Hello Voices from the Bench community, John Wilson here and I wanted to share some news about the evolution of the Program Mill lineup. Most importantly, Ivaclair's new Program Mill 7. What stands out right away is the reduced air consumption this mill requires, but what you'll notice first is that impressive new touchscreen. For us, the biggest advantage has been increased spindle power. You know, my laboratory's known for these larger cases with complex geometries, and I can tell you that extra power really makes a difference. Next time you see your Ivaclair representative, be sure to ask about the Program 07 and tell them John Wilson sent you. Thank you.
All right, Barb, we've officially made it to Mallorca for Exocad Insights.
Yes, I know. Somehow we're going to power through it, Elvis.
I know it's tough, but as promised, I finally tracked him down. Felix, how are you?
I'm great. I'm great. Hey, guys, I'm really happy to finally connect.
Yeah, absolutely.
So you're here as an Exocad dealer. What is your take on the meeting so far?
Honestly, it's been great. Great turnout a lot of familiar faces always nice to see what Exocad is working on and we're very excited to bring this new features to our customers.
Is there something that stood out to you?
Well one for sure is the Exocad hub It's a new cloud-based service and also really excited to see that the AI services are not on the dental DB We're still digging into the details, but as you can tell there's a lot of things that are still need to be worked on We'll definitely use it in our milling center when it's Nice.
That's really great. It sounds like a common rollout strategy for Imagine. Would you agree with that? Yeah, for sure.
Any of these new products that come out, especially from Exocad, we like to use them in our own production facility before we release them. Then for our support team, it's much easier to support our customers. And for ourselves to use those features as well, it's very beneficial to them.
You know, that totally makes sense. So for you, what's the real value of being here? Other than the beach being across the street.
Other than being in Mallorca.
Yeah, I mean, obviously it's great to see everyone in person, especially our partners. We don't really usually get to have conversations with them, so it's good to see them without the e-mail or video calls.
So Elvis and I totally agree. We do love face-to-face. Love these meetings.
Yeah, for sure. It's good to take a step back for a minute, see what's going on, and Not just do the day-to-day stuff that you do at work.
Yeah, plus it's not too bad of a place to do it, Anne.
Yeah, not bad at all. Not bad at all.
All right, let's get back to it.
All right, man. It's good to see you, Felix. I'm really looking forward to getting you on our full episode interview.
Here in the next couple weeks. One hour, one.
Hour. Yep, I appreciate, guys. I'm looking forward to it as well.
Thank you. Enjoy Mallorca.
Welcome to Voices from the Bench, a dental laboratory podcast. Send us an e-mail at info at voicesfromthebench.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Greetings and welcome to episode 428 live from Orlando at the FDLA.
Can you hear the?
Voices from the bench? My name is Elvis.
My name is Barbara.
What's happening, Barb? This is a pretty good show.
You and I, one-on-one, face-to-face, doing our intro. That's a very rare.
Yeah, I don't need to look at you.
I'm happy.
Yeah? We had a great time. Yeah, they had some really good speakers on Friday, right? The first day. We had a fantastic It was so sweet. It was 50 year CDT of our good friend Morris Reno.
Reno. He'd get mad at us for saying that. Fukerino.
Fukerino. But yeah, 50 year CDT.
Yeah.
A big shout out and thanks to GPS Digital RPD. Yes. We are at their booth.
We've got an alligator.
Oh, you're going to say it.
Beautiful, awesome.
Alligator skull.
It's authentic.
Sitting on our table. He told me the way they clean those is they put them in an ant hill. Bleach. No. And they eat it all.
Oh my God.
And this is free and it takes about a week.
That's about disgusting. And then they bleach it.
I know. I got to say it's freezing in this place.
It's Florida.
It's Florida. They have the AC crank. thinking that we're outside, but we're not. Again, thanks to everybody, GPS, Florida, what a great show.
Yeah.
All right.
Did you go to the pool?
I did not.
I did go to the pool. Yeah, I'm a Florida girl.
So this week we're actually back on the exotic island of Mallorca, Spain, where just a few months ago Exocad was hosting their fantastic insights meeting.
No doubt.
This episode is featuring 2 great conversations from that must attend show. First up is the great story of Continuing the legacy of Willie Geller and the Oral Design Group, we talked to Pinhas Adar and Javier Perez Lopez. Pinhas was on about two years ago at that exact same show.
Exactly.
Yeah, but this time he brings in the new president of Oral Designs, Javier.
That's some heavy weight right there.
I think so. together they talk about the group, the seven values that they will always uphold, some upcoming events they have that sound exciting, and how this group of friends friends that all share that same passion will be around for years to come.
Then we get a nice update and a visit from our awesome friend Dora Rodrigues. You remember from the few times that she's been out and about, Dora is the queen of conversation.
Conversions.
Dora is the queen of conversions, but that definitely didn't stop her from growing with technology. She is now a certified Exocad trainer and she's focusing on full arch. She owns her own lab and they only do full arch and she has a unique and interesting way of doing splint bar cases easily with more predictable results. And we love that.
Absolutely. So join us as we chat with Pinhaas Adar, Javier Perez Lopez, and Dora Rodrigues.
Do you ever have one of those days where three people call out two rush cases come in and your mill suddenly decides that it wants a moment?
Yeah, and somehow that moment always happens at 4:57 p.m. On a Friday Exactly.
That's why labs are paying a lot more attention to efficiency right now. It's not just speed It's actual dependable production.
Well, that's because if your equipment needs consistent I mean, let's be honest, you're not saving time. You're just moving the stress around.
And ain't nobody got time for that anymore. Labs need systems that can handle the heavy lifting without creating more work for your team.
And that's one of the reasons so many labs stick with Roland's DG Shape DWX milling solutions. They're reliable, consistent, and built to keep production moving.
And that means your technicians can focus on higher value work instead of troubleshooting your machines or remaking your cases.
And let's be honest, that's the real ROI conversation. It's not just about what you spend on equipment. It's about how much downtime, waste, and frustration you're avoiding every single week.
