In the News

Not Your Grandfathers False Teeth
According to 1989’s Back to the Future Part II, by 2015, we would have video billboards, flying cars, and hoverboards. We certainly got those billboards  (yay), but the film missed the boat on the airborne items.

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Speed Polish From Harvest Dental
Over the years, we have witnessed and benefited from CAD/CAM technology and material advancements. These advancements are now being coupled with support products that pair perfectly with today’s materials. Harvest Dental’s Speed Polish is an example of an advanced support product.

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How to Block Out Understructures When Using Translucent Zirconia
Zirconia has evolved into the restorative material of choice and recent advancements have resulted in a material that's unsurpassed not only in strength but in esthetics as well, even in monolithic full-contour restorations.

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Printing vs Milling Dentures
Over the last two decades, the dental industry has seen the rise of subtractive manufacturing technology. CAD software has proven reliable and is now within the financial reach of most dental laboratories. However, a new challenger has emerged to test milling's technological supremacy: additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing

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Balance Digital and Analog Design
Most technicians, trained in the 1990s and before, fully understand the design freedom that a wax knife, a Bunsen burner, and a block of wax offered. This was a world where a talented artist—with a firm understanding of function, anatomy, esthetics, and a willingness to work long hours—easily ruled the universe. 

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The Artist’s Brush of the Future
Many of today’s articles focus on the implementation of innovative technologies.
But without FDA-approved, strong, and most importantly, esthetic restorative
materials to support them, these technologies are nothing but “dust collectors”.

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Digital Dentures Lead to Laboratory's Best Year
Conrad J. Rensburg, ND, NHD, has observed trends in the dental laboratory profession: shrinking profit margins and business closures. He just does not see those trends in his own laboratory. Absolute Dental Services experienced approximately 20% growth in 2019, including more than 30% for its national business.

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Nanoceramics and Nanocomposites in Implant-Retained Fixed Hybrids
Over the last few decades, the dental industry has undergone a significant technological evolution. This evolution has created a need for better materials and has ultimately led to the development of new and exciting products. These products have enabled the development of highly innovative new treatment protocols.

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The Missing Link in the Digital Workflow Clock
Over the past decade, the dental industry has undergone a technological revolution. Initially, the progression was slow, and the early adopters quickly realized that the distinction between the leading edge and the bleeding edge was at best a faint one.1 Once all of the cogs in the digital workflow clock started working together, the technological revolution truly turned exponential.

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Fifth time's a Charm: Laboratory Renovation Achieves 'Wow' Factor
Absolute Dental Services knows a thing or two about growth: due to its continually expanding roster of staff members and services, it has renovated its Durham, NC, location. Headquarters has been there five times in the last 13 years. "If I have any advice for other lab owners, it's this: if you're expanding, go bigger than you think you need. 

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High-End Technician's Journey Continues
Jack Marrano, CDT, recalls his first job in a dental laboratory as a minimum-wage position, working 7 days a week, arriving at 4:30 AM but not clocking in until 8:00. After 4 years in the Marine Corps, Marrano was driven to succeed in the profession he fell in love with as a 14-year-old sitting in on classes at the University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine.

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Fricton-Retained Hybrid Prostheses
One of the most popular new approaches to implant dentistry involves the use of removable, friction-retained hybrid prostheses. The concept is based on the time-tested SynCone system.1 In the early days of implant dentistry, restorative options were easily defined as either supported or retained options,2 but with innovation and change often comes confusion and questions. The concept of a removable, friction-retained hybrid prosthesis clearly falls between implant-supported and implant-retained prosthetics.

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Absolute Dental Lab Celebrates the 25th Anniversary
Absolute Dental Services, headquartered in Durham, NC, is celebrating a milestone this year: 25 years in business. The company was purchased by South African natives Conrad Rensburg and Drew van Aarde in the early 2000s. Over the years, the team has grown from four technicians to more than 120 employees.

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Many Lab Owners Ramping Up for Growth and Change in 2019
Every December, I like to reach out to LMT readers to learn about their business goals and priorities for the upcoming year. It’s always enlightening to hear about their strategies for success. This year, plans range from ramping up for growth to working hard to hand over the reins.

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Making the Impossible Manageable: Esther's Story
It was a "feel good" Human interest story; the kind you often see on a TV broadcast to balance out the day's sad news. ABC11, out of Raleigh, North Carolina, ran a piece about a woman named Esther, who found a wedding ring in the parking lot of a local Walmart. Wanting to get the wedding ring back to its rightful owner, Esther reached out to ABC11. With their help, and after weeks of searching through social media sources, Esther found the ecstatic owner and returned her wedding band.

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