Hey, Voices of the Bench community, Jessica Love here, giving me a shout out from Utah. As many of you know, I am passionate about creating natural-looking, beautiful smiles, and I also believe in simplifying systems without compromising on aesthetics. I am honored to be part of Ivoclar's development team to bring you a new stain and glaze system with structure paste. IPSEmax CeramArt. With this system, you can create beautiful works of art with depth and color in as little as one firing. Join us as we continue to innovate, simplify, and create meaningful change, one smile at a time.
So Barb, it's confession time.
Oh boy, Elvis, what did you do now?
I actually snuck down to the exhibition halls this year at Lab Day.
Oh my God, you did not.
Oh, yes I did. I went to visit our friends at Follow Me Technology.
The HyperDent crew.
The very same. And let me tell you, HyperDent was everywhere. Every other booth I walked up to, someone was talking about milling strategies, templates, workflows. It was like a CAM takeover.
I love that, guys. Quietly taking over the world one tool path at a time.
Exactly. And their milling roadmap activity? Huge success.
Really, Elvis? I guess I'm really not surprised.
Yeah, a ton of people were doing the scavenger hunt, bouncing between Axis, Imagine, DOF, Roland, collecting their stamps like responsible adults.
Responsible adults chasing an amazing scooter.
Oh yeah, the scooter. That thing was a hit too. I actually saw it zooming around the show more than once. Almost got hit by it.
Yeah, yeah, I know. So did I. Lots of near misses, you know.
You know, it's funny to me. You got this group of very serious, very smart cam engineers talking in toolpath, validation protocols, microns, blah, blah, blah. And then they're ripping around lab day on a bright orange folding electric hyperdense scooter.
Yes, I know, but I really love that.
You know what? I do too. It's proof that you can be extremely technical and still not take yourself too seriously, which I think we know about.
Yes, of course. And honestly, what a fun group.
Agreed. Big shout out to the Follow Me team. They brought the brains and they brought the fun this year.
And apparently, the horsepower.
Electric horsepower. Nice. 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 400 and 15 voices from the bench. My name is Elvis.
My name's Barbara.
What's happening, Barb? Guess what? Guess what?
What?
Monday in Indiana, we had three inches of snow.
Come on, it's 85.
And Friday today, 72.
Come on. Well, congratulations.
It's 85 there. Well, way to rain on my parade.
It's 85 for like 7 days and I'm so sorry, but you're going to be here Thursday.
I am, yeah.
Today, us.
Yeah, this is kind of cool. I mean, we've been doing this podcast for eight plus years. I've known you for probably, I don't know, 10, 12 years. I have never seen the great and often heard about Knight Dental. So I had an opportunity to come down to Tampa for two days. Hell yeah, I'm going to get the grand tour by Barb herself.
Yeah, we're going to do some stuff. snow crab and eat our ***** off.
I love it. I'm so excited. And yes.
We'll take some pictures.
We finally were able to have some proof that Barb does indeed work.
Yeah, we got proof of that all right.
So excited to come see you.
Me too.
And here we are in the afterglow of lab day. It's all behind us.
I'm so sad.
I know. You have that kind of like missing out once it's all done. But we are all ready for our next show. This one is in the state of Texas.
Yeah, it's hot as there as it is here.
Is it going to be just as hot?
Probably. I don't know. I'll check it out before we go.
We're headed out to the DLAT, which is the Dental Lab Association of Texas. What's great about this show, let's see, A, as you mentioned, warmer weather than Chicago. B, it's like right near the Dallas airport. So it's super easy to get to. Some of these shows you land and then you still have like a 40 hour Uber ride that costs you just as much as your plane ticket. This one's super close. And then C, people from Texas are just super nice and they like to have a lot of fun.
Oh yeah, my people.
Absolutely. And of course, to me, the biggest thing is it's run by a board made-up of dental technicians. So it's a show for technicians. And I think it really makes it stand out and such a great show. So this is happening April 9th to the 11th, of course, in Dallas. Barb and I, we're going to be there all weekend recording. but they also have a great lineup of speakers and some super fun evening events planned. Actually, they have a band where all the members are dental technicians. Come on. I think that's amazing.
Yeah, me too.
Dental technicians that can get together and do one thing. I find it fascinating. No, I'm just kidding. So head over to dlat.org to see more and to register. So this week starts our run of conversations that we got in Chicago during Cal Lab and Lab Day. Now, I didn't record much at Cal Lab for really two reasons.
Yeah, that was crazy.
Yeah, Barb, you were busy off doing your big, I'm the chair of the Cal Lab. I just came off stage and I need to vent and I need to chat and I'm on your first day. And I was really just busy catching up with friends And also, Den Supply gave everybody yo-yos.
I know, and I saw you. did better than me, Elvis.
I cannot put that stupid yo-yo down.
I would have liked to have flicked somebody in the face with that sucker because I suck at yo-yos. Just saying.
Don't ever give me a yo-yo if I have anything I need to accomplish. This is what I've learned. But luckily, I did manage to sit down with a good friend in the previous chair of Cal Lab, Jeff Strunk, from Trusted Health. One of my heroes. Yeah, so Jeff gives us the rundown of the first day of the meeting. some interesting behind the scenes on how the meeting comes together. And he gives us his honest opinion of how Barb did on her first day as change.
Oh, really?
I didn't say it was good.
I know. Trust me, I know Jeff.
He was honest.
So then we move over to LMT Lab Day, where we spend the next few days in the Ivoclar ballroom, which was just so amazing. A super big thanks to Ivoclar for hosting us. I swear, we were on the big stage, y'all. I know you've seen it on Facebook, but it's pretty awesome. But Josh from GPS Digital Partial brought us someone who sold him all of his printers, April Newell. April is a past hygienist that has a passion for additive manufacturing sales. I didn't even think that was a thing, but April's got it. She tells us all about her company, Noda 3D, and their long history in 3D printing, how metal printing works, and some common issues labs run into, and how April can help.
And then we talked to a technician that is from one of our favorite labs, Renstrom Dental Studios. Calm down, everybody. We said one of our favorite labs. Joey Hunter is a analog dental technician, and we know how rare that is. And she comes on to talk about her history and it being her first trip to lab day.
After like 25, 30 years.
Yeah.
It's so amazing.
This is also our first recording with a deaf person. And we have to say that Joey is absolutely amazing at reading lips. True that. Joey talks all about working at one of our favorite labs and how LMT was able to help her enjoy the meeting along with everyone else.
I know, can you believe that? They provided her with an interpreter, so it was so amazing.
So join us as we chat with Jeff Stronk, April Newell, and Joey Hunter.
Hey, voices from the bench listeners, Barbara here. Are you ready to take your digital dentistry skills to the next level? Then you do not want to miss Exocad Insights 2026. It's happening April 30th through May 1st on the stunning island of Mallorca, Spain. We're talking two full days of powerhouse keynotes, hands-on workshops, live software demos, and top here industry showcases all in one incredible location. And yes, Elvis and I will be there too, bringing you exclusive on-site interviews that you won't hear anywhere else. Now here's something extra special this year, the Women in Dentistry Lunch. It's a celebration of the women who lift this profession higher every single day. You'll hear from an inspiring panel about career growth, bias, well-being, and the real stories behind their journeys. It's one of those rare events that remind you why your work matters and how powerful we are when we support one another. And of course, I look forward to the legendary EXO Glam Night. You can network, listen to music, and have unforgettable fun under the stars. Tickets are going fast, so head to exocad.com forward slash insights-2020. and grab yours today. And just for our listeners, Voices from the Bench listeners, use the code VFTBPALMA15 for 15% off. We will see you in Mallorca.