And plus, when your workflow runs smoother, everything else gets easier. Your scheduling improves, your turnaround times get tighter, and your team isn't running around putting out fires all day. Except for Elvis's.
Yeah. And if you're looking at digital dentures, the Elevate Denture solution helps labs make that move without completely reinventing the workflow.
Right? With validated, patent-protected CAM strategies and iBotion compatibilities with the Hyperdense software, it's designed to fit into production naturally, not create another learning curve headache.
Because most labs want efficiency, not a freaking science project.
All right guys, so if you're ready to get more production out of the hours you already have.
Check out Roland's DWX Milling Solutions at RolandDental.com.
Let's do it.
Yay. Voices from the bench. The interview.
Can you hear me? Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. I like it.
Day 2, Exocad Insights 2026. Mallorca, Spain. We are so excited. Past podcast guests from two years ago.
I know, Atlanta, Georgia. I came from Atlanta, Georgia.
Yeah. But I mean, we talked at this insights two years ago.
Yeah, two years ago.
Right around the corner here.
Exactly. Yeah.
It's in a good spot.
Tinhas Adar.
Yes.
Did I get it?
I got it.
Nice. How are you?
And you look different. You look so much younger.
Oh, the mustache, yeah.
You know why? It's called divorce.
Oh, my God. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you, and nobody people say sorry, but.
I appreciate when someone says congratulations, yes, 'cause everyone's like, I'm sorry.
And I'm like, You shouldn't look too much right now, and that's why your face is more happy, right?
Yes, I'm happy to. And we're also joined by Javier Perez. Nice. Perez.
Yes.
Yeah.
So welcome as well.
Thank you very much.
So is this your first insight?
No, I have been here many, many times, but I saw yours here last year. Yeah. And but I had the opportunity to speak to all of you. It's nice to meet you, to speak with you. Thank you so much. Yeah.
So you said he's from Italy?
No, I'm from Spain. Spain. I am from Spain, for the north part of Spain. In Lugo, the name Lugo is close to Santiago de Compostela, where it is Sanjay's Way, and then something so typical in the north left corner of Spain up to Portugal. Okay, it's where I live, and I'm running my business as a lab, running a lab.
And I'm assuming, since this gentleman right here, it's a very high-level, high-end, beautiful facility.
Yes, we are running a lab because we are focused on static dentistry and the static cases and also implant cases, and we are trying to do our Nice place to work because we are working a lot of hours. We spend a lot of time.
Not us dental technicians. We don't work a lot of hours ever.
Never.
Especially to go to a trip like this. I bet you worked it last weekend as well.
And then he's got his laptop out. He's working now.
Yeah, well, yeah, he's my laptop here. He's working while he's talking. Okay, that's how many people do you have? Yeah, we are. Our lab has 30 people. 30? That's a big lab. It's a big lab.
Is that big for Spain?
I mean, yes, it's not the biggest one, but this is a big lab. It's a big lab because we are working in a more focus on digital workflow and for instance in veneers and implant cases. Digital done, but finished by hand, most of the cases, because this is the combination that we are focused on our business.
How did you get into dentistry or become in the lab?
I became a dentist from 35 years ago, 35 years ago, and I start studying at the school here.
You went to school.
Yes, but when I learned to work is when I moved to to Switzerland, to Montreal with a very well-known guy that is Michel Magnier at that time many, many years ago. And I visited him many, many times and was in touch with him. He was the guy, me to Mr. Billy Galler, I think more than 30 years ago. And then we moved to visit Michel Magnier to Montreal when he was living in Montreal. And at that time we was collaborating with University of Geneva at that time was developing the implants cases, the implant, and collaborating with some companies. And that is the reason I started learning how to work in the Swiss way of working, like with provisional and everything. And we are start like this one, this philosopathic veneers that were well-known, and that's where I start with my business.
Is that where you two met?
No, actually, we met in one of the oral design oral design, because he could become a member and join the family, and he also organized an amazing meeting in Madrid. We had one of those oral design events, and it was amazing. Willie Geller had the live patient demo, in fact, actual patient. We did the... Veneers. I remember, yes, no prep veneers case with that patient and that, but it was like 400, 500 people. It was amazing, amazing, good parties, good food. I mean, so he's a real deal. That's why we elect him as the president.
And so, yeah, let's talk about that.
Yeah, I wanted, yeah.
How did you hear about oral design to begin with?
I heard about the oral design when I was in Switzerland. Okay, about 30 years ago.
Because was it from Manier?
Manier, from Manier, from Manier.
Because he was oral designer.
He was also oral design member from the early beginning, or the original very beginning, and when we start working with this, we focus on this specific aesthetic cases from the beginning and different cases, and then we start with this one and continues. visit him to Switzerland and come to Spain and start developing this technique in Spain, because at that time it was not so well known. And then start developing, lecturing, and everything. I say, okay, I need that you are a dental technician that need to be part of the oral design family because our type of work is like we are reason to do. And then I will introduce you to Mr. Billy Galler, and then he introduced Mr. Billy Galler, who is insured. And then, what is the beginning? Like, we are also a member of others.
Is it like a club, like a man?
I would say it's a connectivity of.
Like-minded, like-minded people, brotherhood.
Brotherhood, but we have sisters too, so we have women in there, and it's not just guys, it's not a guy club, it's mostly. we have a mutual understanding, respect for each other and the profession. So we try to help each other as well as the whole industry. That's what Willie Geller built, actually, as a legacy.
This was built at 45 years ago, I think. So because in the 90, 80, 82 or 84, I think.
Well, I know Willie since I was 1978. So I met Willie. I was probably the oldest one that I know him because I met him as a 15 year old kid. So I had the privilege of He was your mentor as well.
I remember that conversation.
Yeah, so we talked about two years ago, but things change because he also changed, but with technology, as you see in we got tools, those are tools, but we still need humans behind it, right? So that's what we bring, the connectivity and sharing the knowledge and respect to the profession. I think that's what it's all about.
