Voices from The Bench

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.

363: From the 40th Lab Day 2025 Part 1 with Vicki Thomas, Becky Tyre, and Katie Rinaldo & Mandy Arena

March 10th, 2025  |  1 hr 3 mins

board members, buy-in, buying power, dental, dentures, denturism, denturist, donate, fundraising, highlights, laboratory, legislative, podcast, radio, savings, senate, sexy, small labs, technician, vendors, voices from the bench

We are starting off all the conversations we got while in the Ivoclar Ballroom at LMT Lab Day Chicago 2025. We have an episode full of past guests with Vicki Thomas with Savvy Lab Solutions, Becky Tyre from LMT Soundbites, and Katie Rinaldo & Mandy Arena with the Illinois Denturist Association.

362: Josie Schmitz-Burchartz is Marinating in Denture Goodness

March 3rd, 2025  |  1 hr 4 mins

analog, border molding, canada, cleaning, clear dentures, dental, dentures, edentulous, function, impressions, ivoclar, laboratory, marinade, newspapers, passionate, patient care, plaster, podcast, practical, practice, psychology, referrals, small town, suction, technician, university, voices from the bench, work life balance

This week, we sit down with Josie Schmitz-Burchartz, a dedicated denturist from British Columbia, who shares her incredible journey from cleaning her father's lab to running her own thriving practice. Josie discusses the importance of patient relationships, the challenges of the profession, and her commitment to providing exceptional care.

361: Vladimir Roman is Your Guide to Surgical Guides with Romanax

February 24th, 2025  |  1 hr 3 mins

24 hours, air force, all-on-x, battleships, blue sky plan, bone reduction, boot camp, cbct, computer sciences, dental, dental foreman, exocad, florida, formlabs, implants, inlab, iraq, japan, laboratory, magnets, pat coon, podcast, red cam, surgical guides, surgical kit, technician, texas, updates, voices from the bench

This week we get to meet Air Force trained dental technician, Vladimir Roman. Vladimir tells the story of his time in the service, learning digital, finding a 3D printer, and then opening Romanax that specialize in surgical guides.

360: Escape Some Workload with Dentscape AI - Ryan Axelson, Bill Chou, & Dr. Sylvie Liu

February 17th, 2025  |  1 hr 6 mins

ai, algorithm, amazon, artificial intelligence, aws, bridges, dental, design, drag and drop, ids, intuitive, lab day, laboratory, learning, margins, meta, podcast, preferences, solve problems, splints, staff shortages, supervised learning, technician, user friendly, voices from the bench

Let's get into what is and what makes AI work when designing crowns. This week brings us the people behind Dentscape AI. Bill Chou, Dr. Sylvie Liu, and Ryan Axelson all talk about what it takes to design 100 crowns in 10 minutes

359: Milling a Better Experience with Keith Clements, Nick Pizzo, & Mo Whitlock from Amann Girrbach

February 10th, 2025  |  1 hr 5 mins

ag360, amazon, artex articulator, austria, camera, champagne, chicago, clinical, culture, dealers, dental, distribution, energy, experience, hand mill, in stock, lab day, laboratory, matik, matron, millercoors, milling machines, motion, party, podcast, prime, pucks, raving fans, remote repair, service, teamwork, technician, voices from the bench, zirconia

Amann Girrbach is known for its great mills, but a new team of Keith Clements, Nick Pizzo, (along with an ol' favorite) Maurice "Mo" Whitlock come on to talk about taking the customer experience and service to a new level.

358: Ryan McEachern Covers It All, From A to Zubler

February 3rd, 2025  |  58 mins 54 secs

3shape, bruxzir, cad/cam, ceramic, dental, development, exocad, faster, full arch, germany, glidewell, heating, hyperdent, laboratory, manufacturing, medit, milling machines, ovens, podcast, redon, research, sales, service, sintering, suction, technical support, technician, testing, voices from the bench

This week we talk to Ryan McEachern, who does sales, service, and support for all the things at Zubler USA. Ryan talks growing up with a technician father, getting into R&D at a LARGE lab, and some of the amazing equipment and materials that sets Zubler apart.

357: Jim Thacker is Doing Things Differently at Utah Valley Dental Lab

January 27th, 2025  |  1 hr 4 mins

covid growth, culture, dental, designers, dso, employee owned, finance, hand waxing, hiring, impressions, journey, laboratory, marriage, new doctors, owners, payroll, podcast, posterior, relationship business, scheduling, technician, training, utah, veneers, voices from the bench

This week we meet ONE of the owners of Utah Valley Dental Lab, Jim Thacker. Jim talks about marrying into the dental lab, how they are known for high end esthetics that still does mostly hand waxing, and how they grew the business through referrals and continuing education.

356: Nick Nocito is On a Mission to Reduce Remakes with SS White

January 20th, 2025  |  1 hr 1 min

burs, carbide, dental, diamond, educate, family owned, great white z, laboratory, ndx, nowak, on a mission, podcast, reduce, remakes, root cause, solving problems, technician, voices from the bench, wallet, win-win

Burs. We all use them. Fixed, removable, implants, ortho, and even clinical. But did you know the first company to make burs is still making them. This week we talk to Nick Nocito from SS White Dental to find out how using the right bur for the right job makes all the difference.

355: Jonny Jakson is Bleeding Purple with exocad and Evolve

January 13th, 2025  |  1 hr 3 mins

buffalo, cad/cam, collaboration, dental, dentist design, design, exocad, family, full arch, hard work, high school, innovative, ivotion, jig, lab day, laboratory, photogrammetry, podcast, purple, sameday, scanning, screws, sponge, super user, technician, training, uncle, updates, vhf mills, voices from the bench

This week we welcome Jonny Jakson, known as "Jonny Exocad," to explore his transformative journey in the dental tech industry. From his family's legacy in dental labs to his innovative work with Exocad, Johnny shares insights on blending traditional and digital workflows. Learn how he's empowering clinicians and training the next generation of dental techs.