Voices from The Bench

437: Phillip Gold: The Gold Standard of Dental Technology

August 10th, 2026  |  1 hr 4 mins

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This week we sit down with Philip Gold to hear the incredible story of growing up in a dental laboratory, taking over his family’s lab, and building a career centered around relationships, education, and giving back to the industry. Philip shares stories from his journey, the evolution of dental technology, and what drove him to earn an impressive six CDT certifications—including digital. It’s a great conversation about family, legacy, leadership, and the people who make this industry so special.

436: Alyse Hifko & Martin Schmid Take Us Inside the Ivoclar Academy

August 3rd, 2026  |  48 mins 10 secs

3shape, all-on-x, alyse hifko, apprenticeship, auto nesting, brushes, buffalo, cad/cam, cad/cam dentistry, cam software, ceram art, ceramics, ceramics course, chairside dentistry, clinical education, commercial laboratory, connectors, continuing education, dental careers, dental community, dental craftsmanship, dental education, dental industry, dental innovation, dental lab, dental lab owner, dental laboratory, dental manufacturing, dental materials, dental milling, dental podcast, dental professionals, dental technician, dental technology, dentures, design limitations, digital dentistry, digital dentures, digital technician, digital workflow, dry milling, e.max, education, efficiency, elvis dahl, esthetic restorations, esthetics, firing, firing protocols, flat tools, full-arch restorations, germany, glazing, hands-on training, hybrid milling, implant restorations, implant workflows, in-person education, infiltration liquids, innovation., ivoclar, ivoclar academy, ivotion, johnny jackson, lab life, laboratory efficiency, laboratory excellence, laboratory growth, laboratory innovation, laboratory management, laboratory workflow, lithium disilicate, maintenance, martin schmid, mentorship, milling, milling limitations, milling software, milling strategies, mississauga, nesting, pink esthetics, porcelain layering, precision, production efficiency, productivity, programmill, programmill 7, programmill cam, programmill dry, research and development, restoration design, restorative dentistry, restorative workflow, santa fe springs, screw channels, sintering, stain and glaze, support structures, technical support, technician skills, technician training, titanium milling, troubleshooting, veneers, voices from the bench, wet milling, white esthetics, wieland, workflow automation, workflow optimization, zirconia, zirconia veneers, zirconium oxide

Ivoclar is taking education to the next level with the new Ivoclar Academy, and Elvis sits down with Martin Schmid and Alyse Hifko to learn what makes these hands-on courses a game changer for today's dental technicians. From creating lifelike esthetics with Ceram Art to unlocking powerful features hidden inside ProgramMill CAM software, this episode is packed with practical tips that can help any lab improve its workflow, no matter their experience level.

Episode 434: From FDLA 2026: Chris Bradley, Richard Wodzinski, Dawn Roniger, & Kaveh Shams

July 20th, 2026  |  1 hr 3 mins

abutments, accuracy, all-on-x, analog dentistry, anterior restorations, apprentices, apprenticeship, artistry, automation, bl1, bleaching shades, brushing techniques, cad design, cad/cam, cam software, canada, ceramics, ceramics course, ceramics workflow, chairside, chemistry, chris bradley, chroma, cobalt chrome, collaboration, color science, consumables, continuing education, craftsmanship, creation, creation porcelain, custom recipe, custom shades, custom strategies, custom workflow, dawn roniger, demonstrations, dental community, dental innovation, dental lab, dental laboratory, dental materials, dental podcast, dental technician, dental technology, denture workflow, dentures, design software, digital dentistry, digital evolution, digital solutions, digital workflow, disc changer, e.max, education, education programs, efficiency, engineering, enrico steger, esthetics, excellence, exocad, fdla, florida dental laboratory association, full arch, future of dentistry, gc america, gc initial, gingiva, glaze, hands-on training, harley street, hue, hybrids, hyperdent, implant bars, innovation, italy, javier, kaveh shams, kolinsky brushes, lab owner, lab values, laboratory education, laboratory management, laboratory solutions, layering, lectures, lithium disilicate, london, m2, m5, m6, machine maintenance, magic color, matisse, mentorship, military school, milling, milling center, milling machine, milling strategies, modular design, monolithic, murano glass, nesting, open architecture, open system, optishade, oral design, patient outcomes, photography, physics, pink porcelain, pmma, polarized camera, polycarbonate, porcelain, porcelain systems, precision, predictable results, productivity, ranger school, remake reduction, remakes, removables, richard wodzinski, scanner, self-service, shade analysis, shade matching, shade recipe, single centrals, smileline, smileline usa, software development, software integration, stain, symposium, technical support, technician training, technology, titanium, trade shows, value, vendors, voices from the bench, webinars, willie geller, workflow, workflow consistency, workflow optimization, young technicians, zirconia, zirconia staining, zirkonzahn

