• 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, we sit down with a guest whose journey hits all the right notes—literally! Meet Jonathan Bourke, a jazz guitarist turned dental technician who went from pouring models to designing full-arch restorations and running his own in-office lab.

Jonathan shares how a chance gig driving for a denturist opened the door to a career he never expected, taking him from analog dentures to digital workflows, photogrammetry, and Exocad wizardry. Now a lab owner working directly with clinicians, Jonathan talks about collaboration in full-arch cases, teaching with Jensen Dental and MiYO, and what it’s like to see his work come to life chairside.

From learning CAM milling to demoing in front of dental rockstars, Jonathan’s story is a reminder that artistry comes in many forms—sometimes from six strings, sometimes from six implants.

* Dental Labs—The Ivoclar Flash Sale Is On!

* From November 3rd to 14th, Ivoclar is bringing you unbeatable deals on the equipment that will set your lab up for success in 2026.

* Upgrade your mill, your furnace, or expand your workflow—and save big while doing it!

* Plus, when you purchase a milling machine, you’ll get delivery, installation, and training—all included. That means your lab will be production-ready from day one.

* But hurry—these savings vanish after November 14th!

* Contact your Ivoclar sales rep today and power up your lab for the year ahead.

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: Jonathan Bourke.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/rebuilding-dental-labs-after-hurricane-helene?lang=en_US&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_content=amp8_c&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=facebook

When a dental technician reached out to the podcast and recommended a dentist as a guest, we figured they worked together. But when we found that they don't and this dentist just does amazing restorations for patient's that can't usually afford them, we knew it would be a great episode. Dr. Ben Kellum went to dental school not really knowing what he was getting into. It was there that he learned to really like implants and took an opportunity to run a residency program doing implants and full arch for drug rehab patients. It was there that he learned that doing the lab work himself allowed him to keep the cost down and pass that along to the patients. Now, him and a partner own Transcend Dental Clinic in Huntsville, Alabama doing pretty much the same thing. Thanks to the help of donations and vendors believing in what they are doing, they are able to offer complex and quality treatments to patients that usually can't afford complex and quality treatments.

If you are in the market for purchasing a new milling machine or a furnace, Voices From the Bench invites you to connect with an Ivoclar sales associates. They have several great deals and financing options now available for you to take advantage of. These robust and dependable machines were designed to make your laboratory more efficient and profitable. They are work horses when it comes to processing IPS e.max lithium disilicate and the amazing Prime Zirconia. The PM7 mill also allows you to do digital dentures with their game changing Ivotion puck. Head over to ivoclar.com, voicesfromthebench.com/ivoclar, or call them at 1-800-533-6825.

Special Guest: Dr. Ben Kellum.