Voices from The Bench

When someone in the industry seems to spend more time teaching others than working on their own work, we want to learn more. Elvis had the opportunity to take a 2 day hands-on course about pink layering on full arch zirconia and PMMA. The teacher was the wonderful Marina Caponigro . Of course, we had to have her on the podcast to learn about the technician behind the "fire in the belly". Marina ta...

Getting dental offices to send you work is not the easiest thing to do. If it was, we would all be a lot happier. You could offer your "first crown free" or "$10 off your first order", but what are you doing? Are you creating a lasting partnership or are you getting a doctor that will move to the next lab that offers the same deal. Enter David Lesh. David grew up in his father's lab. After sitting...

It’s amazing that so much time has passed since the 2023 DTG Symposium that happened last September. It’s also amazing all the wonderful people we were able to connect with and record. This week wraps up those conversations with two outstanding technicians in different points of their careers. First up is Salvador Carrillo who talks about learning about dental technology in Mexico, coming to the s...

Be sure to check out Part 3 of Ivoclar's "THE DENTAL SHOWDOWN" where Elvis Dahl and Dr. David Rice will discuss the complicated relationship of dental lab and dental office..... LIVE! November 9th at 7:00 pm Eastern. Register and bring your questions! It's amazing how many people traveled from all over the world to go to the GC America facility in Alsip, Ill to attend the DTG Symposium back in Sep...

Back in September, a group called the DTG gathered for the first time in a while at the GC America facility in Alsip, Illinois. Luckily, we were honored to be a part of this amazing show. There was so many talented technicians in one room, our biggest regret is not getting to talk to all of them. BUT we did get two reluctant people to sit down and share their stories. First up is Shelia Raquel, pr...

Back in September, Elvis and Barb attended the DTG Symposium that was held in the GC America facility in Alsip, Illinois. Such an amazing meeting filled with fantastic people. This week we start the collection of wonderful conversations. First up we talk to two talented technicians that are killing it in a in-office lab and they only graduated from New York City Tech in 2019! Erika Ramirez and Mar...

Kristina Vaitelyte was born in Lithuania the day it gained its independence to a family were every member ended up in dental. Even after trying not to have a career in teeth, Kristina couldn't fight her destiny when she saw digital dental design at IDS one year. While getting her Bachelor degree at Utena College , Kristina traveled the world to learn dental technology in different countries. She e...

Looking to learn exocad? Check out the Institute of Digital Dentistry for a great online training program. Elvis approved! Join Elvis and Barb in Mallorca, Spain in May 2024 for exocad Insights . Make plans today and more details to follow! We love stories of success in the dental lab industry. One such story is the career of Todd Reid. Todd learned about dental technology from a high school frien...

Nightshift Online Symposium! November 21: Removables with Jenelle Tabakovic and Emily Pittard November 22: Crown and Bridge with Dora Rodriges and Lisa Johnson Check out Part 1 of the Dental Showdown by Ivoclar featuring Elvis Dahl and Dr. David Rice! Join us for a FREE and LIVE Ivoclar webinar on October 12 at 7:00 pm eastern time. In 2024, an iconic company in the dental space will turn 100 year...

We love dental legacies. When we got contacted by a dental technician that works in a dental office with 3 family members as dentists and another getting ready to graduate dental school, we knew a great story of a busy technician would be there. Dr. Jill Morris and Dr. Burr Bakke own World Class Dentistry in Sarasota, Florida dealing in high-end cosmetic work and ceramic implants. They are joined...

We constantly talk about the lack of technicians in our industry. So why are the few programs left struggling to fill the seats? Brooke Harris is out to change that. Brooke is the Director of Dental Technology Program at the Indiana University Fort Wayne school. Brooke talks about getting into dental technology, the labs she worked at, going back to teach, becoming the director, creating a better...

Join Elvis and Barb THIS WEEKEND at the DTG Symposium on September 15-16 at the GC America Facility in Alsip, IL Join Elvis Dahl from Derby Dental Laboratory and the Voices From The Bench Podcast and Dr. Dr. David Rice from igniteDDS as they break down the challenges that happen between the clinics and labs. We are calling it “THE DENTAL SHOWDOWN”. This 3 part Ivoclar webinar on LinkedIn kicks off...

For the last three years, we have gone to the Ladies of the Mill Summit and recorded a ton of amazing females in our industry. This year is no different and we talked to some fantastic people. First up, we had our first opportunity to record ON-STAGE in front of a LIVE audience with Jessica Scott and Mandy Arena. Then we had a conversation with the force behind the NADL , NBC , and the FDLT , Rach...

