If you’re passionate about creating natural, beautiful smiles—but want to simplify your workflow without sacrificing aesthetics—this is for you. I’m honored to be part of Ivoclar’s development team introducing a powerful new stain and glaze system featuring Structure Paste, IPS e.max Ceram Art. Create stunning depth and lifelike color in as little as one firing.

Let’s continue to innovate, simplify, and create meaningful change—one smile at a time.

When it comes to digital dentures, design is easy—manufacturing is where things get messy.

That’s why the Elevate Denture Solution brings it all together. Built by Roland DGSHAPE, Ivoclar, and FOLLOW-ME! Technology Group, it combines machine, materials, and CAM into one fully optimized workflow—so you get consistent, high-quality results without the guesswork.

Want to simplify production and scale with confidence? Check it out at rollanddga.com/elevate.

"Live" from the Ivoclar ballroom at Lab Day 2026, Elvis and Barb dives into conversations that perfectly capture what this industry is all about—innovation, relationships, and a whole lot of nerding out.

We kick things off with Frederic Rapp, who went from growing up in his dad’s basement lab in France to scaling it into one of the largest labs in Europe. After selling the business, he found his way back into the industry through innovation—helping labs unlock the gold mine sitting inside their own data with icortica. From dashboards to AI-driven insights and even voice-activated notes in the parking lot, it’s all about working smarter, not harder… and maybe not looking like an idiot when you walk into a doctor’s office.

Then things shift to a great partnership with Casey Baldwin and Darin Lockaby, where we get into a seriously cool collaboration between Ivoclar and DESS. Think plug-and-play workflows that let labs mill their own abutments in-house—FDA compliant, streamlined, and actually simple. With margins tighter than ever, this kind of control over production isn’t just nice… it’s becoming necessary.

From scaling labs to scaling data, from implants to AI, this episode is packed with insight, laughs, and a clear message: the labs that embrace technology (without losing the human touch) are the ones that are going to win.

Join us at exocad Insights 2026, happening April 30–May 1, 2026, on the stunning island of Mallorca, Spain. This two-day event features powerhouse keynotes, hands-on workshops, live software demos, and top-tier industry showcases—all in one unforgettable setting.

Barb and Elvis will be on site bringing you exclusive interviews, plus don’t miss the Women in Dentistry Lunch, celebrating career growth, wellbeing, and the real stories shaping our profession. And of course, cap it all off with the legendary exoGlam Night under the stars.

Tickets are limited. Visit exocad.com/insights-2026 and use code VFTBPalma15 for 15% off.

Special Guests: Casey Baldwin, Darin Lockaby, and Frederic Rapp.

• Vision 21 in Las Vegas Jan 15-17 https://www.nadl.org/nadl-vision-21
• Cal-Lab Association Meeting in Chicago Feb 19-20 https://cal-lab.org/
• LMT Lab Day Chicago Feb 19-21 https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday
• Dental Lab Association of Texas Meeting in Dallas Apr 9-11 https://members.dlat.org/
• exocad Insights in Mallorca, Spain Apr 30 - May 1 https://exocad.com/insights-2026

This week, Barb and Elvis finally sit down for a long-overdue full episode with the man behind the Fans of Voices From the Bench Facebook group, second-generation lab owner, NADL President, and all-around industry cheerleader: Joe Young of Young Dental Laboratory.

Joe shares his family’s incredible journey from Hong Kong to Philadelphia, how his parents built a small ortho lab out of a spare room, and how he grew up trimming models on a step stool before eventually returning to the lab after college. He walks us through the evolution of the business—from analog ortho, to adding fixed, to diving head-first into early CAD/CAM. Today, Young Dental is a 26-tech, multi-department full-service lab serving PA, NJ, and DE.

Joe talks about the challenges of ortho work in a digital world, the need for wire-bending talent, the rise of aligners, and the struggle of balancing old-school techniques with new-school tech. He also reflects on family legacy, his dad’s 45 years as a CDT, and why keeping that generation’s knowledge alive matters more than ever.

As NADL President, Joe dives into board service, workforce development, collaboration across organizations, and his goal of connecting labs and vendors more effectively. Plus, he gives an honest look at what it’s like to step into leadership, find your voice, and leave a legacy for the next wave of techs.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a VFTB episode without gifts, jokes, accidental innuendo, and a rapid-fire Q&A that reveals Barb’s love of tomahawks and Elvis’s dream of 88-degree weather.

Happy Holidays from Ivoclar!

As the year comes to a close, all of us at Ivoclar want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the incredible Voices From the Bench community. Thank you for your partnership, your trust, and the support you’ve shown throughout the year.

