Voices from The Bench

444: Mike Archibald: Finding Your Place at the Bench and Table

September 28th, 2026  |  1 hr 11 mins

Communication, Family, Fatherhood, Life Lessons, accountability, addiction recovery, aesthetic dentistry, archibald family, authenticity, barb and elvis, becoming a dental technician, becoming your best self, behind the scenes dentistry, being coachable, being present, cad cam dentistry, career development, career growth, career journey, ce, ceramic crowns, ceramic technician, coaching, community, confidence, continuing education, cosmetic dentistry, craftsmanship, crown waxing, dental aesthetics, dental anatomy, dental art, dental artistry, dental business, dental business leadership, dental cad cam, dental career, dental careers, dental ce, dental ceramicist, dental ceramics, dental coaching, dental community, dental conferences, dental craftsmanship, dental crowns, dental education, dental education community, dental education podcast, dental educator, dental industry, dental industry career, dental industry conversations, dental industry education, dental industry podcast, dental lab, dental lab community, dental lab conversations, dental lab education, dental lab education community, dental lab experience, dental lab family, dental lab leadership, dental lab owner, dental lab podcast, dental lab training, dental laboratory, dental laboratory education, dental laboratory family, dental laboratory history, dental laboratory owner, dental laboratory podcast, dental laboratory technician, dental laboratory technician education, dental laboratory technician training, dental leadership, dental lectures, dental lecturing, dental materials, dental materials education, dental mentoring, dental mentorship, dental milling, dental morphology, dental occlusion, dental patients, dental podcast, dental presentations, dental products, dental professional development, dental professionals, dental speaker, dental stories, dental technician, dental technician community, dental technician education, dental technician imposter syndrome, dental technician life, dental technician podcast, dental technician stories, dental technician training, dental techniques, dental techniques training, dental technology, dental technology podcast, dental technology training, dental training, dental waxing, dentistry, dentistry and life, dentistry podcast, difficult conversations, digital dental laboratory, digital dental technology, digital dentistry, digital design, digital detox, digital workflow, disconnecting, education, esthetic dentistry, experienced dental technician, family business, family expectations, family legacy, family time, family values, father and son, finding balance, finding purpose, finding your path, finding yourself, following your own path, function, functional aesthetics, functional dentistry, functional design, gc initial, getting outside, giving back, gold crowns, gordon christensen, gordon christensen dentistry, growth mindset, hands on training, harvest dental, healthy habits, healthy lifestyle, helping others, helping people, honesty, imposter syndrome, insecurity, jed archibald, john archibald, kelly and associates, lab management, laboratory dentistry, laboratory leadership, las vegas institute, learning dental technology, learning dentistry, legacy, life beyond dentistry, lifelong learning, living up to expectations, lvi, master technician, meaningful life, meaningful work, mental health, mentorship community, mike archibald, mindset, mindset coaching, natural dentistry, natural looking restorations, nature, occlusion, open bench, open conversations, outdoor life, overcoming addiction, overcoming adversity, overcoming challenges, overcoming imposter syndrome, overcoming struggles, parenting, patient care, patient centered dentistry, personal accountability, personal coaching, personal development, personal growth, personal journey, personal priorities, personal transformation, personal wellness, positive mindset, professional coaching, professional growth, professional imposter syndrome, public speaking, purpose, ray foster, real conversations, real talk dentistry, rebuilding your life, recovery, recovery journey, redefining success, relationships, resilience, restorative aesthetics, restorative dentistry, restorative dentistry lab, second chances, self confidence, self doubt, self improvement, self worth, slowing down, sobriety, speaking in dentistry, starting in a dental lab, staying coachable, stories from the lab, success, success in dentistry, success in life, supporting technicians, table 52, table 52 community, taking a break, taking responsibility, teaching dental technology, teaching technicians, technician community, technician conversations, technician development, technician journey, technician mentorship, technique education, third generation dental technician, transformation, treating every patient equally, unplugging, vftb, voices from the bench, voices from the bench podcast, vulnerability, waxing, work life balance

This week we sit down with Mike Archibald, the “black sheep” of the Archibald family, to talk about his journey through dentistry, family expectations, imposter syndrome, recovery, and personal growth. Mike opens up about the lessons he learned from his dad, his path into ceramics and education, and his vision for Table 52—a place for honest conversations about the struggles that happen behind the scenes. It’s a real and personal conversation about dentistry, life, and finding a healthier way forward.