Voices From The Bench

Join Ivoclar (AND US!) this February at LMT Lab Day in Chicago. Ivoclar will be offering 16 different educational lectures over the three-day event, giving dental professionals plenty of opportunities to learn, connect, and grow. Visit labday.com/Ivoclar to view the full schedule and register, and be sure to stop by and see the Ivoclar team in the Windy City. Walking the Lab Day Chicago floor? Make it worth it. Stop by the FOLLOW-ME! hyperDENT booth (E-27, East Hall) and take part in their Milling Roadmap—a quick, scavenger-hunt-style activity that leads you to key milling partners like Axsys, Imagine, DOF, and Roland. Collect stamps at booths you’re likely visiting anyway and get entered to win some great giveaways—including this year’s grand prize: a foldable Honda electric scooter. You’re already walking the floor. Now it might carry you. Come see and talk to Elvis and Barb at all these amazing shows coming up in 2026* Cal-Lab Association Meeting in Chicago Feb 19-20 https://cal-lab.org/ LMT Lab D

Join Ivoclar (AND US!) this February at LMT Lab Day in Chicago. Ivoclar will be offering 16 different educational lectures over the three-day event, giving dental professionals plenty of opportunities to learn, connect, and grow. Visit labday.com/Ivoclar to view the full schedule and register, and be sure to stop by and see the Ivoclar team in the Windy City. Walking the Lab Day Chicago floor? Make it worth it. Stop by the FOLLOW-ME! hyperDENT booth (E-27, East Hall) and take part in their Milling Roadmap—a quick, scavenger-hunt-style activity that leads you to key milling partners like Axsys, Imagine, DOF, and Roland. Collect stamps at booths you’re likely visiting anyway and get entered to win some great giveaways—including this year’s grand prize: a foldable Honda electric scooter. You’re already walking the floor. Now it might carry you. Come see and talk to Elvis and Barb at all these amazing shows in 2026* Cal-Lab Association Meeting in Chicago Feb 19-20 https://cal-lab.org/ LMT Lab Day Chicago

Join Ivoclar (AND US!) this February at LMT Lab Day in Chicago. Ivoclar will be offering 16 different educational lectures over the three-day event, giving dental professionals plenty of opportunities to learn, connect, and grow. Visit labday.com/Ivoclar to view the full schedule and register, and be sure to stop by and see the Ivoclar team in the Windy City. Walking the Lab Day Chicago floor? Make it worth it. Stop by the FOLLOW-ME! hyperDENT booth (E-27, East Hall) and take part in their Milling Roadmap—a quick, scavenger-hunt-style activity that leads you to key milling partners like Axsys, Imagine, DOF, and Roland. Collect stamps at booths you’re likely visiting anyway and get entered to win some great giveaways—including this year’s grand prize: a foldable Honda electric scooter. You’re already walking the floor. Now it might carry you. Come see and talk to Elvis and Barb at all these amazing shows coming up in 2026* Cal-Lab Association Meeting in Chicago Feb 19-20 https://cal-lab.org/ LMT Lab D

Join Ivoclar (AND US!) this February at LMT Lab Day in Chicago. Ivoclar will be offering 16 different educational lectures over the three-day event, giving dental professionals plenty of opportunities to learn, connect, and grow. Visit labday.com/Ivoclar to view the full schedule and register, and be sure to stop by and see the Ivoclar team in the Windy City. Walking the Lab Day Chicago floor? Make it worth it. Stop by the FOLLOW-ME! hyperDENT booth (E-27, East Hall) and take part in their Milling Roadmap—a quick, scavenger-hunt-style activity that leads you to key milling partners like Axsys, Imagine, DOF, and Roland. Collect stamps at booths you’re likely visiting anyway and get entered to win some great giveaways—including this year’s grand prize: a foldable Honda electric scooter. You’re already walking the floor. Now it might carry you. We welcome back longtime friend of the podcast John Wilson of Sunrise Dental Lab, returning for the first time since 2021—and this time as a fellow podcaster himse

Join Ivoclar (AND US!) this February at LMT Lab Day in Chicago. Ivoclar will be offering 16 different educational lectures over the three-day event, giving dental professionals plenty of opportunities to learn, connect, and grow. Visit labday.com/Ivoclar to view the full schedule and register, and be sure to stop by and see the Ivoclar team in the Windy City. Cal-Lab Association Meeting in Chicago Feb 19-20 https://cal-lab.org/ LMT Lab Day Chicago Feb 19-21 https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday Almost three years after his last appearance, Rob Nazzal returns to Voices From the Bench, this time joined by Mike Alessio of Bonadent Dental Laboratory (https://bonadent.com/). The conversation dives deep into lab leadership, culture, transparency, and how data—when used the right way—can empower teams instead of policing them. Mike shares his 32-year journey with Bonadent, from starting as a pickup-and-delivery driver to leading the Danaren division, and explains how a family-owned lab has grown into a multi-location organiz

