October 2023

The buzz at the Dental Laboratory Owners Association of California’s CAD/CAM Symposium in November 2005? Rapid prototyping technology. First developed in the 1980s and used in the automotive and aerospace industries, the technology had laboratory owners enthusiastic about what was called the “next...

For years, porcelain was the material of choice for denture teeth but, as we entered the 1990s, acrylic denture teeth had replaced porcelain as the industry standard; in fact, the use of porcelain teeth had dropped 50% during the previous decade.

Although acrylic teeth were kinder to opposing dentition...

midst the rapid spread of COVID-19 and schools and businesses shutting down all over the country, the ADA announced on March 16, 2020, that it was advising dentists to limit procedures to emergencies only. As a result, laboratory workloads ground to a halt and layoffs and furloughs were rampant.

Because...

While still in its infancy, AI has begun to make its mark on our industry as lab owners discover how this emerging technology can achieve more predictable outcomes and save production time and labor.

Early adopters are using AI-based software such as CADflow for automatic bracket removal and model basing...

American Tooth Industries has been family-owned and -operated for over 50 years.

LMT took six impressions of the same prep and anonymously sent them to six different laboratories along with prescriptions for non-precious PFM crowns; one was made in the Philippines. In this ground-breaking experiment in 1985—with LMT Publisher Judy Fishman as the patient—we wanted to know:...

In the 1970s, a buzzer on a porcelain furnace was considered a luxury gadget. Back then, many insisted that a true ceramist should be monitoring the progress of the bake by eye, not depending on a buzzer to tell you when the case is ready.

However, by the end of 1984, an LMT survey found that two-thirds...

David Lesh shows the key considerations every lab owner should take into account when creating a budget.

After years of speculation, CAD/CAM came to fruition in the dental laboratory in 1998 with the official U.S. launch of the Procera® AllCeram Crown. Labs used the Procera Scanner to scan the die, designed it on screen, then sent it to be milled at Nobel Biocare’s production facility in Sweden....

NBC has long been working to integrate digital technologies into its examination process for the CDT credential. In 2017, it conducted one of its biggest overhauls ever, launching tests with new and revised questions for all six specialty exams and revamping several of the hands-on practical exams to...

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...

In the late 1980s, although PFMs were still considered by many to be the esthetic standard for clinical longevity, pressable ceramics—starting with IPS Empress and Optimal Pressable Glass (OPC)—began to drive the metal-free dentistry movement. The improved esthetics and biocompatibility—coupled...

October 1986, iecdt, New York City: Crowds of technicians attended Dr. Francois Duret’s lecture during which he demonstrated his chairside CAD/CAM system for the first time in the U.S. Based on micro-milling technology used to make titanium microchips for computers and missile parts, the system...

Despite being competitors, the camaraderie in our close-knit community is strong—and online groups have fostered connections even more. From LMTmag.com to Facebook’s 3Shape Study group, Dental Technician’s Guild (DTG) page, Ladies of the Mill group and Dental Laboratory Technicians...

It wasn’t unheard of before 1985, but at the Chicago MidWinter meeting that February, cosmetic dentistry became the hottest topic around.

The concept wasn’t new; Dr. Charlie Pincus was air-firing and glazing laminate veneers for Hollywood stars back in the 1930s. But for the rest of the...

In 1987, an HIV-positive dentist in Florida was found to have transmitted the infection to six of his patients. This first-known case of clinical transmission of HIV and the uncertainty during the late 1980s about the exact modes of HIV transmission led the ADA to issue recommended infection control...

By Reed Nunnally, President, Derby Dental Laboratory, Louisville, KY; 85 employees

We’re intentional in our growth and clearly define where we want to be. For example, our current goal is to nearly double our revenue over the next 10 years, from $11 million to $20 million; however, we want to...

As digital technology proliferated, the line between laboratories, manufacturers and suppliers began to blur. Laboratories began getting into the supplier game by reselling digital equipment, materials and software to other laboratories and adding additional revenue streams to their businesses.

At the...

Thanks to the formation of the Defense Health Agency, military labs now have access to digital technology, which is streamlining workflows and speeding up treatment to soldiers in need.

After years of watching digital technology revolutionize C&B fabrication, the full denture market began to feel its impact around 2015. Given the labor-intensive process of conventional dentures, early adopters of digitally fabricated dentures touted them for their labor savings, fewer appointments...

Corporate dentistry continues to penetrate the market, driven primarily by younger dentists who are burdened by student debt and/or who don’t want to take on the traditional responsibilities of running a practice. For example, according to the ADA’s Health Policy Institute (HPI), 13% of dentists...

Historically, the FDA—long involved in overseeing the manufacturers of dental laboratory materials—paid minimal attention to dental laboratories. In 2004, due to the dramatic rise in imports from overseas laboratories, that changed. Concerned that these restorations might not contain FDA-approved...

Though first developed in the 1950s by Arpad Nagy of Valplast, flexible partial dentures didn’t take off until the 1980s; as the cosmetic wave hit dentistry, dentists and patients alike looked for solutions that were both functional and esthetic. Today, flexible dentures make up 22% of the average...

The full contour zirconia trend began in 2009, with the launch of Glidewell’s BruxZir® Solid Zirconia crowns and bridges, marketed as a “virtually unbreakable” option for bruxers and grinders. Other manufacturers began to follow suit and introduce their own solid zirconia options...

Since cosmetic dentistry marketing was typically an appeal to emotions, it was the perfect time for laboratory owners to take their message directly to the public. By all accounts, DenMat Corp. was the first: in the Fall of 1984, the company placed ads in consumer magazines—Reader’s Digest...