From our Ivoclar family to yours, we wish you a joyful, healthy, and safe holiday season.

May your days be merry, your nights be bright, and your smiles shine like freshly fallen snow.

Ho, ho, ho — Happy Holidays from Ivoclar!

Elvis and Barb are gearing up for their chat with the HyperDent Dude himself, Jordan Greenberg from FOLLOW-ME! Technology. At LabFest, Elvis found out that every hyperDENT license comes with Template Editor Lite — a built-in feature that lets you make safe, customized tweaks to your milling strategies. Whether you want to prioritize surface quality or speed, this tool gives you the control to fine-tune your results while FOLLOW-ME! keeps everything validated and reliable.

Because in the end, us lab techs love to tinker — and hyperDENT makes it easy to choose your own CAM-venture.

Special Guest: Joe Young.

Be sure to come see Barb on stage and join a great association. The Cal-Lab meeting February 23 & 24 in Chicago!
JOIN TODAY!

Let's face it. Digital is a majority of our workflow. At least for fixed and it's quickly becoming the workflow for removables. As labs scale, there has been a need for someone to handle the design side of the production. Enter Full Contour. In 2011 Rob Laizure and his father decided to take their lab and dedicate it to only design services. Slowly scaling as they grew, they soon went from 3 technicians in an apartment to over 150 worldwide. Rob talks about the journey, the relationships, and the need to deliver 100% to labs. Now even bigger, Full Contour became part of the 3shape family and renamed 3Shape Design Services and still offers the amazing options and constant quality we are all use to.

Are you attending the LMT Lab Day show in Chicago from Feb 23rd-25th? Join Ivoclar as they celebrate their 100 Year Anniversary in the dental industry. A feat few have accomplished and it’s all thanks to you! In the Ivoclar Grand Ballroom A&B, get up close and personal with Ivoclar digital technology, materials, and an EPIC speaker lineup. Learn firsthand from many of the industry’s leading dental professionals as they share their tips and tricks for success. Come and hear from Lee Culp, Esther Schwenning, Yuki Momma, Dr Ed McLaren, Eric Kukucka and MORE... For a full listing of speakers CLICK HERE!

Also, come and see us, Voices from the bench, as this will be our home on Feb 24th and 25th. Come by to say Hi, record with us and tell us what inspires you or just give Ivoclar a “Happy 100 years“ shout out on the podcast.

Does your lab use Magic Touch? If not, you should think about switching just so you can use icortica. Icortica is a program that uses all the data you already collect in Magic Touch and puts it in one easy to see, use, and understand dashboard. Look at every account and see trends, sales, notes, payments, and even remake percentages. Use the data you already have to take your lab and your customer service to the next level. Elvis uses it daily and swears it is a huge part to his success working at the lab. Head over to icortica.com/voices to learn more or send an email to Rob Nazzal at rob@icortica.com and tell him you heard about it on Voices From the Bench!

Special Guest: Rob Laizure.

DLAT Southwest Conference and Expo April 1 & 2: Dallas / Fort Worth Airport Mariott

Let's do the math. 52 weeks a year. 208th episode. Never missed a week. It's the 4th year anniversary of the podcast! Amazing we are still going and still loving every minute of it. And it wouldn't be a celebration unless we bring back our good friend that was on episode 1 and 52 and 156, Renata Budny. Renata leads the Restorative Dentistry program at the New York City College of Technology. Joining her is past student and now Professor Jamie Rubin. Jamie talks about getting into the program, her experiences going through the classes, and what it's like being in front of the students and working full time at an in-office lab. Renata updates us on what's happening with the school, dental technology education in general, and what we can do to help schools provide us the trained technicians that we need. We are never too cool for dental technology school.

Accreditation Standards for Dental Laboratory Technology Education Programs

List of CODA accredited schools

Whip Mix, known today for its digital equipment and materials, has been known for decades as a leader in occlusion products with its Whip Mix, Hanau, and Denar articulators and facebows.

The most popular of these is the Denar Mark 300 Series articulator. These popular semi-adjustable instruments are engineered for superior performance and tested thoroughly based on proven methodology. They bring a new standard of interchangeability with factory set accuracy within 20 microns. With their sleek, ergonomic design and powder-coated finish, these articulators have a contemporary look that’s as durable as it is aesthetically pleasing.

The Denmat Mark 320 articulator features Adjustable condylar inclination with 0 to 60,° and Progressive side shift fixed at 15°. The Denar Mark 300 comes complete with: Dust cover, 10 magnetic mounting plates, instructions and standard black carrying case.

Head over to Whipmix.com to order one today.