Join Ivoclar (AND US!) this February at LMT Lab Day in Chicago. Ivoclar will be offering 16 different educational lectures over the three-day event, giving dental professionals plenty of opportunities to learn, connect, and grow. Visit labday.com/Ivoclar to view the full schedule and register, and be sure to stop by and see the Ivoclar team in the Windy City. In this episode, Elvis and Barb sit down with Dr. Miles Cone, a prosthodontist whose path into dentistry is anything but traditional. From a childhood obsession with dinosaurs and living out of his Jeep, to serving in the Army and becoming a CDT, Dr. Cone shares how persistence, humility, and an appreciation for the lab side of dentistry shaped his career. Along the way, he opens up about failing the CDT exam, learning the true value of dental technicians, and why collaboration—not ego—is the key to better patient outcomes The conversation also dives deep into photography, storytelling, and seeing dentistry as both science and art. Dr. Cone explains how

Join Ivoclar (AND US!) this February at LMT Lab Day in Chicago. Ivoclar will be offering 16 different educational lectures over the three-day event, giving dental professionals plenty of opportunities to learn, connect, and grow. Visit labday.com/Ivoclar to view the full schedule and register, and be sure to stop by and see the Ivoclar team in the Windy City. Come see and talk to Elvis and Barb at all these amazing shows coming up in 2026 * Vision 21 in Las Vegas Jan 15-17 https://www.nadl.org/nadl-vision-21 * Cal-Lab Association Meeting in Chicago Feb 19-20 https://cal-lab.org/ * LMT Lab Day Chicago Feb 19-21 https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday * Dental Lab Association of Texas Meeting in Dallas Apr 9-11 https://members.dlat.org/ * exocad Insights in Mallorca, Spain Apr 30 - May 1 https://exocad.com/insights-2026 This week we sit down with Stuart Steinbock for a wide-ranging conversation that blends dental industry history, innovation, and personal resilience. As a fourth-generation member of the Steinbock family,

This week, we dive deep into the evolving world of digital dentures with George Cowburn, along with denturist Robert MacLeay and digital designer Kaylee Jilbert. George shares his unconventional path from engineering into dentures, the early challenges of bringing CAD/CAM into removables, and why his company Perfit has evolved into Lab Pilot (https://www.labpilot.net/)—a cloud-based approach designed to meet labs and denturists where they are, not where software companies wish they’d be. Robert and Kaylee bring the real-world perspective, explaining how combining analog fundamentals with digital design unlocked predictable, better-fitting dentures and titanium partial frameworks that actually snap into place. From monolithic milled partials to same-day digital relines and cloud-based CAM without subscriptions, this conversation explores how “trad-digital” workflows could finally make digital dentures accessible, scalable, and practical for everyday labs—without sacrificing fit, function, or sanity. Happy Hol

We’re coming to you live from NOLA Lab Fest with two very different, but equally nerd-worthy conversations. A HUGE THANKS to Aidite North America (https://www.aidite.com/) that has made this all available. Go show them some serious love. First up, Elvis sits down with Rik Jacobs from Novenda Technologies (https://www.lake3d.com/) to talk about a truly disruptive production-scale 3D printer that can print multi-material and multi-color—at the same time. We dive into voxel-based printing, integrated hard/soft gradients, no supports, water-soluble wax, massive denture and night guard output, and why centralized production labs should be paying very close attention to what Novenda is building next. Then we switch gears and catch up with Jess Gray, whose career journey is a masterclass in saying “yes,” learning fast, and building something special. From front desk at Aspen to running a rapidly growing in-house lab in the Finger Lakes region, Jess walks us through analog-to-digital dentures, Exocad self-education,

A Special THANKS to Aidite North America for allowing the podcast to record at Nola LabFest. GO SHOW THEM SOME LOVE! aidite.com Duff Wilson’s journey in dental technology is anything but typical. From getting thrown into high-volume removable work at a major lab in the early ’90s to opening Wilson Dental Lab out of his home and building a lean, relationship-driven business, Duff’s story is rooted in grit, loyalty, and doing things the right way—even when it’s hard. Along the way, he shares how mentorship, state lab associations, and taking care of people shaped his career, including helping other technicians start their own labs and building a South Carolina–based milling center to support small labs. The conversation dives deep into the evolution of digital dentistry, zirconia, milling centers, design services, and why relationships—not products—are what truly matter in this industry. Duff explains how trust and support led him to work closely with Aidite (https://www.aidite.com/), why being lean is the key