Originally developed for storing Class II narcotics in medical settings, Zimbis smart cabinets are proving to be a valuable inventory management tool for laboratories.

Skender Ramadani offers a step-by-step look at his submission to Candulor's International KunstZahnWerk Competition 2023.

In the early 1980s, industry forecasters predicted a boom in implant placement, a prediction that was premature for a market still in its infancy. Inadequate education, inconsistent techniques and unpredictable results contributed to resistance on the part of many dentists and laboratories.

However,...

The year 2018 marked the launch of the industry’s first laboratory-focused podcast: Voices from the Bench. Hosted by the ever-entertaining dynamic duo of Derby Dental Lab’s Elvis Dahl and Leixir’s Barbara Warner, CDT, AAACD, the hour-long weekly episodes feature people in our profession...

As the global economy began recovering from losses caused by the pandemic, inflation surged and by June 2022 it was at its highest level in 40 years, affecting everything from the price of groceries to the housing market.

As a result of these economic pressures and uncertainty, lab operators took proactive...

Industry pundits have long predicted growth in the number of in-house labs and, in recent years, LMT’s circulation data confirms this trend, showing about a 20% increase in the number of in-house laboratories in the U.S. Some expect this trend to continue to flourish, largely driven by the increasing...

Just as HIV did in the late 1980s, the COVID-19 pandemic brought infection control concerns to the forefront and, consequently, use of IO scanning gained notable traction. LMT’s

Thanks to its physical properties, esthetics and ease of use, Ivoclar Vivadent’s IPS e.max—the first lithium disilicate on the market—penetrated the marketplace with unprecedented speed. Introduced in 2005, an estimated 170+ million IPS e.max restorations have been fabricated worldwide.

Also...

While consolidation in our industry is nothing new—laboratories have long teamed up to combine resources and achieve economies of scale—market trends have accelerated the process. The ongoing consolidation is the result of owners retiring, going out of business, and selling to or merging...

Already widely used in European dental laboratories as well as in other industries, it wasn’t until around 1994 that laser welding took root in the U.S. laboratory market when American Recovery, Dentaurum and Tanaka Dental all introduced laser welding units. In addition to a high level of accuracy...

An investigative report about lead found in restorations made in China was the talk of the industry when it aired in February 2008 on Ohio’s WBNS 10TV. The story covered an Ohio woman who experienced pain and infection in her jaw after her dentist placed an ill-fitting, three-unit PFM bridge the...

The majority of respondents to LMT's 2023 Fee Survey are upbeat about their economic health, sales and profit levels.

By Ashley Byrne, Associate Director, Byrnes Dental Laboratory, Wheatley, England; 50 employees

In my 17 years of running a lab, we’ve grown between 10-25% per year; most of this was well-planned, successful growth but we’ve also had a few years of unprecedented growth and that can put...

By constantly adapting to market challenges and innovating to meet the needs of laboratories, a handful of manufacturers and suppliers have achieved milestone anniversaries many businesses can only dream about. Here’s a sampling of members of this exclusive 100-plus-years club: GC, Handler Mfg.,...

The explosion of digital technology and the trend towards more open systems has led to the widespread creation of strategic partnerships among manufacturers and suppliers. Companies are increasingly joining forces to create compatibility among their materials, equipment and software in order to give...

This shift in technology usage in the dental office has been welcome news among laboratories looking to reap the benefits of a completely digital workflow and an increasing number of laboratories are able to embrace the model-less concept.

Between 2017 and 2021, for instance, the percentage of labs...

The sale of Andy and George Hites’ second-generation, California-based MicroDental Laboratories to Riverside Partners in 2001 marked the beginning of the rise of private equity firms in our community.

Since then—spurred by our industry’s financial potential and the fact that the dental...

By Rob Waters, President, Watersedge Dental Laboratory, Ottawa, ON; 43 employees

Rapid growth has definitely delivered hurdles that our business has needed to overcome. Back before our lab was named one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies in 2019, we realized we needed to be proactive about...

The proliferation of digital technology coupled with the ongoing personnel shortage helped create a new business model: the CAD design-dedicated center. The first big player in the market, FullContour—a lab focused exclusively on this concept—made its industry debut at the 2011 DLOAC CAD/CAM...

“Let me invite you into the pages of Lab Management Today…our goal is to give you the tools you need to build a better, more profitable, smoothly operating dental laboratory business,” wrote Publisher Judy Fishman in Lab Management Today’s inaugural issue.

After its first few...

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...

When Align Technology launched its Invisalign clear aligners in 1999, it transformed the production process by using software to digitally reset the teeth and then printing instead of pouring the models, making the fabrication process faster and more accurate than the traditional method. And, for consumers...

In its infancy, laboratory owners didn’t immediately see the internet’s application to their businesses. Today, online connectivity and the ability to transmit data over the internet has transformed every aspect of our industry. From fueling the growth of milling and design centers to helping...

Prior to 1985, the Chicago Dental Society (CDS)’s MidWinter Meeting was housed in the downtown Hilton Hotel and a handful of companies hosted programs for the laboratory community across the street in the Blackstone Hotel. But in 1985, the CDS moved its meeting to the convention center, which left...

Since their introduction in the 1950s, PFM restorations had been the bread-and-butter of C&B and most full service laboratories. However, with the proliferation of metal-free materials and technologies, in 2015—for the first time ever—metal-free work eclipsed metal based, representing...

In October 1985, amidst rumblings that U.S. laboratories were farming work out to offshore laboratories, LMT brought the issue out into the open. Our interview with Jerry Doviack, CDT, Owner of California-based Continental Dental Ceramics, took readers inside Interdent, his facility in the Philippines...