Former Up-and-Comer Now Owner of Thriving Full Service Lab

In 2012, Paul Simpson was featured as an up-and-coming technician in LMT’s 40 Under 40 coverage. Then 29, Simpson had overcome a difficult childhood, discovered his love of dental technology and just opened his one-man C&B laboratory, Simpson Dental Trendz in Lee’s Summit, MO. But Simpson still felt he had something to prove.

“When I started out, my niche was offering top-notch ceramic work and some people told me I would never succeed as a lab owner because doctors wouldn’t like the way I looked or the casual way I spoke,” says Simpson, who sports eight tattoos and pierced ears and is known for wearing his baseball hats backwards. “But I knew it wasn’t about appearances and that as long as I knew my stuff, I’d be able to prove them wrong.”

And he has. Over the last decade, Simpson has grown his operation...