formlabs in Somerville, MA, to learn more about its new dental printer, the Form 4B, meet some of the staff members and tour the facility. Like many manufacturers in the 3D printing arena, Formlabs serves a variety of industries, including automotive, engineering,...

“When you’re promoting a new product, material or service, make sure you explain how it solves a problem for your client. For instance, to the dentist, the fact that a 3D-printed denture can be replaced quickly and easily if the patient loses it is more important than the fabrication technique...

LMT Editors have noticed a distinct theme conveyed by speakers at industry events this winter: the importance of staying current and embracing technological change. From Vision21 to Cal-Lab to LAB DAY Chicago, this message has come through loud and clear.

For example, during his presentation at the...

Our 39th annual LAB DAY Chicago was a record breaker, with the largest attendance in LMT history: 5,200! That’s 274 more attendees than our next biggest show which was in 2020—and they came from all 50 states and 61 countries. Our attendees also include an unparalleled number—841—of...

Welcome to The Productivity Issue, jam-packed with tips for enhancing productivity and profitability, managing remakes and maximizing metrics. To put this issue together, we talked to dozens of lab owners about their most successful productivity strategies—both large and small—and their efforts...

The results of our Planning for 2024 Survey bring good news: 79% of respondents have an optimistic outlook for their labs this year; this number is up nine percentage points from last year and up 19 percentage points from 2022. It’s encouraging to see that the level of business confidence among...

I’ve just started digging into the data from our 2023 Remake Survey and thought I’d give you a sneak peek of our preliminary findings.

The sentiment that the bulk of remakes are beyond the lab’s control remains prevalent. Similar to our 2011 and

Since 2017, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife have collaborated in an effort to elevate the voice of America’s small business owners and highlight the important role they play in the nation’s economy. Every quarter, they survey small business owners about their expectations and outlook...

The year was 1984. Ronald Reagan was President, Apple had just started selling the Macintosh computer and gas was about $1.10 per gallon—and Judy Fishman created LMT. In fact, September 1984 was our inaugural issue so with this current issue, we enthusiastically begin our 40th year in business!

As...

With the increase in consolidation and mergers among manufacturers and suppliers as well as companies changing their product lines—see the Newsbriefs for the latest news—this issue, LMT’s...

Just as we were putting together the Product Focus on 3D printing materials for this issue (see here), a press release entitled, 3D Printing Technology Used to Build Schools in Ukraine Amid Humanitarian...

In his open letter to the industry, Jim Glidewell shares his respect and admiration for his fellow lab owners and technicians. “I’m sincerely proud to be part of our industry of winners....

As the IDS in Cologne celebrated its 100th birthday in March, one of the major themes—in addition, of course, to digital workflows—was sustainable dentistry. “As an industry, we have both a responsibility and an opportunity to make our care as kind to our planet as possible,”...

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and boy, was that ever apparent at LMT’s 38th annual LAB DAY Chicago! People were pumped to be together again. Even though LMT had in-person LAB DAY events in 2022, this year felt different, like things were back to normal.

The energy was electric and...

AI is everywhere and the pace of its evolution is astonishing. For example, we’ve been having some fun with ChatGPT, OpenAI’s latest natural language processing model. It taps into an enormous trove of data to answer nearly any question, write prose and interact in a conversational way. You...

It seems 2023 will be the year we finally move past the last several pandemic years. In fact, 70% of lab operators are optimistic about their business this year—up 10% from 2022 when we asked the same question—and 60% are optimistic about the lab industry’s success overall, according...

The labor shortage continues to impact industries of all types; consequently, companies are continuously evolving their employee recruitment and retention initiatives to gain a competitive edge.

A look at the latest human resources trends may spark ideas for adapting similar policies in your laboratory....

In addition to digital X-rays, intraoral cameras, chairside mills and printers, there are also a host of game-changing technologies that are impacting—or will in the future—the way dentists learn, operate, diagnose and treatment plan as well as transform the patient experience and quality...

As 3D printing equipment and materials continue to evolve in our industry—see this month’s Product Focus starting on page 28 for all the latest materials—the newest development in this arena is that the ADA’s Council on Dental Benefit Programs, which oversees the CDT code manual,...