Right now, the design group is Like a group of friends, we share the same passion and the same understanding. Nowadays, we are 127 members in thirty-four different countries, wow, and that is really amazing because we are... the environment of collaboration and understanding, sharing the knowledge, and all the time is in the high-end skills and focus on the high-level dentistry. We are focusing to develop the high-end dentistry all around the world and to spread the passion that we have to all of the dentistry community.
So I've got a Very intense question for you guys, because we all have the utmost respect for Willie Geller. And when he passed, it was unexpectedly. How do you as that union regroup yourself? And like you said, he is now the president and running it. What did that look like? Did you guys just have to grieve and then get together and figure out how you were going to move forward and what that looks like for you?
That's the idea is to keep it to keep the legacy of Mister Gillie Geller have done in the past years. For sure, we need to adapt for nowadays because the time is changing, the requirement changes, but like I'm the president, I need to keep the legacy of Mister Gillie Geller have created in the past with the same values because we have we have done 7 values When we create the group many, many years ago, it is sharing, friendship, passion, inspiration, professional, respect, understanding. Oh, I love it. Yes, there are seven values that all of us need to respect. We are a non-profit organization, and then we only do some lecture and collaborative workflow. I am here with Pinka because we was speaking by the phone some week ago, and maybe three days before, okay, see you there, okay, who is going to come here? We can organize sometimes. And then we share our knowledge and our experience to each other and to the rest of the dental community. It's our way.
What you learn here this weekend, you're gonna share to the other group, to the rest of the members. How do you stay in communication? Is it like an e-mail?
So we got... Basically, the what's up? Okay, yeah, we got connected there's 130 some odd people on this, yeah, and wow, messenger, messenger, okay, so different ways, but the thing is, you know, talk about Willie Geller, and I don't know what kind of impact that Willie had about, because Barbara had a big lab. How many people?
Yeah, I'm a ceramist as well, so... It used to be 100, it's down to about 60. My immediate group is about 10.
Ten, okay, So 2 ceramus. 2 ceramus, it's a great lab.
But I think Willie Geller, he changed dentistry forever. Because I remember as a kid, I was following him around, and I don't know if I shared that with you. I remember he was fighting the whole way about positioning the dental technology to be a respected profession. Because there was no respect. I mean, 48 years ago, I mean, technicians were just less than janitors.
I think you're right.
And Willie was the one that shined the light and fight for us. And I think he brought this where we are now because of him. Now we take it for granted. I mean, things that we talk about aesthetically as well as interproximal spacing and all the other things that we talk about. Before, it was like, no, don't tell us what to do. And Willie was the one that paid. And so that's why I think it's very crucial for anybody directly or indirectly affected by Willy Geller, should we recognize that and acknowledge that. And that's very important.
Yes, because Billy Geller, one of the main things that he created when he beginning is to gain the respect of everyone, for the respect of the community, to put the dental technician in the high-end position because he's one more part of the team. And we're equal.
We're not down here.
It doesn't matter where you are. It's equal upper or lower, but we are need to be in the respect of the dental technician. And sometimes we are now in this level you can see here in this lecture, in this meeting today, how we influence in the dental community, in the dental technology story, how important is the dental technician position, the design and everything. mainly we are in this position because Billy, because he started developing when we are nothing, developing the technology spread the lecture everywhere in the more important society community and develop techniques that nowadays continue to be done, like you're the technician you know. And then we now, one of our Our challenge is to maintain this legacy and, if it's possible, improve the position for the future. It's the thing we need to handle the best way we can do, for sure.
Really, I mean, I think that's so crucial, even with all those digital technology improvements as a tool. we still have that human connectivity and results counts, right? I mean, so, but you still need the human touch. And that's what Willie always was about. He never chased trends. He never really said, oh, this is the only way. I mean, he always adopt. He always changed.
And you see the 7th value, it's having done many, many years ago, continues to be the more up-to-date trends. Nowadays, with digital technology, we need to adapt for them. Now we do more digital. The way the lab is working is not so handled. But we need to continue developing this one. Okay, it's so important to continue this legacy. It's the reason we are going to organize this trend to meeting. This is the memorial because unluckily he passed away last year. And then we need to have this memorial in order to to keep everyone informed to know how we have done in the past and how continues doing in the future because a lot of speakers with the well-known speakers we know perfectly Billy Geller and his vision and his way of working because everybody can join this experience.
I was going to ask, if I'm a young ceramist or any ceramist or any dental technician, what is the pathway to join Oral Arts? Oral design. Take that out.
I will.
Oral design. What is the pathway for somebody to join?
They can join because they can see how we can have working for the last 45 years or 44 years. You can see some experience of how develop the technique and the way of working and from the beginning right now and nowadays how we still doing. And a lot of lecturers and hands-on demonstrations that they can see everything.
So they have to go and they have to learn and they have to do the processes.
Yes, they have to involve, they have to.
Involve in the spirit, the spirit and atmosphere of the people we are around, and for sure if... you can't understand how is the feeling of this group. If you go and smell the spirit, the philosophy, the how say the passion we are doing, we are working with a lot of passion and inspiration, and then we need to respect everything. This is the atmosphere you need to see.
Sometimes people don't have that passion. They just, they come in, they do the work. Yeah. I mean, it's tough. It's hard for us to understand that. I don't understand it, but that's how some people are.
Yeah, I mean, I think the important part is for people to realize and reflect that they may not know really personally like we do, but the fact that they are in this profession In somehow, some way from somebody, they were influenced by him, and I think the memorial would be a great tribute if anybody thinks about coming to Italy. Trento is the place, amazing place. Estonia organizes the meeting. It's a great... honor to show up and to the meeting because it's not very expensive. It's not about the making profit from the meeting, but it's a treatment to the man that did that and paved the way to this profession. I think that's to me, that's a message I like to convey to people.
