40 Memorable Moments

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...