This week we welcome back the dynamic duo of digital dentistry, Blake Roney and Patrick Dewey from S.I.N. 360 (https://sin360.us/) (Simplicity • Innovation • Nanotechnology) for a massive deep dive into implants, photogrammetry, and the ever-evolving world of full-arch workflows. Since their last visit in 2022, Blake has gone from new kid on the block to full-blown Exocad (https://exocad.com/) educator, and Patrick breaks down how S.I.N. has doubled down on innovation across implants, CAD/CAM, and photogrammetry. The guys walk us through the new Versalis implant line (https://sin360.us/versalis/), why one connection for all indications is a big deal for labs, and how S.I.N. is pushing efficiencies for high-volume, complex full-arch clinicians. Then comes the star of the show: the MicronMapper (https://sin360.us/micronmapper/)—a lighter, faster, more accurate photogrammetry system that doesn’t just capture implants but verifies manufacturing accuracy, scans soft tissue, and reduces surgical guesswork. Blake br

This week, we sit down with Seth Smith, founder of the rapidly growing lab software company Greatlab.io (https://www.greatlab.io/), and Ryan Alexander from Vitality Dental Arts (https://www.vitalitydentalarts.com/), who’s been living the GreatLab life since May and has plenty to say about it. Seth shares the long, winding road from e-commerce to dentistry, to clear aligners, to scanners, and finally to building what he hopes becomes the most modern, integrated, and speed-driven LMS in the industry. He talks workflow obsession, eliminating downloads, killing paper dockets, listening to lab pain points, and why he’s visited over 100 labs (and keeps going). Ryan brings the real-world perspective from a 100-tech lab that went through multiple LMS transitions before landing on GreatLab. He explains how their booking teams shrank, inbound calls dropped by 50%, audits disappeared, and technicians suddenly found computers they “didn’t have” once the system made their jobs easier. From the CRM that kills phone tag to

Join Elvis and Barb at all these amazing shows coming up in 2026 * Vision 21 in Las Vegas Jan 15-17 https://www.nadl.org/nadl-vision-21 * Cal-Lab Association Meeting in Chicago Feb 19-20 https://cal-lab.org/ * LMT Lab Day Chicago Feb 19-21 https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday * Dental Lab Association of Texas Meeting in Dallas Apr 9-11 https://members.dlat.org/ * exocad Insights in Mallorca, Spain Apr 30 - May 1 https://exocad.com/insights-2026 This week, Barb and Elvis finally sit down for a long-overdue full episode with the man behind the Fans of Voices From the Bench Facebook group, second-generation lab owner, NADL (https://www.nadl.org/) President, and all-around industry cheerleader: Joe Young of Young Dental Laboratory (https://youngdentallab.com/). Joe shares his family’s incredible journey from Hong Kong to Philadelphia, how his parents built a small ortho lab out of a spare room, and how he grew up trimming models on a step stool before eventually returning to the lab after college. He walks us through the

Join Elvis and Barb at all these amazing shows coming up in 2026 * Vision 21 in Las Vegas Jan 15-17 https://www.nadl.org/nadl-vision-21 * Cal-Lab Association Meeting in Chicago Feb 19-20 https://cal-lab.org/ * LMT Lab Day Chicago Feb 19-21 https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday * Dental Lab Association of Texas Meeting in Dallas Apr 9-11 https://members.dlat.org/ * exocad Insights in Mallorca, Spain Apr 30 - May 1 https://exocad.com/insights-2026 This week, we finally bring on a guest who has been six years in the making: the one and only Jordan Greenberg, the North America Managing Director of FOLLOW-ME! Technology (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/)—better known as the HyperDent (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/hyperdent/) guy. Jordan takes us on a wild ride through the world of CAM software, milling strategies, toolpaths, and the surprisingly fascinating story of how dental CAM even became what it is today. From his early days as a third-generation “dental nepo baby” to running a zirconia milling center with his dad, a

Join Elvis and Barb at all these amazing shows coming up in 2026 * Vision 21 in Las Vegas Jan 15-17 https://www.nadl.org/nadl-vision-21 * Cal-Lab Association Meeting in Chicago Feb 19-20 https://cal-lab.org/ * LMT Lab Day Chicago Feb 19-21 https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday * Dental Lab Association of Texas Meeting in Dallas Apr 9-11 https://members.dlat.org/ * exocad Insights in Mallorca, Spain Apr 30 - May 1 https://exocad.com/insights-2026 This week, we sit down with a guest whose journey hits all the right notes—literally! Meet Jonathan Bourke, a jazz guitarist turned dental technician who went from pouring models to designing full-arch restorations and running his own in-office lab. Jonathan shares how a chance gig driving for a denturist opened the door to a career he never expected, taking him from analog dentures to digital workflows, photogrammetry, and Exocad (https://exocad.com/) wizardry. Now a lab owner working directly with clinicians, Jonathan talks about collaboration in full-arch cases, teaching wi

