May 2017

In describing what was seen at the IDS, Reed Nunnally, President of Derby Dental Lab, Louisville, KY, said it best: “The Baskin-Robbins 31 flavors of 3D printers.” From large-scale to small, desktop units, 3D printing technology was ubiquitous at the show and it’s still being touted...

3Shape’s biggest news at the IDS was greeted with boisterous cheers from the crowd gathered for its press conference: TRIOS has gone wireless.

Dental laboratory owners certainly are no stranger to the reinvention concept; since the digital revolution began, we’ve filled pages of LMT with stories about those who have tweaked their business model—or even turned it on its head—to revive their businesses and reinvigorate their...

Jeff Parker, BS, CDT, LVIM, President of Dentek Dental Laboratory in Scottsdale, AZ, spent about three years looking for a larger space before he found the ideal location: right next door.

With a dozen booth locations spread throughout the exhibit halls, Dentsply Sirona had a significant presence at the show.

Since 2005, Derby Dental Laboratory, Inc., had been housed in a 20,000-square-foot building in downtown Louisville, KY. While it was a historic, unique space, it had its drawbacks.

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of its International KunstZahnWerk, Candulor challenged technicians to demonstrate their removable prosthetic skills.

Tributes to the late Josh Green.

Although dentists’ acceptance of intraoral scanners has been slower than many lab owners would like, manufacturers continue to innovate, offering units that are smaller, lighter, easier to use and more economical.

Texters beware: using the native text-messaging app on your smartphone presents a risk if you're sharing protected health information.

With an exhibit space one-third larger than previous years and manned by 160 staff members, Ivoclar Vivadent introduced a whopping 54 new laboratory and clinical products at the IDS.

Mike and Joe Adkins of Twin City Dental Lab earned their denturism degrees and converted a corner of their lab into Smile Again Dentures, where they fabricate full and partial dentures.

It’s not just multilayer zirconia that’s in the limelight. A new category of millable materials—Aryl Ketone Polymer (AKP)—is expanding CAD/CAM applications in the removable realm.

Digitization of removable prosthetics dominated the last IDS in 2015 and this year the innovation continued.

Dianne and Greg Nash, Co-Owners of Nash Dental Lab, Temecula, CA, had been in their 3,100-square-foot building for 15 years and were constantly taking down walls and adding on neighboring office space to accommodate their growth.

In 2010, thanks to a $450,000 makeover of a 7,000-square-foot building, New England Orthodontic Lab (NEO) moved into a beautiful new facility in Wilmington, MA. But there was one problem: when they renovated, they hadn't thought about going digital.

Milling machines continue to get smaller and offer a greater number of indications and material options.

A hybrid printing/milling process and laser milling were operational at the show.

Now that scanning has become integral to the workflow in many laboratories, manufacturers are delivering scanners that offer higher speeds, excellent quality images and high-tech features like texture scanning.

In a joint announcement at the show, Nobel Biocare and KaVo Kerr (both Danaher companies) unveiled DTX Studio, a single digital platform for diagnostics, treatment and restoration.

From apps to attachments, there were numerous other product launches at the IDS.

VITA’s Dr. Johannes Löw, Professional Dental Editor with VITA, gave LMT staff members an in-depth tour of the company’s booth. Among the highlights:

In 2012, Ziemek Laboratories’ 3,000-square-foot facility was bursting at the seams, had an inefficient two-story layout and employees were scrambling for parking spaces. It was time for a change.