September 2018

By Steven Pollack, PhDCarbon’s journey in the dental space began in 2016 with the launch of the first M Series printer followed by materials for printing models suitable for thermoforming appliances, surgical guides, custom trays, gingiva masks and, most recently, denture bases and denture teeth....

“Recruiting is like making sausage—it’s ugly,” says Jason De Franco, Owner, Team Solutions Dental Lab, Sanford, FL. DeFranco would know; he’s tried every hiring strategy in the book, from a single “gut check” interview to an exhaustive, five-session process....

LMT toured the El Dorado Hills, CA, location of Frontier Dental Labs to learn more about its operations and strategies; here’s a peek inside.

In 1932, 15-year-old Earl Jacobs began working at his brother’s small denture lab after school; it was the beginning of a career that would span eight decades. Today, now 101 and retired in Hendersonville, NC, Jacobs is one of the oldest living CDTs in the country.

After working at a handful of...

In July, Evident launched design services for single and multi-unit C&B cases, including full-mouth diagnostic waxups and copings. The service is available 24/6 and labs can either send impression files or scanned model files. All customers have access to their own designer who has their preferences...

A Wharton business school graduate, Isaac Hakimi was living in Shanghai and working for an investment firm when he happened to “discover” the dental laboratory outsourcing industry and a seed was planted. Once back in the U.S. in 2007, he pursued his idea of opening a U.S.-based laboratory...

When hiring new staff members, Killian Dental Ceramics in Irvine, CA, uses an online tool to help screen its technical and administrative candidates. With each ad it runs on Indeed.com, the lab includes a link to online pre-employment tests administered and analyzed by Criteria Corp.

Applicants are asked...

Just as consumers are seeking less expensive options for healthcare, some 5,000 doctors across the U.S. are ditching traditional health insurance-based practices and adopting the model of Primary Care Membership. Also commonly called Direct Patient Care, a no-insurance practice allows doctors to eliminate...

Talladium is now distributing 3D Systems’ NextDent 5100 Printer and NextDent resins for printing models, dentures and nightguards. In addition, the Talladium Milling Center (TMC) has added printing services to its existing lineup which includes designing and milling a wide range of restorations,...

Similar to our findings over the last decade, LMT’s 2018 Wage Survey shows that technician wages are still not seeing any significant growth. Overall hourly earnings are flat compared to our 2016 Wage Survey and 52% of our survey participants took steps to tighten labor costs in the last two years,...

Utah Valley Dental Laboratory, Provo, UT, follows a fairly standard hiring process: once it receives responses to a job posting, it does short phone interviews to assess the candidates. “If we like them, we give them an overview of the job and set up a date and time for an interview,” says...

Since 1955, Japan’s Council of Cultural Affairs has been honoring some of its highly esteemed craftspeople with the designation of “Living National Treasure.” It began with potters and eventually incorporated many art forms. This honor is a way to also acknowledge the country’s...