Hey listeners, have you ever wondered what the hell I'm doing when I'm not recording Voices from the Bench? Believe it or not, I actually have a regular job. I'm a client rep for Derby Dental Laboratory. So I'm in the field all day, all the time. I'm either doing chair sides or I'm building relationships, and rarely am I in front of a computer. Well, now here's a fun fact for y'all. Dental labs grow by keeping their customers and doing more business with them. Now that's my job, keeping those doctors happy and keeping them coming back for more work. It would be virtually impossible to do that without iCortica. So how do you get visibility with your accounts? Are you exporting data vomit in the form of a spreadsheet that only gives you a small piece of the puzzle? In fact, using Excel makes me angry, and you don't want to make me angry. iCortica gives me everything I need. at home or right on my phone, even when I'm sitting in my car. I can see sales, remake rates, notes for my LMS, and it even tells me exactly what my risks and cross-sell opportunities are. I could even see if a doc just called to complain before I walk in the door. Because honestly, that is a door I might choose not to walk in. The key is I'm always prepared and never surprised. I honestly wouldn't be able to do or enjoy my job without it. So head over to icordica.com to schedule time with them today to learn more. icordica. Stop digging for data and start taking action to keep more customers and more revenue. That's I-C-O-R-T-I-C-A.com. Love you, Rob. Voices from the bench. The interview. Hey, Jeff Strock. Calab, 100th year. 100th year. All right, so.
We made it.
Calab, the first day is over. Bob, our wonderful co-host, she's all, what is she doing? Smoozing vendors.
She's smoozing vendors right now, and she did an amazing job today. I was very pleased with her performance.
She was Give us a rundown, man.
I mean, you know, we, I was expecting that.
Which had to have been.
That set the tone. That set the tone, baby. You know, I was like, she did her eight-mile walk and way we went. But she was. I love it. I love it. She had the confidence of the leader that we need. And she was just outstanding up there. I thought the speakers today were really good. I hate to say I'm throwing myself in the mix, but I thought the panel that I was working with was amazing. You know, they.
So many one-liners came out of that. I mean, seriously. If somebody recorded it, we had at least 6 bumper stickers for metal technicians. That was hilarious. I mean, Harold alone. Oh my God, ********.
********. No, Harold, Harold, I was in total admiration of him. I was actually expecting him to go on a little bit longer than he did. That kind of caught me off by surprise because he does like to talk and he didn't.
You know what's funny is we had him I'm on the podcast years ago and he didn't again. And I'm like, Harold, we need to just set a mic down in a bar.
And that's probably the best way to get a hold of Harold. Just let it go. Let it go. And then, but RJ's story, Dr. Jeff Sheen's story, I thought was remarkable. When I first heard his story about how he started his lab with the end in mind and the fact that he was walking away from it at a particular point, I just like, you know, we go into this business not ever thinking that. And he had a precision.
It was interesting.
It was, and he was able to accomplish it. And I, and I give him tremendous amount of kudos for that. I just thought that was probably the most intriguing story of the day out of that. Obviously, Gary, Gary's always entertaining. He's a sharp businessman, sharper than he'll ever let you know.
He's a mayor.
He's a mayor. It's insane. Yeah, believe me, I don't want to live. I'm just kidding. I think Gary's probably one of the best. He would probably be the best mayor that city's ever seen.
Oh, absolutely.
I'm just following him on Facebook, how he gets out to the public and he's actually out there listening, pressing flesh, making sure that their needs are met and that he's got an ear to whatever what they have.
Let's count all the mayors I've gotten drunk with. One.
That is true.
I love it. Ashley Byrne, who brought that guy? That dude is awesome.
That dude, you know, I didn't know much about Ashley until he, I mean, I hear about him on Facebook and Instagram posts and stuff like that. But for him to get up there and speak the way he did so eloquently, And talking about his mistakes he's made and how he corrected him and how he brought his team involved in it. I just thought all of that was just.
I kind of want to go work for him.
I do too. Shutting the lamp on Monday. I don't buy him with the windows and I mean the cool just needs design. Yep. No, he was great. And Adam Markle, our keynote today, brought the energy. A lot of good takeaways from his presentation that I thought everybody could take back and just learn to chill a little bit. He was really good. I was very pleased with how today went.
Yeah, it was very good.
I was very pleased. The attendance is up from last year. Is it?
Yeah, I noticed a pretty good list of first timers.
Wow, huge list of first timers. And I'm sorry, you know, like when I was at Vision, they list, they asked all the new one new labs to stand up and there was only one lab, and we've had 12 in the last week join ours. Really? Yeah. And so it's gaining in popularity. I was always nervous after COVID how we would respond because we were shut down for early for two years. And between the move here and the success of our previous meetings, I think it's really brought some widespread attention to what Cal Lab is all about.
Yeah.
And what was really cool about looking out into the audience today was the demographic. So many young owners out there. So many young owners.
It's not a gray hair, sorry, don't mean to put you on the spot. It's not the gray hair meeting it used to be.
No, it's not the good old boys club.
It's not.
No, it isn't.
It really isn't. I mean, even standing, sitting in this exhibit hall looking out, I see a fair amount of younger people and female.
I mean, as it should be. It really should be. There should be more of a mix that way. And I'm happy that you're going to see more and more females become lab owners and ceramicists and key people in the laboratory mix. But so yeah, just looking out in the audience and seeing that demographic of these young guys and girls, networking together, starting to build a camaraderie with each other. They have a specific place they can meet once a year to share their views, share their thoughts, and what's gone well, what's gone bad. And I just think that that's something that's going to continue to grow over time.
I was talking to someone that came to this meeting from London, and he says, we don't have this. Yeah. And I'm like, really? He's like, yeah, there's, I mean, you have IDS, you got big shows, but you don't have that sit down business owner management level of meeting. I was like, make it happen. I don't understand.
I mean, people come to Chicago for looking for the next new porcelain, next new oven. whatever it might be, but this meeting, this type of a meeting, that really sets other labs apart from one another. And looking at the room, it was at near capacity today. It's making me think, okay, well, we're going to have to redo our contract here, but we might have to go downstairs to the bigger room somewhere down the road. But it was a pretty full room today and made me happy. Our attendance is definitely up from last year. That's amazing. And I said, I feel it's going to continue to grow.
Yeah, So I'll get the dirt from Barb later. But as a board, how much of this show is decided amongst the people? How does it come together? Does people just come up with ideas?
We start on it immediately. We have our takeaways from today. I already have thoughts for next year.
Oh yeah.
A couple of speakers that I think would be really, really interesting to hear from.
Where do you find these other speakers, though?
I mean, you know, the speakers, I mean, like, I love keeping it a network meeting. I love to hear from other dental lab people.
And you don't want to fill the thing with a bunch of people that don't know.
I don't need the fluff and you know the rah rah stuff. I want to hear real life stories and that was what was really cool about the panel discussion this morning of you know with RJ and Gary and Dr. Sheen and Harold. And you know just what they had to live through when they went through their transition and all that. But again it's real life and it pertains to everybody out there. In fact after that meeting after that particular segment, I had a couple different labs came up to me and they said, I swore they were just talking to me. I swear they were talking to me. It's exactly what I've got going on. I've got family members in here, they're expecting this, they're expecting that, and how he handled it and how he talked about it really gives me the groundwork of how I'm gonna handle it when I go back. Interesting. So yeah, I've had a couple people come up to me and tell me that and I thought, wow, that, you know, if nothing else better happens, you know, we got a couple people that had a great takeaway today.