We are a non-profit organization. We want to earn money. We're only to share our experience with the dental community. I have some friends of Spain, we are going and not going for the meeting is in the 5th and 6th of June. days before, spend some time with the families, with some groups of friends, one day before, one day later, and stay together. That's it. For sure, you can learn because you have lecture, we have courses, but most important is to understand our style of life that sometimes we live in a stressful time all the time with looking for a lot of things immediately. trying to see how we work in a more high-level dentistry with a more high-level dentist in the world and then spend our knowledge with all of us and all of the dental community only to improve our profession. And this is important that the people who attend our meeting understand, understand that we are collaborating, we are a group of friends, you can connect with me like we are here, like we are here In this meeting, we can connect with the people who develop things. We create everything, like in a friendship relationship. And this is important nowadays, from my point of view, to participate in this type of meetings or events. But we are doing for this one, and to understand that this is spirit, this is legacy of really have done.
Absolutely.
Legacy.
I love that word. 45 years ago. continues to be so important nowadays.
It's more important today because sometimes I feel like the technology divide us because everybody's stuck in their technology and the iPhone and everything else. And by sending a message, oh, somebody passed away, oh, I'm sorry, condolences, and that's it. But the respect, it's not about sending messages, it's about showing up. And I think showing up at the meeting, because I'm going to go to Korea, for example, for Another oral design tribute for Willy that, before he passed, he wanted to be there. I promise, Willy, I'm gonna show up. I'm not lecturing, but I do want to be part of it because I need to be present. Willy couldn't be there, so I think anybody who has empathy or feels that Willy was important in their life. If they knew not, they need to go, they need to show up, because I think that's the key. And they have hands-on courses too, I mean, people who want it. It's a great value to have experienced beautiful, talented oral design members doing hands-on. I mean, it's also another addition.
And the reason that we need to keep in contact personally, because sometimes nowadays with this digital technology, sometimes face-to-face contact, sometimes you lose. But I think it's important because part of our work is Finalize the case by hand, not as big as it was in the past, but now we need to find, and sometimes we lost to ask, How do you do this one? Okay, in person, contact person. We organize this time like a hands-on demonstration with some members that are well-known around the world. And we can, he's working and she's playing, how do you do this one?
Yeah, what do you use here? What do you use here? How do you get this effect?
Face to face, no tricks, face to face with freedom. It's nice, it's not nice, like we are doing sometimes. Well, you are calling for us, because how do you do this one? Because I need your help. Friendship, sharing, knowledge, with no being. Business and no ego, no ego, only with friends. Everybody wants Pinhas, right? I am speaking with you right now, and your wife, and you are tomorrow there. We can speak with Sonia. Sonia has organized. Sonia is the oral design member in Trenton who organized this Trenton Memorial meeting. He has done an amazing job for nothing. It's a lot of work. It's for respect, the legacy. You know how How big effort is to organize a meeting like this? You need to organize the speaker, the venue, the trips, and everything, the speaker.
It's like a team of 20, and he's one man.
What he's doing with his husband alone and with for sure a group, but only for free, only to the wish to share with all of us, all of the people, with all of the members for sure, but all of the people who want to attend, please, we are here because really, and need to continue to develop his legacy and continue through the time.
And also, just to add to it, all the members that come to be present and present and put effort, they do at their own expense. There's no payment, no money exchange. Nobody pays me or anybody else to show up. We do it as voluntarily to kind of move the profession to the path that really built. I mean, I think that's very crucial. I think it's very important.
Nobody shares, money for the meeting, for the lecture. No, no. We are there because we want. We pay our fee, our hotel, our everything by our own. We have no...
It's about the love and the respect.
Yes, it's one part of the respect. There's no economic interest behind. For sure, you have your business, I have my business, you have your own business, but it's our own business. This is something Maybe different, yeah. What do you think?
Is our reflect and Willie and do you know Willie personally? No, I never did. It's a shame because he would love him. He would love you too. So, just he was a magnet of people. Okay, every time you go to his lab in Switzerland. The door was always open. People come in like, I thought it was a central station. I mean, and always have lunch for them, always coffee. I mean, he had to work too, but he welcomed people. He turned out to them.
At the end, drink a glass of wine.
I mean, it was a people person. It wasn't about just the techniques and everything. Just about human connectivity. He didn't have no politics, no religion. He didn't care. It's about Globally, it's like it's a connectivity of everything. We have all religion in our organization. There is no fights, there's no opinions. It's just respect and human connection. It's amazing, amazing. So we try to continue that.
Well, you're following those values, obviously. You can sense it, you can hear it, you can feel it, or we can.
And you see the spirit of this meeting that we are now in Palma, it's felt quite... quite something similar, the collaboration environment, we are talking about the hub, how the interconnection between professional with respect to sharing knowledge, team approach, and we are, these kind of things, we are all the time listening. It's still up to date. It's totally still up to date.
And that's why we show up here. I mean, we love extra cut meeting. As you saw, I mean, it's amazing connectivity, shake hands, meeting people like now you guys know each other, and it's learning from everybody. I mean, that's the key. I mean, I'm just empty every day because I want to learn more. It's like, I don't know enough.
We just keep on going, get fired up.
Absolutely, because one day that's gonna shut down and it's gonna be over, but just keep on moving.
If you want to keep on moving, keep on learning all the time, you need to be here. I mean, to be the meetings like there are designing other meetings. You are in the environment of knowledge and understanding and improvement all the time you need.
So all your listeners, I invite you guys to come to Trento. We welcome you to come because I think it's going to be a unique experience, not just an event of dental meeting. It's going to be spiritual experience. You made people that had shared face to face with Willie and not just the technical knowledge, but also the environment and magnets of people from all over the world. I think it will be...
Where can they find out about it?
Yeah, we have the website. The website you can find.
We can share the website with you so you have it. And when you post it, we can share the link and register.
And also you can post it because We have another big meeting in Seoul this year in September in South Korea. We have the world symposium of our design world symposium in South Korea. We can share with you also.
When is that?
That's in September. During my birthday. You guys should come there.
