Michael Wandling CDT
Special guest
Michael began his dental laboratory career in 2001 as a fixed department technician. Over the years, he has served in many different roles including Fixed Production Manager and Director of Training and Education. Michael currently serves as the Operations Manager for Summit-Horizon Dental Laboratory, overseeing the daily operations of both traditional and digital workflows.
In 2010, Michael received his first CDT certification in Crown and Bridge. Since then, he has added multiple CDT certifications in Ceramics, Implants, Complete Dentures and Digital Workflow. Michael’s dedication to continuous learning has led him to become a Master CDT. A title which is held by less than 50 certified technicians worldwide.
Michael’s passion for dental technology has opened up the opportunity for him to get involved with the National Board for Certification. He serves on the NBC Board of Trustees and is both a mentor and advocate for certification in the dental laboratory community. Michael was honored as the recipient of the 2025 CDT of the Year award for his dedication to the industry, contribution to certification, and his role in helping shape the future of dental technology.
Michael Wandling CDT has been a guest on 2 episodes.
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442: Michael Wandling: The Long Road to CDT of the Year
September 14th, 2026 | 1 hr 12 mins
2025 cdt of the year, aidite, barb, bruxzir, cad cam, career growth, cdt, cdt certification, cdt exam, cdt exam preparation, cdt practical exam, cdt written exam, ceramics, certified dental technician, complete dentures, continuing education, crown and bridge, crown and bridge technician, dental cad cam, dental ceramics, dental certification, dental certification exam, dental education, dental implant certification, dental implants, dental industry, dental industry podcast, dental lab, dental lab community, dental lab culture, dental lab leadership, dental lab management, dental lab mentoring, dental lab owner, dental lab podcast, dental lab success, dental lab training, dental lab workflow, dental laboratory, dental laboratory careers, dental laboratory education, dental laboratory industry, dental laboratory leadership, dental laboratory podcast, dental laboratory standards, dental materials, dental milling, dental podcast, dental tech podcast, dental technician, dental technician career, dental technician education, dental technician success, dental technology, dental technology career, dental technology education, dental technology industry, dental training, dental zirconia, digital dental laboratory, digital dentistry, digital workflow, elvis dahl, fixed dentistry, giving back to the industry, horizon digital, implant cdt, implant dentistry, keller dental laboratory, key opinion leader, kol, lab owner, laboratory innovation, laboratory management, leadership, lifelong learning, master cdt, mentorship, mike wandling, national board for certification, nbc, nbc exams, production management, professional development, prozir ultra, quality assurance, quality control, removable dentistry, study clubs, summit horizon dental laboratory, technician development, technician training, vftb, voices from the bench, zirconia
This week on Voices From the Bench, we finally sit down with the 2025 CDT of the Year, Mike Wandling! Mike shares his journey from starting as a dental technician in 2001 to becoming an educator, Master CDT, examiner, NBC Board member, lab owner, and now Operations Manager at Summit Horizon Dental Laboratory. We talk certification, education, the future of the CDT program, his “A-Team” partnership with Barb, and what it means to give back to the dental laboratory industry.
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313: Lab Day Chicago 2024 Act 1 with Michael Wandling, Vinod Dudhat, Brian Johns, and Rob Fletcher
March 25th, 2024 | 1 hr 18 mins
3shape, a team, agriculture, all-on-x, cal-lab, cdt, change, chicago, composite, compromise, dental, die trimming, digital cdt, examiner, fixed, full arch, glidewell, health care, india, instagram, ivoclar, ivotion, japanese automotive, lab day, laboratory, leadership, lean, legos, line balance, manufacturing, master, nbc, one piece flow, open forum, photogrammetry, pm7, podcast, scan bodies, task force, technician, test, the toyota way, voices from the bench, youtube
This week starts all the conversations that Elvis and Barb got while in the Ivoclar Ballroom at LMT Lab Day Chicago. This week brings Michael Wandling, Vinod Dudhat, Brian Johns, and Rob Fletcher.