I had someone ask me if those guys were around And it started 100 years ago.
That's what I was seizing Harold about. He was there for the first Cal Lab meeting. So yeah, they've been around for a long time. I mean, 31 years has Ragle been there and that, honestly, being on the board, that's wow. I never knew that he would have been on the board that long. Yeah. So I was very impressed with that.
So you all get together throughout the year and kind of say.
Oh, so yeah. What will happen now is we'll regroup. We'll do a follow-up call. just to kind of talk about the good, the bad, and ugly while it's all in our minds. And then we will throw out some of the ideas that we received while here this weekend. And so those will be jotted down. And then we'll bring those back up and revisit them when we get together. Looks like we're going to probably get together at the beginning of July. Oh, okay, yeah. And we'll start planning next year's meeting. It's, you know, it's a good timeline because we don't, We don't want it to be too early so that we miss out on something that's happening and trending closer to the meeting. But we don't want it to be too far out where we might not be able to attract a keynote speaker and not be able to get them confirmed.
And the last thing you also want to do is repeat. Well, you got to give it a little time. Make sure you learn from what you need to be better.
To a point for me this year, I would have loved to have I would have loved to have had Rob Nizal come back on from last year. His presentation last year. Yeah, his presentation last year was off the charts. And I really wanted him back this year. But we felt, you know what? Let's give it a little bit more time. But AI is moving so damn fast that, you know, whatever he talked about last year may not even be pertinent this year. But Ben Johnson today was, I thought, was amazing. He's outside the industry. It just talks about AI and how it's being developed and utilized in other industries and how we can utilize it in ours.
He started a little scary.
He was a little, and to that point, I don't, he's not, he's not a speaker. He's a data guy. You know, I mean, he's a techno nerd. And so they're usually like locked into their computers and doing all that kind of stuff. They're not used to standing in front of 300 people.
But what do you say, like, by the time this meeting ends, five of you have retired?
Six, 6 would be retired. I mean, and the facts don't lie. These are, this is the number of people that are retiring from the industry and even from the dental end of it, not even the lab side, but just the dentist end. So it was, it was intriguing to see those numbers and how he's, how he's encompassed and gave some caveats as to how AI should be used and what to stay away from, what would you be looking for, proprietary things that might protect you and not giving away sensitive information. I mean, there was a lot of great things in this presentation. I thought, wow, that's that hit home.
Yeah. And so it's been a great day, man.
Yeah, I'm really, really pleased. It's like I said, the attendance has been amazing. We've had so many new people join. there's a definite motion to continue to grow and make this meeting better and better. Yeah. And most of it's networking. It's getting together on a night like tonight and visiting with them. And what did you hear? What'd you take out of it today? What'd you take out of it? Yeah. Oh, man. You know, what'd you think? Yeah. So those are the things I like as well.
Yeah. I mean, tomorrow's looking jam packed.
Tomorrow's jam packed with Stephanie on the back end with from Glidewell talking about the state of the industry. I mean, I mean, that was that was definitely a no-brainer, and I was so happy that she accepted our invitation to speak for us tomorrow, because she is the she's the new up-and-coming voice and face of Glidewell.
Yeah, we had her on the podcast, and I never I didn't even know who she was. Yeah, she's I mean, it's like she came out of nowhere, but she's been there for a long time.
She's been there for a while. She's kind of behind the scenes doing what she's supposed to be doing, and she's done an amazing job at it. And now she gets the limelight and well deserved. Well deserved. And I wish her the greatest success as she goes forward with this because she's an amazing person from what I've gotten to meet of her. Absolutely outstanding. Very humble.
Very humble. Very humble. Yeah.
No arrogance about her at all. And just an amazing lady.
Yeah, when we had her on the podcast, it was like, you don't sound like the CEO of the largest lab in the world or whatever, you know.
And I love the participation today with the close forum. That, you know, that's always been our go-to and our namesake. And being able to share the stage with Barb and really Be able to encompass the room, meaning she was, she took one side, I took the other side. We were able to make sure that nobody was unheard of or unheard from.
I'm probably better with two people.
It's, you know, it was great back and forth.
You're missing a hand. You're, exactly.
No. And so, yeah, and so she's, yeah, she did great with that. I mean, that's one of my, that's one of my favorite things to do because I mean, there's so many important questions out there that people are afraid to ask. And if you could text it in, or we could do a polling question where people can answer anonymously, excuse me, where they can let their voices be heard, but yet not throw themselves under a bus.
It's hard.
It is, it is. And your room full appears, but you might think differently.
Small world.
Yeah, you might think differently than everybody in there, but you want to hear what they have to say about something.
And what's funny is you think you think differently, then you find out five other people think the exact same thing.
I mean, they're everybody's kind of keeping to themselves until that question comes up and they're like, Yes, I got that. Yeah, exactly.
Scale 1 to 10, Barb's first day.
Oh, hell, definitely a 10.
Oh, nice.
Oh, yeah, she's definitely. That was...
We gave you a three year first.
Well, you know that deservedly so as well. But no, Barb Barb did great. You know, she was a little nervous about nerves. But she did her planning and she got herself comfortable and I think Barb did it.
I think she rocked it. From the very beginning at that first kind of getting started, that's got to be the hardest part.
It is.
Just like the good morning to everybody. Yeah, that kind of thing.
Yep, Getting everybody seated and getting the show on the road and, you know, and it's always tough to go through the memoriam and, you know, talking about the people who passed. I mean, that's a little bit of a downer. You kind of want to have an up thing, but, you know, but you got to honor those people. And these, people have been so instrumental in our industry that you really, you got to pay them their due respect. And so I thought she did a remarkable job.
My favorite part is she had to read a lot of names, a lot of businesses, a lot of names, a lot of weird names. Yeah. And she said during this, she goes, all right, everybody stand up. And if you're not here, don't stand up. And that was the funniest thing. I texted to her. I was like, hilarious.
I thought that was great too. If you're not here, don't stand up.
She didn't plan that. It just came out. I'm like, that's Barb.
I loved it. I do kind of wish that there was a for that panel discussion. There were a lot of great one-liners in that panel discussion. I go back to that and it was funny as hell.
Do they record it?
We did a couple years and nobody we were we put it on a website. Yeah, we put it on a website. Nobody really responded to it. So it wasn't it wasn't worth the money to have to have that.
It would have been nice to have that record.
That one would have been fun.
Because there were some good ones. So what's your role past chair? What does that mean?
Well, I'm here to help Barb. I'm here to support Barb any way I can in the way of, you know, my history and what I've had to endure or overcome or things that have worked for me, things that didn't, and just kind of be her backdrop in case she needs a sounding board for, you know.
Are you like the vice president if she gets sick or something?
No, it would be, it would probably go back, it would probably go to BJ. He's yeah, BJ's are next in line, so we'd move forward with him and As it happened with Barb and I, in all honesty, because Barb was supposed to be the chair before I was, and she ended up becoming the NADL president.
That's right.
And so it would have been a conflict of interest for her to be doing both. So I took her spot at Cal Lab and she took her job with the NADL, which I had never been the NADL president, so obviously I couldn't trade her there. Yeah, And so. And you both had COVID years. And I got the COVID years, so I got to have deal with all that fun stuff. Yeah, she was the COVID NADL, and I was like, Good job.
Yeah, I do anything all year.
So, I like I said, I'm there for support for her.
And how long does that role last for you?
It'll be 4 years while she's the chair. Really? Yeah. And then I'll kind of see where I'm at after that, whether I want to stand aboard.