Join Elvis and Barb at the DTG Symposium on September 15-16 at the GC America Facility in Alsip, IL Let's be honest, digital outsourcing is a great way to keep up on the growing amount of work coming into labs and the lack of finding good technicians to handle it. That is where Evident comes in. Evident has been providing lab management software for 15 years and understands what a lab needs. This...

Join Elvis Dahl from Derby Dental Laboratory and the Voices From The Bench Podcast and Dr. Dr. David Rice from igniteDDS as they break down the challenges that happen between the clinics and labs. We are calling it “THE DENTAL SHOWDOWN”. This 3 part Ivoclar webinar on LinkedIn kicks off September 14 at 7pm eastern. It’s LIVE so we encourage everyone to show up and voices your own challenges. It’s...

Join Elvis Dahl from Derby Dental Laboratory and the Voices From The Bench Podcast and Dr. Dr. David Rice from igniteDDS as they break down the challenges that happen between the clinics and labs. We are calling it “THE DENTAL SHOWDOWN”. This 3 part Ivoclar webinar on LinkedIn kicks off September 14 at 7pm eastern. It’s LIVE so we encourage everyone to show up and voices your own challenges. It’s...

Join Elvis and Barb at the DTG Symposium on September 15-16 at the GC America Facility in Alsip, IL On August 27th many brave and fearless dental technicians will take to the water and road to participate in the 2023 Chicago Triathlon . They don't do it for fame or personal gain, but to raise money for the Foundation For Dental Laboratory Technology . PLEASE head over to dentallabfoundation.org an...

Prime Zirconia: White and Pink Esthetics: Ivoclar is having two amazing in-house training sessions in September featuring Jurgen Seger . September 7 & 9 in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada September 11& 12 in Amherst, NY, USA SAVE 30% by using the code: VFTB30 You and a friend can each save 50% by emailing Nicola. Kowal@ivoclar.com and telling them you heard it on Voices From the Bench! TOPICS...

On August 27th many brave and fearless dental technicians will take to the water and road to participate in the 2023 Chicago Triathlon . They don't do it for fame or personal gain, but to raise money for the Foundation For Dental Laboratory Technology . PLEASE head over to dentallabfoundation.org and click the DONATE TODAY button. Log in and choose the “Race for the Future” option. There you can p...

On August 27th many brave and fearless dental technicians will take to the water and road to participate in the 2023 Chicago Triathlon . They don't do it for fame or personal gain, but to raise money for the Foundation For Dental Laboratory Technology . PLEASE head over to dentallabfoundation.org and click the DONATE TODAY button. Log in and choose the “Race for the Future” option. There you can p...

On August 27th many brave and fearless dental technicians will take to the water and road to participate in the 2023 Chicago Triathlon . They don't do it for fame or personal gain, but to raise money for the Foundation For Dental Laboratory Technology . PLEASE head over to dentallabfoundation.org and click the DONATE TODAY button. Log in and choose the “Race for the Future” option. There you can p...

On August 27th many brave and fearless dental technicians will take to the water and road to participate in the 2023 Chicago Triathlon . They don't do it for fame or personal gain, but to raise money for the Foundation For Dental Laboratory Technology . PLEASE head over to dentallabfoundation.org and click the DONATE TODAY button. Log in and choose the “Race for the Future” option. There you can p...

On August 27th many brave and fearless dental technicians will take to the water and road to participate in the 2023 Chicago Triathlon . They don't do it for fame or personal gain, but to raise money for the Foundation For Dental Laboratory Technology . PLEASE head over to dentallabfoundation.org and click the DONATE TODAY button. Log in and choose the “Race for the Future” option. There you can p...

On August 27th many brave and fearless dental technicians will take to the water and road to participate in the 2023 Chicago Triathlon . They don't do it for fame or personal gain, but to raise money for the Foundation For Dental Laboratory Technology . PLEASE head over to dentallabfoundation.org and click the DONATE TODAY button. Log in and choose the “Race for the Future” option. There you can p...

Come see Elvis and Barb on stage together for the first time as we record an episode in front of a live audience! Register for the Ladies of the Mill Summit in Chattanooga, TN on July 21-22 Let's say you get a nice implant case in the lab. Obviously, there is a need for custom abutments. You can do everything in the lab quickly, except the abutments. You already must scan and design them, but when...