If you are there, because I'm invited to be there, it's super, super interesting. We can share with you over the website. Yeah, please. Everybody is welcome. You can send for the registration and everything. You see the program and all the social events we have organized. This case, not we have. This case, Jamin. Jamin is a designer. Jamin King is a designer in Seoul. He's organizing because every time we organize a meeting, one of the members is take care about the organization all the way. This is the next one there. Sometimes in Germany, Christian. Christian and Stefan have organized and New York have done Jason and Minneapolis another one. I have done in Madrid and other.
I was going to say, there's no way it's easy.
But what makes us happy is when people show up and participate and they get the value for their time investment and whatever the challenge. Because it's not easy to travel these days. I mean, there's lots of challenges. There's wars everywhere. It's expensive. The gas prices, geopolitics. It's a lot of everything. But you know, respect is by showing up. You have to show up for respect. I mean, that's it.
And also it's important to understand that we are for 34 different countries. You can think how unbelievable is.
It's amazing.
Everything together with different religions, different cultures, different point of view. We are different for sure. And this different integrated in the same spirit is interesting.
It all comes down to interesting.
With the same measure, because we have the same measure together.
I love it.
I love what Willy did. I was blessed to know him since a young age.
You know him from the beginning.
Yeah. Well, I don't know if I'll share with you what happened. Maybe last time I did or not. Anyway, I met him when I was 15. It was my boss at the time, Baruch Hindig, in Israel. He was a great technician in Israel. And he brought Willy to Tel Aviv University to do a hands-on course. And I've seen a bunch of older guys watching what he's doing and I have no idea what they do because I didn't do ceramic at the time. I just started. I was apprentice. So my job was to make coffee for everybody. I was the coffee guy. But I liked the guy. I was watching him. Everybody admire him. And then at the break, his wife walks in, beautiful lady.
You did tell this story. I remember that. Please continue.
I don't think you know. So this beautiful lady comes in and you know Europeans, they opened the shirt and I was 15 year old. I was virgin still.
And he was looking at her.
I'm looking like this little open shirt and she bent over, give him keys, Willie. And then there was that Armando, his little boy comes in, his little dog comes in and I'm like fascinated with this woman and this family and I say, I don't know what this guy is doing, but I want to be like him because I want to have women like that. Family. That was my inspiration.
That is great.
15 years old.
I remember that too.
I still remember that like yesterday. But anyway, I know he's watching, but yeah, he is. Yeah.
All of each member who knows from the very, very beginning, really have any story to tell. Yeah, because all the time, but you need to. to understand, was a story like this. Life story, sometimes we learn to work and something, but more than the spirit. I remember when we was in Minneapolis, you remember many, many years ago, we was a meeting for all of the other side members in the United States. I remember.
In Minneapolis.
In Minneapolis.
With Chuck Margus.
Chuck Margus organized this one many, many years ago. And then we was together three days only with a brainstorming connection. How is the not about technique, only brainstorming. What do you think? What do you feel? What's the atmosphere and where we create the seven values? Oh, nice. Yeah, all they speak together and sharing these three days. Well, I don't remember the study was 2, three or four days. I think it was 3 days. I think that was 3 days. Do you remember that time in the United States? And that's it's a spirit, because sometimes that had been created for many, many years, and then all of us have the spirit. I remember when Michelle introduced me, Hey, who are you? At that time, I was so young about 23 years old. My English now is not good, but at that time it was worse. Also, your English is pretty good. Your English is good. You need to understand how difficult it was to communicate at that time with them. Michelle was speaking at that time English, but they speak in German and that, okay, that was difficult. And when I was time, I was so young and say, okay, you are really good. I say, Relax, you only need to stay here and watch and then ping me, and I open my computer with my best cases and he say, Okay, you are working in a proper way, but you need to improve a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, then continues coming and I improved a lot, that is this, and I was so young. And he listened. I resent my mind. You need to keep learning, learning, learning, learning, study that this, that this, that this, that this, and pushing all the time to improve, improve. And he said, okay, you need to improve, explain me what do you do. And that's all of us have a story. I remember the coffee break when was in the United States in the United States with a lot of people and all the members were like the coffee Machines for him, for the speaker, for the other, we are collaborating, many members. That's the way.
Wow. Love it. Lots of good stories. We can tell from the way you're speaking that this is going to continue.
And you guys should show up. You need to be part of it.
That would be a lot of fun.
Have you been in Italy?
I have not.
You see?
Yes, it is.
Have you been in Seoul, Korea?
No.
I love to go to both.
I love it.
And maybe this is a nice voice to show all of the world how we are doing.
I don't think people understand the passion behind it. You can hear it.
I really, you felt now the passion that we are speaking to.
I honestly thought it was just an organization of people that were all about high quality analog work. No, I know, but that's what I just.
That's how it feels true, but we are more than this.
I understand that now, and I think a lot of people will.
We are trying to reach to the highest level all the time, to other people who want to do the best thing, the more high level, but it's not enough. Personality, the people who are a part of this one, it's not enough to be an excellent dental technician, to be a good person, a good environment with a teacher, to have the opportunity to speak with everything, to share the knowledge, the intuition of your profession, and that's it.
You can be a great dental technician, but you can be an ******* and not share anything. Absolutely. And it's like, what is this? What do you do?
Yes.
Give it away. Give it away and teach.
You understand it's a different group. No, we are a non-profit organization. We don't want nothing. We don't pay for a fee. We don't pay fee, no pay nothing. Only it's a recognized group for excellence.
Yes.
I love it.
I agree. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much, guys.
Thank you guys for having us.
Thank you for giving up the opportunity.
God bless Willie, honestly.
Thank you. When are you guys going to share the message to your listeners?
It will probably, sadly, near the end of May, beginning of June. So it might not be well to get people to Italy.
I see.
But that's Seoul, Korea, probably. I've got people thinking about it.
Okay. I'd love to know more about the, just send a link to.
Us and then you can listen to it before it goes out.
Yep. Awesome.
Appreciate it.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for the opportunity.
