February 2021

With 12 years of experience under his belt, Chase Ellis’ latest venture is heading up the implant laboratory at Revive Dental and Implant Center in Charleston, WV. Just opened in March 2020 by Dr. Chad Boustany, a prosthodontist, the Center specializes in All-on-Four implant cases and provides...

Adriane Alfonso spent his summers working as a model technician at his uncle’s lab in Honolulu, HI. In 2009, he bought the business and set out to create his vision for a cutting-edge digital operation. Today, five-person Esthetic Dental Designs  has five mills, two 3D printers and receives...

In June 2016, Amelia Watson met her future boss, Clemont Adams, at a Jiu-Jitsu gym. He needed help in the model department of his eight-person lab, Rayven Dental Lab, Grand Junction, CO, and so began her career in dental technology.

She’s quickly evolved into a talented, all-around technician and...

In less than six years at Bertram Dental, Neenah, WI—which has specialized in cast CoCr partials for 45 years—Andy Timblin has been instrumental in helping the laboratory convert its RPD production from analog to digital and expand its product offerings.

“Andy is almost closer to an...

“Aram Torosian is one of the most talented technicians I know, regardless of age,” says Josh Polansky, MDC, Owner of Niche Dental Studio and one of Torosian’s former classmates in the Masters in Dental Ceramics program at the UCLA School of Dentistry’s Center for Esthetic Dental...

“Basil is a natural leader, a great problem solver who works with our team members to get the best product and consistency from them,” says Reed Nunnally, Owner, Derby Dental Lab, Louisville, KY. “We’ve had many technicians and leaders over the years and I would put him right...

With a degree in electronic media/film and doing freelance work on independent films, television shows and sporting events, Chad Fischer had his dream career. He was also working part time in the model room at his father’s six-person, C&B lab, Dental Arts Laboratory in Edgewood, KY, when, five...

“I’m a technology guy. I get excited about experimenting with new software, pushing the envelope and finally getting it to the point where it works effectively,” says Charles Banh. He applied his love of technology at Anatomage and Biomet 3i where he gained extensive knowledge of implants,...

“Chris Love epitomizes what a 21st century technician should be,” says Conrad Rensburg, Absolute Dental Services, Durham, NC.

That’s high praise, but Love has earned it during his eight-year career at the laboratory, which has included spearheading Absolute’s transition to digital...

Danny da Silva, CDT, is not a big fan of vacations. “I love what I do and having the ability to create with my hands. So, when I’m not working, I get bored,” he says.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in Dental Technology in South Africa, da Silva immigrated to the U.S. in 2016...

One Friday night about 10 years ago, Edward Peay got a call from the general manager of Utah Valley Dental Lab—where he had been doing ceramics for a few years—asking if he would lead the lab’s new digital department. Starting Monday.

Since the lab had only been doing some zirconia...

“As a younger tech right out of school, I was probably annoying because I pushed to learn every possible thing,” says Eric Burgio, who graduated from a high school dental technology program and started at a small lab doing pickups and model work.

He eventually found his calling at a larger...

Two years ago, Erik Niederhauser, was at a crossroads: he had left his job managing a milling center and was considering returning to his native Switzerland, where he studied and received his certification in dental technology. Then he got a phone call from a former dentist-client that changed everything....

Starting at the age of 10, Ermin Velic, MDT, watched his home in Bosnia turn into a fiery war zone. “When that’s your childhood, you learn what life is really about,” says Velic, Owner of Velic Dental Arts Studio, Wethersfield, CT. “You don’t fret about losing a client or...

While Hannah Kokovich originally wanted to be a dental assistant, she ultimately studied dental laboratory technology at Columbus State in Ohio and was a member of the program’s last graduating class in 2012.

“I wasn’t a great student in high school but once I found what I loved doing,...

“As a technician, I’m a machinist, an engineer, an artist—dental technology is made up of so many different professions, that’s what keeps me interested,” says Jake Huot, Manager at GCD Dental Laboratory in Colorado, a full-service lab with locations in Broomfield and...

“My biggest takeaway from art school was learning how to translate what I’m seeing to my hands; I’m doing the same now, mimicking nature, but it’s functional,” says Jamie Rubin, RG.

After earning her fine arts degree, Rubin’s intended career as a sculptor took a turn...

The son of a lab owner and a 2008 graduate of NYCCT’s Restorative Dentistry program, Jeffry Tobon, CDT, always had a passion for digital dentistry. After working for various laboratories throughout the New York metro area, Tobon decided to start his own business, DesignLab Dental in Westbury, NY,...

Some of Jenelle Tabaković’s earliest memories are from spending time in the lab in her grandmother’s basement, owned by her mother and uncle and, previously, her grandfather. “I remember drawing mustaches on technicians in LMT magazine,” she recalls with a laugh.

As a teenager,...

