412: Matthew Douglas: The Fastest Hands in Texas and the story of the DLAT show

Elvis Dahl & Barb Warner — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 06:00:00 -0500

Join Ivoclar (AND US!) this February at LMT Lab Day in Chicago. Ivoclar will be offering 16 different educational lectures over the three-day event, giving dental professionals plenty of opportunities to learn, connect, and grow. Visit labday.com/Ivoclar to view the full schedule and register, and be sure to stop by and see the Ivoclar team in the Windy City.

Walking the Lab Day Chicago floor? Make it worth it.

Stop by the FOLLOW-ME! hyperDENT booth (E-27, East Hall) and take part in their Milling Roadmap—a quick, scavenger-hunt-style activity that leads you to key milling partners like Axsys, Imagine, DOF, and Roland.

Collect stamps at booths you’re likely visiting anyway and get entered to win some great giveaways—including this year’s grand prize: a foldable Honda electric scooter.

You’re already walking the floor. Now it might carry you.

Come see and talk to Elvis and Barb at all these amazing shows coming up in 2026*

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 finally sit down with the one and only Matthew Douglas — technician, educator, denture-setting machine, former Affordable legend, past DLAT president, and all-around force of nature out of Texas.

Matt’s story starts with baseball. A promising career cut short by a hip injury (the “Bo Jackson thing,” as he calls it) led him to find a different path — one that started at TSTI in Waco and ended up shaping thousands of dentures, dozens of labs, and one of the fastest-growing state dental lab associations in the country.

From living in an RV at the end of an airport runway while in school… to learning how to tear down porcelain ovens and rebuild lathes… to mastering ambidextrous denture setups with a soldering iron (yes, really), Matt built his foundation the old-school way. And he built it fast.

We dive deep into his 12-year run with Affordable Dentures — managing high-production labs doing 60+ arches a day, training technicians across the country, helping open over 200 sites, and eventually becoming a regional leader. He shares what it takes to build systems that move that kind of volume — staggered lunches, zero idle time, and a whole lot of hustle.

From there, Matt takes us through Barksdale Dental Lab, the early days of All-on-4, learning analog conversion workflows before digital streamlined everything, and why zirconia has changed the long-term game for full-arch restorations.

When Matt returned to Texas and got involved with the Dental Laboratory Association of Texas (DLAT), the show had about a dozen booths. Today? Over 100. He breaks down how restructuring leadership, empowering the right people, removing outside management costs, and reinvesting in members transformed DLAT into one of the strongest state meetings in the country.

If you want to grow your business, you need clear insight into what’s happening inside your operation and across your customer journey. That’s where Icortica comes in.

At Canadian Dental Labs, Icortica has become a cornerstone of how we operate—giving us at-a-glance visibility into performance, helping us focus our efforts, spot opportunities early, and solve problems before they grow. It takes the guesswork out of decision-making and shows us what to do next.

Plus, the Icortica team is incredibly responsive and feels like a true partner in our success.

If you’re serious about growing your business and understanding your customers better, Icortica can get you there. Learn more at icortica.com/voices — Icortica, helping dental labs grow.

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 FIRST 5k run on the coast! 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 Guest: Matthew Douglas CDT.

Episode 33: A Better State of Mind: A Roundtable Conversation About State Regulation Part 2 (VFTB33)

Elvis Dahl & Barb Warner — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 04:00:00 -0500

We continue our roundtable discussion on state associations and regulation. Joining us again are:

Tim Stevenson CDT- FDLA, Florida Dental Laboratory Association
Chris Delarm CDT - WSDLA, Washington State Dental Laboratory Association
Lonni Thompson CDT - ODLA, Ohio Dental Laboratory Association

These wonderful technicians volunteer their time to help their State Dental Laboratory Association as the President. Two states are still fighting to get the regulation needed to ensure that labs are held accountable while the other is already doing it. These three share their experiences with each other in a great conversation that gives hope to many more states.

Florida Dental Laboratory Association
Washington State Dental Laboratory Association
Ohio Dental Laboratory Association

Correction - Florida Dental Laboratories are NOT inspected by the same inspectors that check resturants. They are inspected by the Department of Health that does other medical facilities. Special Guests: Chris Delarm, CDT, Lonni J. Thompson, CDT, and Tim Stevenson, CDT.

Episode 32: A Better State of Mind: A Roundtable Conversation About State Regulation Part 1 (VFTB32)

Elvis Dahl & Barb Warner — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 04:00:00 -0500

We are so pleased to bring back a Roundtable episode. Through pain, glitches, and errors we finally got gathering of Presidents join us to talk about their various state associations and while one is regulated the other two are still fighting. Joining us at the table are: