Voices from The Bench

438: Shawn Nowak & Jude Grayson: What Does a Karate Guy Know About Dental Labs?

August 17th, 2026  |  1 hr 4 mins

3d printing, 3d printing dental laboratory, actionable advice, adaptability, adapting, adapting to technology, ai, ai dental laboratory, ai in dental labs, ai in dentistry, artificial intelligence, automation, barb, board breaking, breakout session, business adaptability, business challenges, business coach, business coaching, business coaching for dental labs, business decisions, business development, business education, business evolution, business failure, business growth, business growth strategy, business innovation, business leadership, business lessons, business lessons from karate, business mindset, business mindset for dental labs, business opportunities, business opportunity, business performance, business pivot, business planning, business resilience, business strategy, business success, business transformation, calculated risk, change for dental labs, change management, coach, coaching, coaching mindset, company culture, competing on value, competition, competition and 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Shawn Nowak from Nowak Dental Supplies joins Elvis and Barb to talk about NOLA LabFest and the unexpected connection between martial arts and the dental laboratory industry with speaker Jude Grayson. They discuss leadership, business, knowing when to pivot, and how lessons from competition and martial arts can help lab owners navigate a rapidly changing industry. Plus, Shawn gives a preview of what’s coming to NOLA LabFest, including education, networking, and plenty of New Orleans fun.

Episode 431: exocad Insights 2026 Part 5: Beth Collington, Josh Jakson, & Robert Norton

June 29th, 2026  |  56 mins 10 secs

3d design, 3d modeling, advanced dental technology, advanced workflows, ai crown, ai dentistry, ai in dental labs, ai-assisted dentistry, ai-powered design, artificial intelligence, automotive parts design, bench talk, beth collington, cad design, cad designer, cad workflow, cad/cam, clinicians, continuing education, creative cad applications, crown and bridge, crown design, crown finalization, crown production, custom grills, custom jewelry, custom restorations, dental automation, dental business, dental cad, dental cad community, dental cad experts, dental cad software, dental cad training, dental collaboration, dental community, dental conference, dental craftsmanship, dental design, dental design innovation, dental design software, dental design techniques, dental discussion, dental education, dental educators, dental engineering, dental expertise, dental future, dental industry, dental industry leaders, dental industry podcast, dental innovation, dental innovation summit, dental jewelry, dental lab, dental lab future, dental lab professionals, dental lab technology, dental laboratory, dental laboratory management, dental laboratory podcast, dental laboratory workflows, dental leadership, dental manufacturing, dental manufacturing technology, dental podcast, dental professionals, dental prosthetics, dental restorations, dental scanning, dental software, dental software experts, dental software innovation, dental software platform, dental software training, dental software updates, dental solutions, dental technician, dental technician life, dental technician training, dental technology, dental technology conference, dental technology education, dental technology experts, dental technology trends, dental trends, dental workflow efficiency, dental workflow management, dental workflow solutions, dental workflows, digital dental education, digital dental laboratory, digital dental revolution, digital dental solutions, digital dentistry, digital dentistry podcast, digital design solutions, digital impressions, digital lab, digital manufacturing, digital prosthetics, digital restoration design, digital solutions, digital tools, digital transformation, digital workflows, emerging technology, exocad, exocad america, exocad community, exocad ecosystem, exocad innovations, exocad insights, exocad training, exocad users, exocad users meeting, exohub, freeform design, future of dentistry, future-ready dentistry, industry insights, industry leaders, industry networking, innovation in dentistry, intraoral scanning, josh jackson, lab technology, lab-to-clinic communication, laboratory best practices, laboratory conversations, laboratory digital transformation., laboratory education, laboratory education and training, laboratory efficiency, laboratory excellence, laboratory growth, laboratory innovation, laboratory management, laboratory operations, laboratory perspective, laboratory productivity, laboratory support, laboratory technicians, laboratory technology, laboratory technology trends, mallorca, mallorca conference, modern dental laboratory, modern dentistry, next generation dentistry, podcast, production laboratory, production workflows, professional development, restorative dentistry, restorative technology, restorative workflows, robert norton, software development, software flexibility, technician education, technician insights, technician perspective, technician training, technician-led innovation, technology adoption, technology and dentistry, technology in dentistry, vftb, voices from the bench, workflow automation, workflow improvements, workflow integration, workflow optimization, workflow technology

While at Exocad Insights in Mallorca, Elvis and Barb catch up with Beth Collington, President of Exocad America, to discuss the continued growth of digital dentistry, the importance of education, and how Exocad is helping make digital workflows more accessible across the industry.

Then Josh Jackson and Robert Norton join the conversation to share insights from the lab and training side of Exocad. From AI Crown and Crown Finalization to creative applications beyond dentistry, they discuss the latest innovations, real-world workflows, and where digital technology is taking the profession next.