Is your lab in a position to take on new customers? Do you have the capacity to service more doctors? AmericaSmiles has helped hundreds of labs across the country to acquire new dental accounts.They're the biggest name in Dental Laboratory marketing. Don't waste time mailing and calling hundreds of doctors just to see poor results and hear overwhelming rejection. Let AmericaSmiles do all the heavy lifting for you. For just $195 a month, the AmericaSmiles One Voice program will help you skip to the front of the line. They'll prospect your local or target area, produce your creative marketing, and do all of the cold calling to leave you with extremely qualified appointments; guaranteed to help you find your ideal clients and grow your business.

Visit AmericaSmiles.net/One-Voice to learn more about how you can increase your lab's bottom line. Use promo code VOICESFROMTHEBENCH during checkout to qualify for a month-to-month agreement enabling you the freedom to cancel the marketing service any time! If you’d like to speak with an agent who can answer your questions about a time-tested, completely done-for-you approach to marketing, please call 708 279 9031. Join AmericaSmiles One Voice today - Getting new dentists to try your lab has never been easier.

Did you know that most inLab MCX5 users that have ordered burs from Gro3X once, keep on ordering Gro3X burs over and over again? Because Gro3X burs are engineered by some of the folks who have been providing burs to some of the largest US production labs for years.

Did you also know, that most Roland and DGShape users have no idea what they are missing out?

To give Roland and DGSHAPE users the opportunity to find out for themselves how good Gro3X burs work also for their machines, Gro3X is now offering a BUY 3, GET 2 BURS FREE special. This is exclusively for Voices From The Bench listeners.

Simply go to the Gro3X website at gro3x.com click on burs, then select Roland & DGSHAPE. Add five burs of your choice to your cart, click on CHECK-OUT, enter discount code B3G2Burs and check out.

Special Guests: Jamie Rubin and Renata Budny, CDT, TE.

If you want to save, and also grow, Gro3X is, where you should go!

Resins to print night guards, for high-impact and flex, look no further, because we have them at Gro3X.

Burs for your mills, Zirconia for your crowns, with Gro3X you will be the hottest lab in town!

And last but not least, if you seriously want to grow, add Gro3X Aligners, and your doctors will say Wowww!

Is your lab in a position to take on new customers? Do you have the capacity to service more doctors? AmericaSmiles has helped hundreds of labs across the country to acquire new dental accounts.They're the biggest name in Dental Laboratory marketing. Don't waste time mailing and calling hundreds of doctors just to see poor results and hear overwhelming rejection. Let AmericaSmiles do all the heavy lifting for you. For just $195 a month, the AmericaSmiles One Voice program will help you skip to the front of the line. They'll prospect your local or target area, produce your creative marketing, and do all of the cold calling to leave you with extremely qualified appointments; guaranteed to help you find your ideal clients and grow your business.

Visit AmericaSmiles.net/One-Voice to learn more about how you can increase your lab's bottom line. Use promo code VOICESFROMTHEBENCH during checkout to qualify for a month-to-month agreement enabling you the freedom to cancel the marketing service any time! If you’d like to speak with an agent who can answer your questions about a time-tested, completely done-for-you approach to marketing, please call 708 279 9031. Join AmericaSmiles One Voice today - Getting new dentists to try your lab has never been easier.

Whip Mix is very excited to announce the new PRO 4K large format 3D printer from Asiga. It’s ideal for printing any kind of model, dentures, splints, surgical guides, impression trays and more.

The Asiga Pro 4K DLP printer is priced at under $25,000, has a large build plate and is available in both 65µm and resolution versions. For information about the Asiga Pro 4K, visit www.whipmix.com.

Special Guest: Dennis Kalashnik CDT.

Using 3D printed Dentca Temporary Resin is the easy, fast, clean and accurate way of creating natural-looking temporary restorations using Dentca Temporary C&B 3D Print Resin from Whip Mix.

The new temporary material is FDA cleared, biocompatible, photocurable, and can be printed fast. That patient can be temporized with the highest quality temporary crowns that last a minimum of one full year in the mouth. Dentca C&B Temporary features excellent life-like esthetics and shade-matching capability with Vita shades A1, A2, A3, A3.5, B1, B2, and BL (Bleach).

Dentca Temporary C&B resin is validated for use with the Asiga Max, Asiga Pro 2, Asiga Pro 4K, and the Whip Mix Veribuild printers, and with the following curing units: Uvitron (SunRay 400 and IntelliRay 600), and the CUREbox Plus.

For more information, visit www.whipmix.com.

Special Guest: John Orfanidis CDT.