You can stay. Yeah.
I can stay. Like, for example, when my chair ended and Barb, and then I became the immediate past chair, Jim Gorgle was, he could have done whatever he wanted. And we, and, dumb of us to assume that he wanted to just retire. And he said, I actually really love being on this board. I'd love to stay on the board if you guys will have me. I'm like, well, that's a no-brainer. We love you. know, there's no way you're leaving.
He's still in his lab. I see pictures of him in his lab still.
Yeah, and it's breaking. I know. So, and then same thing with Regal. You know, Jimmy, Jerry is just, he's outstanding, except for the crappy pulled with the AI today. I don't know. Whose idea was that? was his. But he did the Jack Nevin presentation in the beginning.
With the AI of, who was that, the original president?
Yeah, that was the one that puts us all together. Jack Nevin. He's the one that started Cal Lab over.
So there was an old picture just to tell the audience.
We've only been able to find one photo.
And you guys AI'd it and he told like this great story of how proud he is and stuff. That was done well.
It was done really well.
And ruined your panel and everyone did it. And I was like, what's going on?
That was funny. That was fun. But the Nevin one, I thought was huge because that's what this meeting is all about. It's looking to the past and moving to the future. We took someone who started this and we brought him to the future and had him speak to us 100 years later. That was really cool.
Is there any family that looked at that and was like, my God, that's him? Or I'm just curious. I'm like, how?
I'm not sure exactly how we retained the photo, but we, I know we had to do a lot of research to find the photo. Wow. So yeah, and again, there was the only one, the only the one that we found that we know is him. So that was intriguing.
What about some other, do you know any other, like how big was the meeting back then? Where was it? Was it here in Chicago?
I don't know any of that information. It might be a question for Wanda down the road.
Yeah, interesting to get that information.
And even maybe Gorgle or Billy, if we can get Billy in here and have him sit down, he might know some of that information as well.
That would be fascinating to know what it was and what it became.
Yeah, I mean, Just the fact that we've been around for 100 years. I mean, we started in 1927. The NADL did not start until the late 50s, if you think about it. So the NADL is considered the predominant one, but we had our meeting for almost 40 years prior to them.
Already old farts by then.
I know. We were around for 40 years prior to the NADL.
And Cal Lab does not stand for California.
It's Certified Acres Laboratory. Yeah. So, and I'm not exact, it was originally was supposed to be a If I remember correctly, it was basically trading on for partials, if I remember correctly. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty positive. I'm pretty positive that's what it was, because that's where we came up with the acres clasp and all that stuff. So yeah, I have a feeling that has a lot to do with what it was, but then it progressed into this business meeting that it is today. And what's neat about it, again, it's peer-to-peer. Now, there's no propaganda. We don't let vendors get up there and sell their wares. That's forbidden. We peer review all of the presentations so that it does not come across as a commercial. And we want to make sure that whatever anybody's speaking about goes to the masses, not to a certain group. And so I love it. it's unique in that in that way. And that's what that's one of the things I love about it.
Yeah. And that's one of the reasons I love it and why I. That's why people come. 2010, I think was my first year, I figured.
Yeah. And people come here just because they want to hear from their peers. You look at you look at the labs that are in here and how successful some of these labs are. Whether you got BJ Kowalski from Rogue, you've got Bonadent, you've got Reid Nunley. I mean, these are huge laboratories that
is just a fraction.
I mean, I know, and they, these guys, they get to see so much that a lot of laboratories don't and their and their knowledge is just. vast. And to share it amongst that group of people that are trying to find their way or struggling or whatever it might be, to have those voices give them some hope and direction to become a better laboratory. And the fact that these folks are willing to share that information in an open forum like we did, It's remarkable.
And in between in the breaks, that is your best time to hit some of these big hitters with some.
The networking is.
Whatever you want to ask.
Yeah, the networking is great. And that goes for me too. I mean, we're an open book, whether a person wants to do it or not. And that's always been Glidewell's philosophy. And I kind of follow that. You know, it's like, you know, he could tell you how he got to where he was. Yeah. It's up to you whether or not you follow those footsteps and do that. And most people won't. Most people don't have the drive that he had. And so that's where Glidewell really set himself apart. But the same thing is the same with all these other folks, Jim at Ottawa or whatever. I mean, he's in a rural community and he's got 400 employees.
It's like, Have you ever been there?
I have not, but I heard it's in the middle of nowhere. It's in the middle of nowhere. It's like, well, okay, where do you find your employees and how do you train them and how do you keep them? it is. And so for them to be as large as they are, and again, for Jim to share the information that he does, he's just a remarkable human being.
No one's relocating to Ottawa. You know what I mean? There's no drive there.
No, you know, it's basically okay. I can bale hay or I can go to work at Ottawa Dental Lab.
I think they're the largest. I wouldn't doubt that at all.
I wouldn't doubt that at all. They keep that city running. Yeah. So.
Awesome, Jeff. I appreciate it, man. Always love having you on.
Well, thank you. It's been a it's been a couple years. It was great.
Yeah. And I'm sure you're going to be a part of it for years to come.
I've enjoyed it and I love the camaraderie with all the other people on the board. They're just the greatest people and I learned so much from them and I'm humbled to be. basically with them in their presence because they're far better people than I am and I just, I love them all.
Well, we got to keep you here to keep Barb in line. So there you go. There you go.
All right, my friend. You bet it. No worries.
Do this. All right.
Is this position correctly? It's perfect. Okay.
You can hear us?
I can hear you. I feel like I'm in a helicopter.
Yeah, I know. That's how we both feel.
Love it.
Just be like sexy.
Yes. Just get the deeper voice.
I need your name tag.
Flip it around. Where are you from? Speaker. Yeah, baby. High five on the female.
That's right. Newell.
Newell.
Yeah. Nice.
Newell. Newell. April. Newell.
Newell. That's awesome. That's it. I think he can handle that.
OK. LMP Lab Day. On stage. Josh Williams, our good friend from GPS Digital, RBD. He's our new manager, by the way. This is now the second person he's brought to you.
He's our new manager. I like that.
Yeah, it's on page, Josh. Calm down. He brings us April Newell. And I said, does she work with you too? And he goes, no, she sells the printers, the 3D printers.
Yeah, but it still requires a lot of patience. Josh is a special one.
We love him.
He wears flip flops in Chicago. I knew it.
I knew it about that. How the hell did I hear about that? He wore flip flops in Denver when I had to meet him there and there was snow on the ground.
Why did you have to meet him in Denver? Was it like a court order?
It was a court order. No, he. When the restraining order wore off, we decided to reconnect. No, I sold him the newest generation of metal printers that he's working with now. So he upgraded from his previous system and we had them running live in Denver and it's just a cool facility.
Oh, he went to go check them out.
He went to go check them out, yeah. So I showed him around. He got to see that one and, you know, our massive units that print, you know, jet engine parts and it's just, it's a really cool experience. So any opportunity to get up there, we take.
We're going to get into all this. Do you sell printers, metal printers to outside dental?
I sell resin, plastics, and metal printers to dental. So we do 3D systems. We have every kind of printer you can imagine. So I directly work for a reseller.
But it's not all dental.
It is not all dental. It's medical, industrial, and dental, but my background is dental, so I only focus on dental.
All right.
Tell us about your background.
Okay, where do we start?
Let's go way back.
When I was three years old.
I was three years old too.
It got ingrained in you. Yeah. So I've actually, I've been in the dental field for 23 years now. I was a dental hygienist for about 15 of those and then transitioned into some DSO operation stuff and then with the ultimate goal of going into additive sales. So that was the target all along. I absolutely love it. It's where my heart is at. My biggest sales? Dentistry.