Absolutely. Thank you. My pleasure. Yeah, let's get it. So this is awesome. Exocad Insights 2026, Mallorca, Spain. We travel 7,000 miles to talk to somebody that's neighbors to us in New Jersey, right?
Yes.
Yes, Dora Rodrigues.
Rodrigues.
Yes, with an S. With an S, not a.
Z. We know he has trouble with names. That's pretty normal.
Dora. What's happening?
I am good.
I am enjoying Mallorca. I'm enjoying this show. It's my first time. It's been amazing. I love it.
So what brought you to the show this time? What?
Well, I'm an independent certified trainer, so I have to be here.
Oh, you are a certified trainer?
Yeah.
So talk about that process. When did you decide to do it? Why did you decide to do it?
Last year. Actually, a year and a half ago, I thought about it. connect with a couple people from ExoCAD and they all said you should do it because you're already doing everything ExoCAD, so why not teach others and get certified? And I just took that route. I got in contact with them.
You were already lecturing, right? So it was a part of your being.
Yes, so I did. I was lecturing. I've been lecturing since what, 2022. It's been a while. So it's been an awesome ride. And at the beginning I was doing some courses about ExoCAD too. But I kind of felt like I need to have the certification. I need to have that stamp. And I went through with it and it's definitely a stamp because now people are more connected and they follow and they want to get that. So what's it like getting certified?
What do you have to do? Take us through that.
Yeah, so there's, you have to put a business plan together so it's not that easy as.
I heard that. I find that interesting. You have to prove to them that you're going to use it for good and not evil or something. I don't know.
I think that's pretty impressive.
It is, it is. You have to go through a process so not everyone will be certified because you have to go through, you have to get a business plan.
What was your business plan?
I was already involved in full arch. I was already assisted surgery. I had the clinic.
I am.
Remember I was the queen of conversions back then. I don't know. The first podcast that we did was.
That was a while ago.
I don't know. Six years ago, man.
You don't do conversions still, do you?
I still do.
My God.
Probably not as many.
Not as many anymore.
But you're like, I'm going to pick and choose.
No, because it really depends if the office has all the technology in there to do it. So not every office has a printer. So if they are close to my lab, within 15, 20 minutes away, we can use my lab. I still go to the office, take all the records, bring the information, do everything in the lab, and then bring it back. But if the office is an hour away, it doesn't make sense. They don't want to have the patient waiting. The patient's under anesthesia and things like that. So they want to get the patient going.
Are you excited to do those old conversions or you're like, yeah, another one?
I'm OK. I'm pretty efficient. It's like, you know, it's just a what, 20 minutes, half an hour. It's pretty efficient. I mean, that was.
Never at your level. I will never be at that level.
But he does love it. I know.
But I don't want to do conversions anymore. I mean, now that digital workflow is there, I mean, I'm holding down a counter most of the appointment, you know, and just.
But even for the digital workflow, you do need to know to have your base and know what they're doing, because just because you have the technology doesn't mean that you're going to nail it at the first time or every time, because there's so many things that have to go into that. It's not just bringing photogrammetry, it's not just having an internal scanner. There's just so much that goes into it that I want to, and I'm, I will, I'm...
A perfectionist, you can say it.
She's probably a Virgo. I am so picky. It's like I don't want the doctor to the dentist to spend time adjusting the bite. So anything I have to do where I can do to have that nailed in. digital or analog, I want to go through that process. If the doctor is not comfortable with the digital workflow taking records, we're going to do analog because I can walk them through and they can do what I tell.
It's nice to have that choice. Yes, and be able to help them with that choice.
And slowly they transition.
What's your percentage of delivery, no adjustments on the occlusion? It's is it pretty good?
It's pretty good.
She's 99.9.
I wouldn't say that, but I'll say like 90 and over, 'cause there's always pretty sweet. I cannot control what's going on in the mouth. Ultimately, the dentist is the one that holds it, adjusts, and takes those records. So I can't just walk them through the process. I can see, like, OK, tilt it, no, change it, no, quicker. But ultimately, it's up to them. But we have efficient workflows for both digital and analog. So we are pretty efficient. We try to be.
So you're in your own lab now?
Yes.
So it's out of your house or?
Do you have a facility? No, that was back then. In 2022, I was probably still on my house. Now I have a building now. Good for you. Yeah, so we have 3 stations. We just added two mills last year, like so it's been six months. And what? It really helped me understand a lot more from our designs and how to get better at that, because I used to outsource for my entire life. I've been, I opened my lab in 2016, so it's been like 9 years. And until last year, I was outsourcing milling all the time. And I used to get things back and they wouldn't fit. And I was rolling.
Until last year, you're right.
Last year, I just, yeah.
So you're like, I'm biting the bullet and I'm getting my own damn mills.
I was always afraid. I was like, I don't understand milling. I don't know this. So many people talking to so many people, so many companies about all these different things I don't want to get involved, so it's just easier to outsource. But then it's like things wouldn't come like I wanted to. And I would ask, like, is there something that I can do to make it better? And like, no, we'll fix it, we'll redo it. Like, okay, but this is not working. And I felt like I was rolling, you know, my eyes, like always complaining, complaining, like, let's dive in.
And then you said, you know what, I'm taking this over.
And then I took it advice from a friend as like, you should get this mail because of this, because of that. OK, let's bite it, like hopefully it goes well. And it did. So six months in and we're milling everything house. And I can see now the struggle. Funny story.
Did you? I know. I was going to say learning curve.
It was exhausting. It was frightening, overwhelming. But I saw the struggles with the whole milling process. And you know, last Chicago, I went to my milling partners and I told him, I'm sorry if I ever complain. Because I see the struggle, and you guys were awesome, but I'm so sorry, because I know sometimes I came across like...
And you need to ****** help me because I got to figure this out.
Please. And it really helped me understand. Even now with all the developments with the new version of Exocad, I have to talk about it. The 3.3 and the bars and the split bars is amazing. So it did help me, Milling House, like understand how to get those designs better because you know I have to deal with more than just design.
What mill did you get?