In 2015, Jeremy DeLeon was working as a dental assistant at the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas in San Antonio—a non-profit that provides dental and medical services to the underserved—when he became fascinated by the on-site dental lab. So when a position opened up in the...

Jesus Romero started his marketing career promoting minor league baseball teams and then the San Diego Padres. A lifelong baseball enthusiast, it was a dream job but also one that required 100-hour weeks, leaving little time for his wife and young daughter.

Five years ago, he joined his father’s...

“I’m not a shy or nervous lady by any means,” laughs Jillian Swafford. In fact, two-and-a-half years ago, she attended her first Dentsply Sirona inLab Summit and walked right up to Norbert Ulmer, the company’s Director of Marketing at the time, and asked if she could sit at his...

When Jim Beierle purchased Valley Orthodontic Laboratory from his father, Udo, four years ago, he knew his priority was growing the business. He was watching digital technology transform C&B but there wasn’t a big impact on orthodontics quite yet.

Less than six months later, a sales representative...

“Not only is Josey Linskey an extremely talented denture technician, she’s an all-around multi-tasking champion,” says Lyndsey Comiso, Office Manager at Aesthetic Oral Arts, a 10-person full-service lab in Livingston, MT. Case in point: Linskey joined the lab in August 2019 to build...

After working at the bench at Shanto Dental Ceramics Ltd., Vancouver, BC, for more than a decade, Julia Izumi took a two-year hiatus to be a stay-at-home mom. When she returned a year ago, she did so with gusto, stepping into a new role as Production Supervisor at the 25-person lab.

While the shift from...

In college, Julia Valentino studied organic chemistry, but she found her true passion in the dental lab industry.

After working for a few years as a model technician in a small lab, she was ready to spread her wings. “I was intrigued by the dental lab world and wanted to diversify my skills,”...

Kaila Nakanishi, CDT, never planned to join the family business, Nakanishi Dental Lab in Bellevue, WA. She went to college for interior design and, after graduating, came home and helped out in the front office at the lab while she looked for full-time work.

After joining a local design firm, she continued...

Having a reputation for going above and beyond expectations to give patients the care they deserve, Mackenzie Mayer manages the in-house lab at Excellence in Dentistry in Gurnee, IL, and is passionate about fabricating dentures. “I love the creativity and freedom of my work. It’s my responsibility...

“Marc is a 3Shape genius. There are very few technicians I’d consider to be experts but Marc is one of those people,” says Minh Tran, Founder of DentalTechTips and a technician at Essex Dental Laboratory, Windsor, ON, about Marc Dixon, Owner of Decadent Laboratories in Brooklyn, NY....

“Esthetics, occlusion, quality and competitive pricing are the foundations on which Mark Choi has built Infinia Dental Laboratory. He’s hard working and cares tremendously about putting doctors’ and patients’ needs first,” says Stephanie Welker, Sales Manager at the 18-person...

In 2016, Matt Rago had a big decision to make: go to dental school or accept an offer to partner with world-renowned educator Dr. Steven Olmos to create a laboratory that provides state-of-the-art TMJ and sleep appliances.

“It was never my intention to own and run a dental lab, but I felt...

In 2001, when Megan Martin was just 18 years old, she began working at Perfect Finish Ortho Lab in Hackettstown, NJ, as a trainee in the finishing department. She immediately liked the work and, over the years, mastered every department in the lab, worked her way up to management positions and took on...

Michel Sousanieh graduated first in his class from dental technology school in Syria and then, following in his father’s footsteps, enrolled in dental school. However, after only two years, conflict in his home country led to a move to the U.S. where he joined the dental lab industry and has thrived.

After...

Last summer, Nicole Jackson, CDT, got the golden opportunity to become the full-time Lead Instructor at Milwaukee Area Technical College Dental Technology Program, the very same one-year technical diploma program she had graduated from 18 years earlier.

Formerly a lead technician and operations manager...

Philip Kim earned his MBA in 2014 and has put it to good use. In 2013, while in grad school, he co-founded K2 Dental Arts, a digital lab in Charlottesville, VA, and, after honing his expertise there, applied those skills to Paramount Dental Studio, his father’s lab in Huntington Beach, CA, becoming...

A previous career in graphic design and large-format printing had equipped Scott James with an eye for color and detail and even some computer design experience, but when he first saw coDiagnostiX® implant planning software, he was blown away by its level of sophistication. That’s...

Being in the same field as your spouse has its advantages. “It’s nice to be able to complain to Toni about work and she knows exactly what I’m talking about,” laughs Dan Toscano.

Both skilled technicians—Toni in removables and Dan in fixed, removables and implants—the...

Following in his family’s footsteps, Wilmer Martinez, CDT, opened his removable prosthetics lab, Smile-Bright Dental Laboratory, in Santa Ana, CA, two years ago. His father and two uncles own laboratories in Honduras, where he grew up and in which he started working at seven years old. “They...