From the FDLA Symposium, Elvis and Barb welcome Chris Bradley, Richard Wodzinski, and Dawn Roniger to discuss the latest in shade matching, ceramics, and the technology helping labs achieve more predictable results. Then Kaveh Shams from Zirkonzahn Canada shares his journey into digital dentistry while talking milling, education, and the philosophy that's made Zirkonzahn a leader in the industry.

Episode 433: From FDLA 2026: Morris Fucarino, Enja Dorjchuluun, Joseph Núñez Reyes

July 13th, 2026  |  1 hr 20 mins

3d printing, analog dentistry, analog techniques, articulators, barb, belt-driven handpieces, biomedical engineering, board service, boutique laboratory, cad/cam, cam, carbon printers, career development, career growth, casting, cdt, ceramics, certification, certified dental technician, collaboration, community, continuing education, continuing growth, craftsmanship, cross-training, customer service, dedication, dental community, dental content creator, dental craftsmanship, dental industry, dental innovation, dental lab, dental laboratory, dental manufacturing, dental materials, dental podcast, dental technician, dental technology, dentistry, dentures, digital content, digital dentistry, digital transformation, digital workflow, e.max, education, efficiency, elvis, enja dorjchuluun, excellence, expansion, experience, fdla, fdla board, fdla symposium, florida, florida dental laboratory association, focus magazine, full gold crowns, future of dentistry, future technicians, general manager, gold restorations, gps digital dental lab, gps digital rpd, handpieces, hands-on education, heygears, high noble alloy, hiring, icpr junior college, implant restorations, implants, impressions, industry veterans, innovation, inspiration, instagram, ivoclar pm7, joseph núñez reyes, knowledge, lab day, labfest, laboratory careers, laboratory culture, laboratory growth, laboratory leadership, laboratory life, laboratory management, laboratory operations, leadership, legacy, lifelong learning, lithium disilicate, mentorship, milling, milling center, model work, morris fucarino, national board for certification, nbc, nesting, networking, next generation, night guards, one-man lab, operations, organized dentistry, orlando, passion, passion for dentistry, patients, perseverance, pfm, pmma, porcelain fused to metal, post-processing, problem solving, professional development, puerto rico, qc, quality, quality control, relationships, roland, roland mills, sakr dental arts, scanning, smiles, social media, soft tissue models, state association, stone models, success., supervisors, team building, teamwork, technician, technician education, technician pride, technician recognition, technician spotlight, technician stories, technician training, technicians, technology, turnaround time, voices from the bench, volunteering, waxing, webinars, workflow, workflow optimization, zirconia, zirconia milling

From the FDLA Symposium, Elvis and Barb sit down with three passionate technicians who represent the past, present, and future of the profession. Morris Fucarino reflects on an incredible 50 years as a CDT and the value of lifelong learning, Enja Dorjchuluun shares how she's helping shape the future of Florida's dental laboratory community through Sakr Dental Arts and the FDLA Board, and Joseph Núñez Reyes discusses his journey from Puerto Rico to GPS Digital Dental Lab and his dream of inspiring the next generation of technicians.

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.