Shirts, long sleeves, and hoodies are back for a limited time! This batch has the podcast logo on the back and on the front is a simple name tag saying "Dental Technician". Be proud of what you do and show the WORLD that we exist. Shirts on sale until November 8, 2025. As always 100% of the profits go towards the Foundation For Dental Laboratory Technology (https://dentallabfoundation.org/)! https://www.bonfire.com/its-all-in-the-name160/ This week, Elvis and Barb cross the globe to chat with the legendary Marc Rondeau—a Sydney-based dental technician, educator, and yes, nightclub DJ. From being one of 30 accepted out of 300 applicants into Australia’s only dental tech program, to running one of the country’s top labs, Marc’s journey is packed with hard work, humor, and heart. He shares how a near-fatal car accident—and the brain tumor it uncovered—completely reshaped his perspective on work-life balance, pushing him to give back through teaching and advocacy. Now the Vice President of the Australian Dental T

Shirts, long sleeves, and hoodies are back for a limited time! This batch has the podcast logo on the back and on the front is a simple name tag saying "Dental Technician". Be proud of what you do and show the WORLD that we exist. Shirts on sale until November 8, 2025. As always 100% of the profits go towards the Foundation For Dental Laboratory Technology (https://dentallabfoundation.org/)! https://www.bonfire.com/its-all-in-the-name160/ This week, Elvis and Barb sit down with two amazing ladies who turned tragedy into triumph. When a devastating fire destroyed Denture Crafters (https://www.denturecrafters.net/) a few weeks ago, lab manager Amber Rosema and general manager Daniele Collard didn’t waste a single moment. From the parking lot of their burned-down lab, they began rebuilding—calling suppliers, securing space, and rallying their team to get dentures back in patients’ mouths. Hear the incredible story of how these two leaders kept their employees working, rebuilt their systems, and leaned on the kin

DON'T MISS the dental event of the year, November 7-8. Nowak Dental Supplies (https://www.nowakdental.com/) is hosing NOLA Lab Fest (https://www.nolalabfest.com/) in New Orleans, Louisiana. Head over to nolalabfest.com to see the line up and to register. A HUGE thanks to Aidite North America (https://www.aidite.com/) for hosting the podcast at their booth. Come find us and be on the podcast! This week, Elvis and Barb sit down with Lori Margiotta, the founder of Bookkeeper for Dentists (https://bookkeeperfordentists.com/), to talk about how labs and dental offices can grow together by focusing on one key number: case acceptance. Lori shares her journey from high school “recall girl” to practice manager, lab sales rep, and now consultant helping dental offices understand their business metrics. She breaks down how labs can help their clients track simple data like lab expenses and unbooked treatment to reveal hidden opportunities. With decades in the dental industry, Lori shows that when dentists increase thei

DON'T MISS the dental event of the year, November 7-8. Nowak Dental Supplies (https://www.nowakdental.com/) is hosing NOLA Lab Fest (https://www.nolalabfest.com/) in New Orleans, Louisiana. Head over to nolalabfest.com to see the line up and to register. A HUGE thanks to Aidite North America (https://www.aidite.com/) for hosting the podcast at their booth. Come find us and be on the podcast! MICRONMAPPER from SIN360: https://sin360.us/micronmapper/ This week we chat with the hilarious and inspiring Will Varda, a second-generation dental technician, lab owner, and president of the Dental Technicians Association of BC. Will takes us on an incredible journey from his father’s early days crafting crowns for Iranian royalty — complete with goat-horn hammers and plaster impressions — to the modern world of digital design, milling, and 3D printing. Along the way, he shares stories of growing up in a lab, learning every step the hard way, and how a Facebook study group and a few friends completely changed the course

DON'T MISS the dental event of the year, November 7-8. Nowak Dental Supplies (https://www.nowakdental.com/) is hosing NOLA Lab Fest (https://www.nolalabfest.com/) in New Orleans, Louisiana. Head over to nolalabfest.com to see the line up and to register. A HUGE thanks to Aidite North America (https://www.aidite.com/) for hosting the podcast at their booth. Come find us and be on the podcast! In this episode, Elvis and Barb welcome Ed Molina, a dental technician and trainer with a fascinating journey from retail work to becoming an influential figure in digital dentistry. Ed shares how his brother and mentors like Dr. Art Mirelez and Fernando Polanco guided him into the dental field, eventually leading him to help pioneer digital workflows and facially driven design systems such as InstaRisa (https://www.instarisa.com/). With a background in both clinical and lab settings, Ed discusses the evolution of his career — from assisting with surgical guides and imaging to mastering Exocad and teaching offices how to