430: exocad Insights 2026 Part 4: Dr. Zhiqiang Luo, Alyson Bravo, & Tobias Specht

June 22nd, 2026  |  1 hr 7 mins

analog skills, ann arbor, bite finder, brazil, cad/cam, career development, career journey, case planning, china, clinical faculty, clinical instructor, clinical scientist, clinician, clinicians, collaboration, communication, community, community building, conference highlights, continuing education, countryside of brazil, cross-functional collaboration, customer feedback, customer support, customer-driven development, data acquisition, dental care, dental conference, dental convention, dental craftsmanship, dental designer, dental ecosystem, dental education, dental industry, dental innovation, dental lab, dental laboratory, dental leadership, dental manufacturing, dental materials, dental professionals, dental software, dental students, dental technology, dentures, design software, digital adoption, digital center, digital communication, digital dentistry, digital dentures, digital future, digital solutions, digital transformation, digital workflow, dream trip, education, education and training, education programs, event experience, exhibition hall, exocad, exocad insights 2026, exocad reseller, fixed restorations, fixed workflows, friendships, future clinicians, future of dentistry, glam night, global connections, global dentistry, global travel, hands-on learning, hong kong, ids, ids germany, implementation, industry partnerships, industry trends, innovation, innovation culture, innovation pipeline, inspiration, international attendees, international dental community, ivoclar, ivotion, keynote, laboratory communication, laboratory excellence, laboratory owner, laboratory partnerships, laboratory workflow, learning, lectures, lifelong learning, majorca, mallorca, mentorship, milling, motivation, networking, paraguay, paraná, passion for dentistry, podcast community, podcast listener, presentations, problem solving, product development, product integration, product launches, professional growth, professional inspiration, professional networking, prosthetics, remote design, removable prosthetics, removable workflows, restorative dentistry, restorative solutions, scanners, self-taught, siosp, social media, software integration, software training, spain, speaker, são paulo, teamwork, technician, technician training, technicians, technology adoption, technology leadership, training, travel, university of michigan, user feedback, voices from the bench, work ethic, workflow efficiency, workflow integration, workflow optimization, workflow refinement

This week from exocad Insights 2026 in Mallorca, Elvis and Barb sit down with Dr. Zhiqiang Luo to discuss how dental education is evolving alongside rapidly advancing digital workflows and why strong analog fundamentals still matter. They also meet Alyson Bravo, a dental technician from Brazil whose journey to the event highlights the power of digital dentistry, global connections, and lifelong learning. Rounding out the episode, Tobias Specht from Ivoclar shares insights into the company's latest innovations, its ongoing collaboration with exocad, and how customer feedback continues to shape the future of digital dental technology.

426: DLAT 2026 Part 3 with Tiffany Prater, Sydney Ribera, Marlin Gohn

May 25th, 2026  |  1 hr 2 mins

acrylic, acrylic designs, acrylic pouring, aesthetic dentistry, analog dentistry, anterior crowns, argen, bonding, cad/cam, calibration, cantonese, conference lectures, continuing education, crown aesthetics, crown failures, crown milling, crown retention, custom retainers, dental artistry, dental assisting, dental business, dental cad, dental cements, dental collaboration, dental community, dental conference, dental craftsmanship, dental creativity, dental digital transformation, dental education, dental equipment, dental finishing, dental frameworks, dental future, dental humor, dental industry, dental innovation, dental lab, dental lab podcast, dental labs in china, dental lectures, dental manufacturing, dental materials, dental materials science, dental mentors, dental mentorship, dental milling, dental networking, dental podcast, dental presentations, dental regulations, dental stories, dental support, dental technician, dental technicians, dental technology, dental technology trends, dental troubleshooting, dental workflow, digital dentistry, digital dentures, digital workflow, dlat, easyrx, entrepreneurship, fda, full arch zirconia, furnaces, glow in the dark acrylic, gradient translucency, gt zirconia, guangzhou, hands-on learning, hawley retainers, hygiene school, implant crowns, implant dentistry, implant platforms, incisal translucency, industry trends, invisalign, jbc acrylics, lab efficiency, lab life, lab management, lab owner, lab technology, laser welder, laser welding, mandarin, mentorship, milled gold crowns, milling burs, milling machines, milling strategies, multilayer zirconia, nesting, nesting supports, occlusion, org, ortho community, ortho tech, orthodontic appliances, orthodontic conference, orthodontic creativity, orthodontic education, orthodontic lab, orthodontic mentorship, orthodontic resource group, orthodontic retainers, orthodontic workflow, orthodontics, pfm, polishing, porcelain fused to metal, posterior crowns, primers, printed dentures, printed models, private labs, private practice, public speaking, restorative dentistry, retainers, saline cleaning, selective laser melting, sintering, slm, small business, soldering, texas freeze, tie-dye retainers, training, translators, translucency, vendor booths, voices from the bench, wire bending, zirconia, zirconia crowns, zirconia discs

At the 2026 DLAT meeting, Tiffany Prater and Sydney Ribera talk about mentorship, orthodontic lab work, and blending creativity with today’s digital workflows. Then Marlin Gohn from Argen shares insights on new zirconia technology, milling strategies, and what labs around the world are doing to stay ahead.