Or dentistry.
It's like quicksand. You guys know this. You do it and you're stuck. But for life. And my thing with hygiene was I loved the people. I loved those relationships and the education aspect. So I just transferred those behaviors over into sales. And so my clients now are my patients. I was selling treatment plans at DSO. So when you're when you're getting into sales, you have to show someone
that you can sell a $20,000 case
or a free unit fridge.
So now we're, you know, that's no joke.
It is no joke. Absolutely not.
And often for sales at a DSO to the patient. Is that what you're talking about? Am I really that confused?
Yeah. So let's say you need a full All-in-X implant case. And you thought that was easier than cleaning teeth? No, that was my bridge. I had to find something that showed I could sell to get a sales job. So treatment plan, presentation was the Ave. that got me there.
Yep. And how long did you do that for?
I did that for about 2 1/2 years and then really started targeting the additive world. I actually narrowed it down two 3D systems resellers. That's I was very specific. I knew I wanted additive and I knew I wanted additive.
Yeah, explain that.
It's just cool. I mean, first of all, I had no idea how big of an opportunity additive was and how big of a world it was. I, you know, my dental offices here and there had small desktop units and it was just cool. I had no idea that we had.
Did you have a hobby printer at home to play with? No.
I just knew. I just knew. Look, I'm a dental hygienist. I'm working circles around everyone, but my paycheck looks the same. I'm caring for people, my heart's in it, but it's frustrating knowing that I'm putting twice the effort and getting compensated exactly what they are. So sales was the way that I could put my heart and soul into something and my efforts were equally reflected.
Yeah, you get compensated.
Exactly. So when I was targeting which aspect I wanted to attempt to be an expert in, I didn't want to sell profy paste. I didn't want to sell napkins. I wanted to sell cool tech that wasn't going anywhere. And that's all.
What about latex gloves? That didn't excite you?
Know, for a For a moment, it did snap them the novelty wears off quickly.
So, how long ago was this? Was 3D printing huge? I mean, how long have you been doing this?
Yeah, so this is my fifth year with the company, and it took me... It was about 2 1/2 years of planning and targeting to get into that. So it was a long road and I absolutely am where I want to be.
Meaning what you do, like look at different companies and try to figure out what was your best fit for you.
That is exactly it. targeting the type of additive, well, figuring out additive in the 1st place, then targeting the type of additive, then narrowing it down to company. I was very, very specific with that, and it paid off. I truly have a passion and a belief in what I sell, and I'm putting these into offices of people that I really genuinely care about, so that matters. I want them to succeed with that.
So you look at all these 3D printing companies, what stood out with 3D systems?
The longevity. They invented 3D printing in the 80s. They were the founders. Yeah.
What were they printing in the 80s?
So the first printer was called a figure 4. So this is really cool. So like WD-40, everyone knows. That got its name because it's water displacement solution number 40. The guy who invented it took 39 times and finally the 40. So Chuck Hull went through a lot of ideas and Figure 4 was his launch printer. Well, it was called Figure 4 and it's still around today, obviously a newer iteration of it. because it was the 4th.
Or you know.
It was like the WD-40. It was the 4th iteration. It's what worked. And so now it's still called Figure 4 today.
What happened to the other three? Were they just like terrible?
They just kept rounding out.
Exactly.
And what's this first printer print?
So the first thing he printed, I'm going, I'm not going to name it properly, but it was essentially, it was like an optic, either a surgical optic.
Just lie to us, we will know.
A little plastic part. Oh yeah, okay, there you go.
That'll work.
There you go. It's called an optic cup or something like that. I'm messing that up a little bit, but it's something for medical, absolutely. And he's actually, he got an award I think it was three years ago from President Biden for his research on 3D printing an actual human lung. And reports are they're making progress on that. Reports are coming out. It is live replicated tissue. He's in his 80s now. He's still cranking. And I'm actually I'm actually going to get to meet him next week. And I'm fangirling about it.
I was fangirling today, too. Very excited. Oh, my God. So cool.
Okay, so it all starts with a little plastic medical cup or whatever you called it. Where does it go from there? I mean, Was the industry not, was medical not welcoming enough to grow it? I mean, how did he get into everything else?
Well, it's just still unknown territory. I mean, you keep playing with it until you, have to have a problem to come up with a solution, right? So once we figured out this technology existed, well, let's see where we can fit it into place. Dentistry was probably the last fit when we're looking at industrial medical and dental, just because every part you print is its own individual part. You're not prototyping. Everything is customized. And And it went from printing simple things like models to now obviously we can do anything in the world we want with it. So yeah, it just expanded based on need. Wow.
So what was the first dental printer?
I think it was the, well, you know what? I actually don't know which model was the first dental printer because they were kind of experimental. Models were the first dental thing they printed. Obviously that doesn't require any biocompatibility. That opened an entire another complicated facet to it. So that was a simple shoe in and that was likely an industrial printer that converted over.
Oh, you think it was already in another industry?
I do. I don't think it was invented initially for dentistry. I think it found a place in dentistry and that allowed the channel to grow from there.
Interesting.
So what do you do?
Go ahead. No, go for it.
Do you just keep researching? and researching and researching to stay caught up with everything they're doing.
Well, dentistry, you have to, and dentistry, no, I bring problems to them.
I was going to say that.
I am the squeaky wheel. When I don't think something's working as efficiently as it could, or I hear of someone doing something differently that I like better, I bring those to them. I'm never their yes man, because that's not how you grow. So, yeah, we have to do that. I can only imagine. I can only imagine. I am so glad that I don't work with me. I just know. Same thing.
I'm glad I don't work with Elvis.
But that's my clients are, like I said, I treat them like they were my patients and I listen to them and I stay in touch with them. And that's how we learn and that's how we're better.
So what are some problems that they come to you about and you're like, okay, I know there's a fix for this. Is it too thick, too thin? What? You know, it's material is what I'm saying.
It's interesting.
Things don't fit.
No, we don't have we don't have those issues. It's almost more of a. I'm growing, how do I adapt this to my growth?
I love that.
So it's typically not problems with the part or the component or the printer. It's how do I get bigger?
How do I use it in my business?
Exactly. Yep.
Nice. So models, what was next?
I don't know.
Were you here? Were you there during these days or?
I was alive during these days.
I don't know.
I am actually the same exact age as dental printing. No, I, so it's...
Were you 3D printed yourself?
Yes.
Oh.
Yes, I was.
I think you looked everywhere.
Yes. Very, very short layer height, obviously. Yeah, I know. I'm getting more aliasing as we can go, and all of the printing nerds are going to know what I mean. But yeah, so it just evolved. The next thing would have been, and I think biocompatibility barriers cause some things to develop faster than others. Obviously, if it's something you're leaving in the mouth long term, that's going to have different regulations. It's just something that's on the bench that's just adjunct to what you're working on. So I don't know what came out first. I just know once they hit the ground running, they didn't stop.
But Josh is, I mean, he's about metal printing.
Yeah.
Are you the, were you the first to that game or?
No. Were we the first to metal? Yes, we were not the first in Josh's lab. We upgraded him to a system that eliminated a lot of problems that he had previously. And so that's why a lot of my talks are on metals. I sell a lot of dental machines and he has a handful of them, a variation, and it takes more than one. You know, when he's printing partials, for instance, he's printing the flange saddle portions on one of my machines and adhering them to the framework that he printed on another machine.
What, really? He prints the saddles with yours, but he prints the frame with something else.