It's how did you choose that?
It was a friend of mine that he's really the genius. Yes. They were in Chicago too. They're not just advertising much.
Cool though, get their name out there.
And a friend of mine, he's really into, he knows his brain is like so knowledgeable and he knows everything about mailing and printing and he walked me through the process.
Those are good friends to have in the business.
And he walked me through the process and this is why you do it and this is the, you know, and I just, okay, I'm gonna trust you. blindly, blindly, completely blindly, but at the end it worked out and it's good.
Does it mill bars?
Yes, I'm really titanium in house. That's why now I know the struggles.
So when you design an Exocad and it does a split file, it automatically separates the bar.
Yes.
Do you have to redesign the bar?
No.
And then just toss it in there.
Toss it in there. We got all this.
What do you mean toss it in where?
In the mill, I guess. You just toss the puck in there and get it going.
It's outside my skill.
I know, but I figured if you separate that split file, you'd still have to design the bar, but it does it for you.
No, it does it for you. Yes. So you design, you have your whole wax up is being finalized, approved. And we just go through either the dental CAD or the partial CAD. I have to tell you, the partial CAD is amazing. I love it between the two options with Exocad that now offers the split bars. That is my favorite by far.
I don't know this, so you can do split file split bars in partial. And in something else.
And dental, yes.
But they're not the same.
No. The workflow is ultimately you still have a bar and the wax up that you split, but the way that you design is different.
Interesting. Well, that goes back to that guy earlier who said every way in Exocad there's three ways to do it.
Yes, he did, actually.
There's some workarounds, some tricks.
And you find the partial one better.
The partial is better.
Interesting. Have you ever run into someone that disagrees with you? They're like, No, the partial is terrible.
He's asking the hard questions. I'm going to be honest, not many people are doing the partial yet because they don't know how to.
Oh, those are so far ahead of the curve. Good for you. High five.
Sounds like you're going to be teaching.
That at some point. I already am. Of course. Jeez.
Good.
You should be. I already am because it's very simple. It's like 5 steps. And the main difference that people that is like, why are you doing partial? Because we always have that thought, partial, the teeth and the frameworks, the metal. It's just simpler. You go through the process, you mark your split line where you're going to divide the two parts, you add some settings, the cement gap, and it's done. The difference mainly is that the partial is the bar is uniform, there's no undercuts, the screw access, and that is the major point just for that alone I will go always to the partial that if you have this surgery implants placed in perfectly in the center of the ridge the bar goes around those implants you can do a bar anywhere but the struggle becomes when you're using angle abutments and then you are too close to the lingual, the screw axis, or you have zygomatic implants and then your bridge is too thick. So when you have angle abutments, your structure, when you separate, you need that thickness of your structure for zirconia. So the partial, it just cuts everything down to the screw axis. So it leaves all the other thickness for the wax up alone. While on the dental, you have to free form And it saves a lot. The minimum thickness is more protected. So it kind of forms like a more material in there. It doesn't let you free form as smooth. It's not as smooth. It's not. There's a lot more free forming tools on the dental side that sometimes are good, but then you can start creating undercuts and then it doesn't fit. It's not passive. And then you screw.
Up.
And then, you know, goes to the mill and you have to redo everything again. The partial, that doesn't happen. Nothing. Never.
So did you find that on accident or No, did they? It's part of it.
I mean, it's part of it, but I am a certified trainer, so I do have access.
To the front line.
I do have access to the prototypes when they come out. I give my, and.
When they do come out, you're immediately on it, right?
I'm on it. If it's too large, I'm on it.
Is it working? Is it not working? How can I help? What can I change?
Yes, so I dive into the workflow, and, you know, even today there's some specific settings that I still don't know exactly what they do. I just talk to them. They explain this step to me. Like, you know, we're still trying to figure out, because I don't know the answer. Well, you know, this partial being here. Yes, you connect with people that knows. And it's like there's engineers working with dental technicians. Sometimes they develop something that the brain is engineering, but the technician's side is not there. So how do you communicate it? How do you get that information? So it's, you know, details. But again, it's me. I like to know exactly everything that does so I can improve. And you know, when I'm teaching, like what you're a.
Certified XOCAD trainer and that's why you're teaching and these all these together for you to share that with people like me that if I came to your course, I'd be like, damn, I'm learning a lot.
Seriously. I have some people that are afraid of the courses because it's full arch, it's advanced. It's hard. I don't, I, you know, I'm hoping that I'm having a very simple way of teaching because I, you know, I don't do everything on Axicada, I just focus on full arch. So I structure my courses in a way that even someone that never use Exocad. They don't, if they go through the hot keys and through the software, they're gonna be overwhelmed because it's too much to learn. But if you follow along just not using the computer, you can understand what you need to do because I make it in a way that is simple to understand because I struggle. When I was trying to learn, it took me months to understand the best protocol because There's three different ways to do it, which is.
Actually genius for some and harder for others, right?
Yes, correct. So there's not one way this is how you do it, no, but this is why I do it or how I do it, and this is the reason why. To make it efficient and simplify and you can streamline to your team, basically.
So all you do is full arch.
That's it.
So do you do a lot of chair side still?
Some, yes.
So you go in there and help them get their records. Do you design it right there in their office? Yes.
And then I'll send, if the office is close by, I'll send to my assistant. She gets it in the printer and she assembles everything, customized, and then we just deliver. How did you find her? I found her. Yeah. And it's funny because she has no background in dental and she, yeah. And you know, she was able to learn pretty quick. She's really good with color too. So the customizing with the pink and everything, she does it all. So she does everything that I don't do. So she gets all the scans ready. Either models come along, she will scan it if it's intraoral. She will set everything in Exocad, get the scans ready, check the bite, you know, call the dentist, something is missing. And then once I get there, I just need to design. And then she goes back to her. She puts it in the printer, in the mill. She deals with all that.
I need that.
An assistant.
Just that. Somebody that gets I can do the color that this that that but it's just it's full art, but it's just full art, so.