With my other metal printer, yeah, because what...
Why can't you do them together?
So metal prints with a laser, and it's micro welding metal beads. So that's an entirely different technology than something that's light curing plastics.
Okay.
Wow.
So it's... It's powder, right? It's like a metal powder and a laser. But why do you have to do part of the partial with one and another part with another?
Because they're different materials. So they require different methods of cure.
Got it. Wow. So interesting.
But when we do like a handmade partial, we do it all together because it's all one metal, right?
No, your partial has teeth and gingiva on it.
I thought you meant the metal saddle part.
No, the pink and the white part that we're gluing to it. That, there we go. That makes more sense. I was really confused.
I'm like, he has not had a cocktail.
I know, the day I come up with that machine. We're set.
It's a long day. Okay, got it. So the whole whole framework is in one, the teeth and the resin is in the other, and they what, just click together?
They click like Legos. So the teeth and the resin, or excuse me, the teeth and the gingiva print out as one whole piece. So this printer has multiple heads on it. So it's separate. That's why it's not brittle. You have actual gingival base material and actual tooth material, but are printed together. So it comes out as one solid piece.
So you're not gluing them together.
No. So you've eliminated occlusal issues, you've eliminated labor time, and it's, you know, just a little.
It clicks into the metal framework.
It clicks, yeah. When you design it, the saddle has holes and you put those little options. opposite projections on the little monolithic print.
That was fancy, wasn't it?
It was fancy.
Phrase.
Yeah, exactly.
Talk additive to me.
So you are speaking more or are you done?
More tomorrow? I am done. I have meetings all morning tomorrow.
What do you speak about? This is like non-stop, right? Yeah.
I mainly speak about metals. It gets interesting because I am a reseller for 3D systems. I'm the only one who can sell metals. So if I speak about another machine that other people can sell, that's kind of pulling all of the attention to 1 reseller and it's kind of not fair to the other resellers, but I'm the only one who can handle metals. So all of my talks are based on metals so that it's not interfering with, you know, the highlight being on anyone else.
Awesome. So you sell the printers?
Yes.
Where do they come from? Where are they manufactured?
So our company is completely US-based. They practice internationally. They sell internationally, service internationally. When they bought a facility, they bought some earlier components. They've done a lot of acquisitions over the years, buy things that someone almost got right and make it better. And that's kind of what they did with this version of metal printing. I don't know the name of the base company, but they had some components that we knew we could launch really successfully. So we bought the rights to all of those. And it came with a massive facility in France. So instead of completely converting everything over, since we have an international presence, we assemble them in France and then ship them here. However, we're based here. It just made more financial sense to keep that assembly component there. So all of our parts, all of our materials, all of our people, everything is in the US. We just build it there, put it together and ship it here. Wow.
And how big are these machines?
Picture like a double door refrigerator.
All right.
That's pretty good. It's pretty big.
Yeah.
Do you think tabletop metal printing will ever be here?
I think there's going to be a market for it. I actually do know that it is here. I heard word of that the other day. I don't know if it's an experimental phase right now or if it's fully launching. That I'm gonna wear of.
When you say here, do you mean in the States or at LMUS?
Well, I think both.
Oh, you think it's here in the US?
I don't know that I'm at Liberty to completely, but yeah, I have. I do know that is in the works, whether it's launched yet or not. But The thing with metals is you grow. You grow really fast with metals. And so that's one of the hang-ups is people get a smaller machine thinking, oh, I only need 4 or so frames here and there. Before you know it, all of your buddies know you're printing and they're coming to you. And now you have to buy a second printer. Now you have two service contracts.
I think every time I talk to Josh, he's got a new one. Exactly.
So you just grow in metals. You cannot invest in metals based on what your production today is. And that's going to be the hang-up with a smaller unit, I believe.
So what sort of metals do you print? Is it just like our old alloys, chrome cobalt? Pretty much.
It's a variation of it, yeah. So chrome cobalt, stainless steel, and titanium. Now with our other larger industrial printers, we have other metals that we print. Could you print precious metals? Sure, but you can't afford to buy a kilogram of gold powder. It's just not economical.
You don't have that laying around.
No, I'm not going to tell you why it is. How about that?
Why wouldn't be here right now? That would be really nice.
So yeah, it's there are variations and there's always new ones coming out. So that's why the lasers that we put even in the smaller dental printers are the same lasers as in our $2 million printers. Because if something new comes out next year.
Do you know how much they are?
Oh, with the big one. Oh, they get more than that. Absolutely.
Are you talking about the ones for like automotives?
Yeah, I'm not talking about the dental ones, but you're future-proof by having that large kind of oversized laser. If something comes out that requires more wattage, you've got it.
I always I was always understanding that titanium was very dangerous to.
No, all metal's explosive. So what you do is you pump in gas into the chamber and that rids oxygen. Once oxygen is out of that chamber, nothing can explode anymore. So you don't, I mean, you have to house it reasonably. You're not going to, you know, house it where you have a lightning pole sticking out of the middle of the storage shed. So it's, there is a lot of- Can I keep it in the trunk of my car? I mean, so you probably shouldn't, but I'm just never going to ride with you. So, this particular printer, everything happens inside the printer. You don't have to expose yourself to metal. You're not exposing yourself to any of the gas. So, the fears that used to be... used to be, if that makes sense. Love that statement.
I just thought of that.
Just came out right now. It's a t-shirt, yeah.
Trademarked. What is the gas that gets rid of the oxygen?
Either argon or nitrogen, depending on what metal you're using or your atmosphere. Certain gases react better. Like, you know, if I have the same printer in someone's printer in Louisiana where it's very hot and humid, that gas is going to react differently than someone who's housing it in a very dry, modern environment. So we think of all those things and we do all of that thought for you. You're not having to figure that out. But those play into account. So long story short, either argon or nitrogen. If you're printing titanium, it has to be argon.
Okay. I'm going to act like I know what that means.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Post-processing. I was always surprised when we first talked to Josh, you know, comes out of the printer, there's still a lot that has to happen. I mean, it has to get, what's it called, annealed?
Yes, annealed. But there's a difference. Our printer only requires it to be annealed for 30 minutes, whereas typically printers require it to be annealed for an hour and a half to three hours. That's where the bottleneck comes in. So when people try to implement dual lasers, I mean, we have printers with six lasers. It wasn't It wasn't made for small parts. Lasers can't fire in the same spot at the same time. It was made for large components. So now you have twice the soot, twice the expense, twice the potential for laser failure. You're not getting twice the print time. You're getting faster print time, but then you just have to put it in an annealing oven for two hours. And then it takes longer to polish because it's not a dense part because they used a blade recoder. So there are other factors to consider other than just print time. For instance, here's Josh's. He's going to print that in 5 1/2 hours, you know, 20 frames, whatever it may be. He's going to spend 15 minutes, or excuse me, it's going to be in the annealing oven for 30 minutes. He's going to spend 15 minutes flipping the machine. Typically that takes an hour. And he's only going to spend 20 minutes polishing it because he has a very dense, smooth surface. So if someone prints in four hours, great, you're faster. Well, it has to anneal for an hour and a half. And then it has to cool for another hour. So now It's 2 1/2 hours before you can move to the next stage. It takes an hour to flip the machine, and it takes a full hour to polish to get it ready for the next print. So this printer, you don't have to level a blade, you don't have to change a blade. It auto levels, it auto sets, and because you don't lose the gas that you've pumped in, so we just talked about the gas.
Pumping.
All that in to get rid of the oxygen, you open the front of the printer, all that rushes out when you go to remove the plate. Well, this has an airlock system. You only remove the build plate. You preserve 98% of that inert environment that you just paid to pump gas in and took the time to pump gas in.
How long does that last?
So we have a filtration system that filters it. So you get a lot of life out of it, but that's your largest consumable, typically with.
Are you sure these machines aren't $2 million? They sound like they should be.
They should be. They're not. They're not.
That's insane all that stuff that goes on.
Yeah, it's a lot, but that's what we think about. The person implementing it doesn't have to think about that. We put that in place for them. We set that up. You just tell me you want to print, you want to print successfully. We do all of that. So it's.
Okay to not think I'm smart enough to get into metal printing because you'll do all that thinking for me.
Yes.
Interesting. What about implant bars? Will those be printed?
Yeah, we're printing them now.
Shut up.
Yeah, that's easy.
Interesting.
I mean, it doesn't matter what you give it. has the accuracy to do it. And as long as it's a happy STL, it's going to spit out what you ask.
Yeah, I got a bunch of key chains he made for us.
Yeah.
So how do people get a hold of you?
They can text me. They can e-mail me. My number is 904-412-9519. And my e-mail is April at nota3d.com. That's N-O-T-A 3D. I'm on LinkedIn. I, you know, even if even if you're just curious, I'm very stalkable and stalking is flattering. I just think, I mean, if everyone married their stalker, can you imagine the level of dedication?
Yeah, actually, I can.
That's been there, done that.
Well, thank you.
Thank you guys. This was great.
Thank you guys.
I love learning about this stuff.
I know. We just shut Ivoclar down. Just saying.
Are they done here?
Yes.
Oh, snap.
Yeah. We're the last one. Absolutely. You guys are awesome. All right. You got it. Have a good one. Have a good one.
Perfect. So this is super exciting. We're at the LMT Lab Day Chicago 2026. Yes. I'm here at the far ballroom. Good friend of ours, Randy Renstrom from the Renstrom Dental Lab. She brought a friend up.
She brought a technician on.
Yeah.
Actually, You've been sitting here for 10 minutes, so thank you. And I kept eyeballing you and going kind of waving. And so thank you for waiting. We appreciate it. Welcome. Welcome to the show.
What's your name again? I'm sorry.
My name is Joey Hunter.
Joey.
Yes.
Oh, nice.
Baby kangaroo.
Awesome. I love it. Is that what you're named after?
No.
Oh, I was excited. I was like, a baby kangaroo.
So I got to see the diamonds. I'm seeing some diamonds on our cuspid. Oh, wow. The gems. Is that like... How does that happen?
They're stuck on with GC.
Where the hell did you get that?
I just do it at home.
That's awesome.
You're in the mirror gluing them on yourself.
I want to do that. LED light.
Wow, that's brilliant. I've never seen that before.
Yeah.
So tell us your salary, Joey. How did you get into this industry?
In way back in 1996, I was looking for a job and I saw an ad in a local newspaper, a local area newspaper, and it asked if anybody was a starving artist, is what--?
That's what it said.
Yeah. Are you a starving artist? Would you like to learn hands-on, a new career hands-on?
And so-- Are you desperate?
Pretty much. That's what the ad said. Was the lab desperate? So I did.
So you entered the ad.
And I started At the lab, it was Excel Dental Studios, which is a different lab now, but they started me on basic custom trays, models.
Yeah, that's all the fun stuff, huh? But when you learn, right, your hands learn with them.
Yeah, yeah, so it was, I mean, them translating it, you know, trying to tell me how much artistic ability it takes to create a denture. And it's so true, most people don't know. So I was in it for the long haul. I liked it, it was hands-on. And, you know, 30 years later, here I am.
How hard was it an adjustment for you in being trained by somebody? For those of you that aren't, I'm talking about, may I say because you're deaf? Yeah, How hard is that to learn and create for you or how hard was it?
Because I'm deaf, did you say? Yes. I actually am late deafened adult.
Oh.
So back then I could hear. Wow.
Interesting.
So I lost my hearing over my career. So like when I started in the dental lab industry, I was 20, early 20s, I started losing my hearing in my late 20s. So I've been wearing hearing aids and then...
Okay, that makes sense.
Yeah, so just constantly losing my hearing. And not having hearing protection in the lab is quite... Yeah, it's very important because it contributed to my hearing loss too.
Really.
High speeds.
Probably.
Yeah.
Probably. I mean, I remember all the noises.
Do you miss them?
No, I do not. Especially the error. Arrows, yeah. Yep. All.
Right, so you answered the ad, you went to that company, and then how did your career evolve from there?
From that, I've been a removable technician most of my career. I've worked at you know, doing, you know, setups, like every step, you work your way up in each area of removals and I can do all the analog. This is the problem now, you know, because I'm kind of old. Not really. I feel like seeing all this is just crazy because I'm just such an analog technician and it's overwhelming. But I know all the analog steps.
But you're still doing analog at Renstrom, right?
I am. Yeah, I am. I mean, they're doing digital, but I'm actually... Here's a quick story about Renstrom. They wanted to get me in their lab, so they just hired me for whatever they had open.
So good people right there.
I'm being underutilized right now. I was just talking with Randy.
Yeah.
You know, so I've been at Renstrom like a year and a half now.
They found you. They came for you.
Well, I. Removable technicians are rare.
I was.
Floating in labs in the area, you know, and finally I'm just like, I'm going, I'm going there, you know. Wow.
Yeah. And you do all steps in removable.
I can, yes.
Yeah, setups, finish, everything. What do you enjoy the most?
In removable, I enjoy finishing.
Really.
Yeah.
Really? Because you like grinding or- The final, I love it. The.
Grinding, the, not polishing, come on. Yeah, I know that. Nobody likes polishing. The one thing that I hate, I actually hate setting teeth.
Really.
Because that's honest. I don't know. I know. It's.
So you really like to do it?
It's fine, but it's not as enjoyable as finishing, waxing. I love waxing.
Oh, interesting.
The carving, the, you know, the decorative part of it.
Yeah.
That's my favorite.
So when you say you're being underutilized, do you want more work or do you want different work? Like what?
Oh, I'm, I can, because I'm right now I'm actually an ortho. Oh, wow.
Bending wire.
Yep. Dang. And night guards, ortho. I'm having a lot of fun with the artistic ability of making, you know, Holly retainers.
Oh yeah.
You know, the different colors and things like that. But I'm enjoying that part of it, but I do like that. I do miss removables, though.
Yeah.
So what's your ultimate goal? Do you want to go back into removables, get into digital?
I do. I do want to go into removables. I don't I know if digital, I'm gonna have to. I mean, it's inevitable that everybody needs to learn digital.
You still get to polish.
I wrap my, yeah.
I mean, I haven't found a good enough place yet.
That's for sure. That's true.
That's the one step that is constant in both polishing.
Yep. So true.
In your journey, I mean, did you get a chance to do all the other removables? frameworks, partials, flexibles.
Yes, I do it all.
Wow.
When I was working at a lab and I was actually learning how to wax cast metal frameworks, and then they actually moved locations and then started outsourcing.
Yeah.
You know, so.
Very common.
Yeah.
And so I'm like, oh, I don't get to learn that. But now it's just like, it's an ancient art.
It is.
Right now. And it's like.
I'm amazed that you're very utilized.
It's very true though. Think about removable and you have a lot of older technicians and they're taking all of that knowledge with them. You can't find one if you're a lab. It's just, and then I personally, I wouldn't want to go digital. So I kind of sense how you're feeling about that. It would be hard for me to turn myself into a digital technician at this point in my life. I guess that's what makes sense.