After a while it's always the same, so it's true.
Is it?
Yes, the end of the day, it's just more teeth connected.
But you were mentioning earlier, you're traveling a lot to speak.
You said like every week this next month you're in. You're all over.
This month is crazy. I'm actually gonna be 2 1/2 weeks away. So I had planned this show in Mallorca and then in two weeks I'm gonna be in London at the DTS show. It's a show directed to dental technicians only. I have two lectures there. And I thought, instead of coming to Mallorca, going back for a week and then going back to London.
Do a little traveling.
Yeah. Well, it's working. A lot of people is like, oh, have a great vacation.
Yeah, that's me right now. Oh, we're traveling. No, we're working.
And then I decided, you know what, let me see if I can fit something between and I don't have to go back and forth. And because I'm from Portugal, I tried to set up a course in Portugal and that's where I'm going next week. Tomorrow I'm going to Portugal. I have a course, Exocat. in Lisbon, and then I'm going to London. I have another course private before that show to a lab in London. So, three in London? Two, one, one private, two on stage. One private, 2 lectures on stage. Yeah, wow, that's pretty interesting. Then I'm going back and I need to go to Arkansas during next week, the following week. I don't know.
Arkansas.
I don't know. I don't even know where that is.
Not bad about those listeners, just saying, but that's a little bit.
But yeah, there's a lab that wants to get their technicians more efficient with a full arch, and that's where I'm going. That's where I focus, it's like getting the lab efficiency.
How do people find you though?
Social media. And I have to say I'm not that great at social media. I'm trying harder a little bit now because that's what you have to be.
I've seen you. I mean, for sure Elvis can help with it.
Yeah. Well, you guys know me forever. But I'm trying to get more and social media to, put myself out there.
But you want to do more.
I want to do more. Yeah, I'm doing more. I have plenty.
Obviously.
I have plenty.
But what about your lab though?
The lab is going. The lab is, you know, I can design. No, it's just me. You can do all that and say.
Here you go, take it.
Yes, I'm still a control freak. I should let that go. I should trust other people. But the design, I'm efficient. So as long as I have everything ready, I can design anywhere. I have my computer.
So that's actually awesome.
Yeah.
So basically you design and then you know exactly what you've done and then they just take it away. Yes.
And then you know. Finalizing entirely, I still do it myself too, because my assistant doesn't, but that's what I'm focusing on, yes, but that's where I'm focused. My next step will be hire someone that can finish the product, so I just focus on design.
Yeah, but you can do that from anywhere, right? And you have all these doctors set up. They have their own photogrammetry, their own.
No, I'm the one that has all the technology.
So you show up to do it. How can you do this if you're traveling?
Well, yes, but now I just, now I just have other options. So back in 2020 when I bought my photogrammetry, you know, I had to be there. And back then there was nothing else. It was photogrammetry or nothing and going through the jigs, final, open tree impressions and all that. But nowadays, there's so many systems in the market, you really can't pick any. So I picked one, an extra one, and I just shipped that kit because doctors don't want to spend the money on that.
Oh, so you ship the kit too, though?
They use your kit.
They use my kit, they send the records back in the kit, and it's fine.
And you call it a day.
I call it a day. I make it efficient for them.
Which one do you go with photogrammetry?
I have photogrammetry is the pick. It's old, yeah. But the other system, I have the IO Connect from Joel Backman. And I have it for what, three years now, and that's what I used.
The one on the phone.
No, I still use the doctors will use the internal scanner. But yes, the phone could, you could do it with the phone too. But there's a lot more that goes into it. There's a cloud, there's the latest iPhone or iPad. So the other system is simple. It's like an internal scanner. You know, you tell them how to place them, why. And you know, most of the systems, there's so many out there, pretty much they all work the same. It's knowing what Errors the internal scanner introduces is when you scan edentulous tissue and how to block them. So each system has a way of blocking that tissue and that's what you follow. As long as you know that, you have pretty accurate scans. And then you go from there.
Awesome.
Damn it, Dora.
We are so happy to get an update from you. Thank you. It was thrilling to hear that you were gonna be here. It's like, we're gonna see her.
Yes, we have to, right? And this is an amazing event. And I've never been to Mallorca. Yeah, same. That's how we were last year, two years ago. It's amazing. The people, it's like you connect with people. Everyone is friendly and it's Europe. You get that?
I think next year. Let's put this out there next year, Dora on stage. Not next year, two years ago. You were on stage here two years ago.
No. Oh, two years in two years. Oh my God, I'm thinking about two years ago. No, I was not here before.
Okay, I'm projecting.
Let's make a bet. 100 bucks I win.
About what?
That we're betting.
No, I'm going to say this again, right? Two years from now, Dora on stage at XOCAD.
I know, when I said I'll bet you 100 bucks, it's going to happen.
And who says that XOCAD doesn't go to the States? You never know.
Boom, baby. That's a great freaking segue.
We just need it in a warm place.
Arkansas, Arizona. Well, thank you. I know we got to go see Seth Potter, so we need to move our booties. We got to go. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
It was a pleasure.
Okay.
Bye. Big thanks to Pinhaas, Javier, and Dora for taking some time out of your Exocad Insights meeting to chat with us. I never did get a chance to meet with Willie Geller. He was a freaking rock star, but I have the utmost respect for what he did and what he created. It's great to hear that oral design will continue sharing its values and respect for the craft moving forward and with digital. And of course, we hope Dora finally got a chance to rest after her busy few weeks. I saw her all over social media. She's been everywhere. She's teaching around the world. We are sure she got home just in time to design a few full arches. I bet she had a bunch waiting for her. So thanks again, you guys.
All right, everybody. That's all we got. We're going to get back to talking to people here at FDLA.
It's lunchtime. We'll talk to you next week. Have a great week. Bye. Thanks again everybody.
Sorry. I thought you were taking a breath to do it again. I was actually.
Okay, hold on.
The views and opinions expressed on the Voices from the Bench podcast are those of the guest and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the host or Voices from the Bench LLC.