You feel that?
Yeah.
But you sort of had too, right?
Yeah, a little bit. I mean, with the milling and all of that, but digital, like working the computer and designing cases, I think would be hard for me.
Yeah, like it's not very hands-on. You're just moving a mouse around, you know, and it's not... as creative as hands-on. I would miss that going digital.
Yeah. So this is your first time at Lab Day?
Yes, tell us about that.
How could you be in the industry for 30 some odd years and never come to Lab Day? And you've been up in that Minnesota area the whole time?
Yes.
And what a joy for you to be here, right?
It is exciting.
What do you think?
It's really, really overwhelming.
Overwhelming, yeah.
And I wish I would have come before because I could have seen what's changed. Oh, that's a really good point.
Yeah.
Because like, I'm so in awe at all this digital process and how quick things are and the robotics, you know? And then I'm like, I'm like a dying breed, you know? I mean, there's probably a lot of people that say that, yes, Are you an analog digital?
Honestly, yeah, I mean, yeah.
Somebody once said, What's the average age of a removable technician?
It's like 60.
No, they said dead.
Oh, that's horrible.
Oh my gosh, yeah, it's not... It's the nicest thing, but it's an older group. And no one's learning the analog as much as they should.
We're trying to force younger people into it. Definitely talk about it on our podcast a lot. Hope they get the word out that there's a need for that, for the patient. That knowledge. So I mean, I don't care if it's analog or digital. I mean, there's going to be space for both. I don't think analog will ever completely go away.
I don't understand. like I said, I was doing some ortho and we have just incorporated printing bands and doing the metal struts and digital screws, things like that. And I'm like, oh, I don't need to bend all that wire anymore. I'm like, what? I love wire bending. I do like wire bending.
You know, people say there's a zen to it.
Oh, I like that.
I don't know.
That you totally like just vibe on it.
Yeah, I do like it a lot.
I get frustrated. I'm like,.
You get like, this wire. This is my crush. I got to bend this sucker. Or then there's the soft touch, right?
During my career, too, I've always been the person that people will come to if they've jacked something. Metal frameworks aren't seating, and I'm like, oh, I see what you did. I'm afraid of that. Yeah, I could just like unbend a metal framework, I could fix wires, I'm, yeah. That's a gift.
Seriously. That's a gift.
Have you thought about getting into education and educating this next group?
Oh, no, I haven't.
You should. You have a lot of knowledge.
Yes.
That computers aren't going to show, you know?
Right. That's true. That's true.
Is Renstrom utilizing you for education?
They are not.
Because I will talk to Scott. They are now.
I will talk to Scott and Randy right now.
No, I think that, because I know they do do a lot of that, with my hearing loss, one-on-one, I can do really well with, and I got the interpreter because I knew it was just gonna be, there's a lot of noise, a lot of people, I have a little, like a tiny bit of hearing, so I know if there's a little bit of... of noise. Like once in a while I get, I'm like, oh, somebody just did an air hose or, you know, but it's, but it's like this, like super tiny. But like education would be, I think, pretty easy if it's one-on-one or a small group of people right in front of me where I could read lips.
Yep.
Yeah.
Wow.
I'll talk to Scott later.
Yeah.
Thanks. I appreciate that.
Absolutely.
What is your, what is your favorite thing so far from this event that you've enjoyed? other than us, right? Yeah, so it's kind of fun.
Randy's always talking about his voices from the bench, and I know that you've been at other industry things that I have actually never listened to one or actually, I'm sorry, read the subtitles of one yet.
Yeah, that's fair.
So I will have to do that now. I wonder how good they are.
We have to let you know how good the subtitles are.
I will.
Do you have them?
Yeah, it's usually AI, so a lot of times it's picks up different things. Like in our morning meeting we have every day at Rand's Drum, I hold my phone up, and Randy has a nice loud voice. So it picks up everything. There's other people that will talk. Scott, his voice doesn't get picked up very well. And it comes up with swears. And I'm like, I know he did not say that. He did not say he did.
So your favorite thing?
My favorite thing here has just than being here because it's my first time.
So it's like all new, filling your brain.
I mean, I'm familiar with digital, but just seeing every single thing that can be digital is just truly overwhelming. It's amazing and makes me feel old.
It opens up your brain, though, to everything that's happening. And you're just like, wow.
It really does.
I can't believe all of this. And then next year when you come, it's going to evolve even more.
Yeah. So I'm already looking forward to coming to next year's because I'm familiar. It was really overwhelming because I'm not familiar. I've got interpreters following me. Yeah. But knowing that I can have that, have that accessibility, I'm super grateful. Jenny Abbott Cole is the person who lined him up for me, and I'm just, I know there's a lot of deaf techs out there.
Yeah.
That isolate. I know a lot of older ones have low hearing because of the noise in the lab.
Yeah, I have one in our removable department at night. Okay.
And I think knowing that you're allowed to have the accessibility that you need to participate.
Yeah.
It's that in itself is overwhelming and it just it kind of it gets me warm and fuzzy inside because I really appreciate being here.
So LMT provided you the interpreters.
Yes.
Thanks, Judy.
And who else did you say?
Jenny.
Jenny. She's the director of the conference.
Yeah, they're amazing.
I didn't even know that was an option. You know what I mean?
I didn't either. I asked Randy. Randy contacted somebody and they made it happen.
It's pretty special.
They're great people.
I can see where that'd make you warm and fuzzy.
Yeah, and I mean, working for Renstrom is a great... lab to work for. They're very inclusive and they're very, the culture is great. I know you've probably heard from other people that you've talked to. Oh yes.
Don't get me wrong, I think Randy and Scott are some of the most amazing people that I know.
For sure.
I mean, even outside of this industry, just in general, they're just good people that care about their employees, which is so huge.
Yeah, and being there at this point in my career, this late in my career, being at this lab, after being at different labs, which were increasingly getting a little bit better and better. I mean, Rundstrom's the pinnacle of my career, of the lab that I'm at, because of the culture.
That's awesome. Yeah. It's palpable.
So great.
Yep. Good people. Well, thank you.
Thank you so much, Joey.
Thank you. It was nice of you.
I love it. Thank you so much for sitting down and talk to you soon.
Yeah. See you next year. A big thanks to everyone that joined us to record in Chicago. I am actually really sorry I didn't talk to Jeff, but I know Jeff and I'm hoping that he was positive, but it was nice to hear what he really thought about me on stage. Har har. I actually really appreciate all the help that he has given me in the few years and I hope to do the same to BJ. However, I'm sure he's not going to need much help, but it's like 4 years away all this. I know.
You have some time to. be ready to help other people.
Yeah, no doubt. It was nice to meet somebody as passionate as April and her 3D printers. And guys, with support like her, why would you not check out Noda3D when you're looking at your next purchase? And of course, what more can we say about Joey? Other than you guys, she needs to share more of her knowledge with technicians, and there's nobody better than Renstrom to help her do that. Thanks again, guys, from Ivaclar for giving us the space to capture these great conversations. Everybody, go give Ivaclar some love. It was pretty awesome. Thank you.
Yeah. All right, everybody. That's all we got for you. We got more conversations from Chicago next week. So we'll talk to you then. Have a good one.
Yay. See ya. Have a great week. Happy March. Eat some peeps. Peeps? Peeps. P-E-E-P-S's. The marshmallow bunnies, Elvis. Come on.
That's April.
It's March and they're everywhere. You must eat them.
Gross. Bye. Did you just kill a snake? 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.