Annemarie Mannion

For Robert Lash, president of Moskey Dental Laboratories in Cleveland, the business of operating a dental lab is what he was meant to do. Though he earned a law degree in the early 1980s, the practice of law didn’t suit him, and he decided to return to the lab business started by his grandfather, Nathan Lash in 1924, and continued by his father, Phil Lash.

Supervising a non-profit, dental clinic in Minneapolis, Minn., Jamee Rosell has witnessed the overwhelming need for dental care among poor, uninsured, unemployed, elderly, immigrant and other underserved populations.

Students in the dental hygiene program at the College of DuPage in west suburban Chicago recently celebrated their entry into the profession with a pinning ceremony. Besides successfully completing the classes they needed to graduate, they also had another reason to celebrate. All but one of the 28 students in the class of 2011 passed the National Board Dental Hygiene examination.  The dental hygiene program is on a roll. In the previous seven years, 100 percent of the students taking the exam passed it.

When the ship sailed, Daniel Serrago, president of Garland Dental Services and IBEX Dental Technologies was on it, but he was already planning a new future. The year was 1996, and Daniel, who had worked for 15 years as a radio electronics officer on commercial ships, was in search of a different career. His two children were entering adolescence and he wanted to be at home with them and his wife, rather than working at sea for months at a time.

It was not an easy time in her life when Andrea Tintrup took the reins at Tintrup Dental Laboratory in Mount Vernon, N.Y. in 2000. Andrea never imagined that she would end up finding a business and industry that she loves and would still be running the lab 11 years later.

Dentists and dental hygienists-particularly women- who wear traditional, unisex scrubs often have similar complaints about them. These oft-heard grumbles include observations that the tops are so big you feel like you’re wearing a tent and the armholes are so large that they gape and droop to nearly a wearer’s waist. Then there are the complaints about V-necks that dip so low they have to be closed with a safety pin to provide coverage and pants that are so long that that are trip hazards unless they are hemmed.

Dentists and dental hygienists-particularly women-who wear traditional, unisex scrubs often have similar complaints about them. These oft-heard grumbles include observations that the tops are so big you feel like you’re wearing a tent and the armholes are so large that they gape and droop to nearly a wearer’s waist.

It’s rare to see a dental office depicted in a film and-if the movie “Horrible Bosses” is any indication- rarer still to see one that accurately depicts an office.

Schroeder Dental Laboratory hasn’t been around long enough to have created the wooden dentures that George Washington is said to have worn, but the business in Northbrook, Ill. is one of the oldest family-owned and operated dental labs in the country, its owners say.

Requests for portraits of pop-stars or ex-presidents are not unusual. Neither are logos of favorite sports teams or pictures of puppies, cats or even ducks.

Sugar-free lollipops containing licorice root extract significantly reduced the bacteria that causes tooth decay, specifically among pre-school children with high-risk of tooth decay, according to a recent study published in the European Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.

The first study using an atomic-scale imaging tool to look at the chemical structure of a sea creature’s tooth has important implications for human dentistry including the potential for creating better, stronger materials for tooth replacement and for treating flouritis.

Sandy Smith, a dental hygienist in Ohio, felt she had no other option last August but to quit the part-time job she had held for 22 years, and liked doing. She left because she had learned that the dentist with whom she worked had become addicted to narcotics.

Ronald Reagan was president and David Letterman’s “Late Show with David Letterman” aired for the first time in 1982, the year Monique Judkins was licensed as a dental hygienist.

While he was watching the late night television news broadcast in Chicago recently, cosmetic dentist Jack Manikowski was touched by the story of an 18-year-old man who had been bruised and bloodied while being dragged along the street during a carjacking. The victim also suffered several broken teeth.

When a tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011, it destroyed 23 of the town's dental offices, and left four dentists homeless. Recovery from the horrific event that affected 40 percent of the community’s dental practices has not been easy, but the Missouri State Dental Association has taken a leadership role in helping those dentists return to treating patients and running their businesses.

Call it cheeseburger in paradise, movie mania, hot rod heaven or a yearning for yesteryear. No matter how you label it, David Myer’s orthodontic office, which is designed to look like a 1950s gas station/soda shop/old-time movie theater, makes visits for young patients more fun.

America was still in the midst of the Great Depression when the Ottawa Dental Lab was founded in 1937 in Ottawa, Ill.  Having overcome tough economic times when the business began, the lab has had the confidence to fund a growth spurt despite the recent recession.

Anyone who’s wanted get in touch with their dentist in the middle of the night has probably experienced the frustration of connecting-not with a person who can empathize with the pain and provide help-but with a voice recording that can’t respond to a question or set up an appointment for first thing in the morning. Most dentists, too, know about the costs associated with having patients who miss appointments or the time lost and frustration of playing phone tag with them.

Amos Harting, president of Harting Dental Arts Lab Inc. in St. Louis, bears more than just his father’s name. Like his predecessor, having artistic aptitude and mechanical skill have helped him thrive in the business.

The first dental school to open in 40 years in Illinois recently welcomed its first class and is part of a trend toward opening new schools that is being seen nationwide. One hundred and thirty one students are in the inaugural class of the new College of Dental Medicine-Illinois in Downers Grove. According to a report by the American Dental Association, it is one eight institutions that have opened dental schools since 1997, and two others have announced their intentions to start schools.

It’s been said that death and taxes are certainties of life. Add change to that list. A new generation of dental lab operators are adapting to trends in the industry that include incorporating new technologies, using different methods of marketing, and coping with downward price pressures from overseas.

Biting into a sugary chocolate bar may not be the best choice for healthy teeth. But a Louisiana-based company is taking the stand that not all cocoa-based products are equal.

Lisa Harper Mallonee, the mother of two children ages 2 and 3, wasn’t happy with the food being served at the preschool they attend. She noticed that sugary snacks and fatty meats were the norm. “They served Cheerios and apple juice at snack time,” she said. “I suggested using string cheese instead of Cheerios and turkey hotdogs instead of baloney hotdogs.”

Who hasn’t laughed politely at a joke that’s fallen flat or had to try to keep their eyelids open during a story that never seems to end? The question of whether it’s a good idea to indulge in a bit of humor or tell a long, drawn-out tale to distract a patient undergoing dental treatment is not just about relating to people, it’s about whether these conversations result in good customer service and appropriate patient care.

Doctors Allen and Kelly Smudde of Valencia, CA-based Smudde Dental decided to go paperless in 2007. The improvement in efficiency for the 6,000-patient practice has been noticeable. The same patient exam that used to take between one and a half hours to two hours now takes 45 minutes.

Whether asked to hold a light, run to get cotton swabs or suction a patient’s mouth, Gina Durkin was happy to help in any way she could as a member of an American team of dental professionals and students that recently visited Nicaragua. 

Where is it written that going to the dentist can’t be enjoyable? Or that a patient can’t sip a glass of beer or wine while waiting for an appointment or even borrow a laptop to surf the net? It’s not in any book that Dr. Clint Herzog, founder of Floss Dental, a practice with eight locations in Dallas and Houston, has ever read.

Supervising a non-profit, dental clinic in Minneapolis, Minn., Jamee Rosell has witnessed the overwhelming need for dental care among poor, uninsured, unemployed, elderly, immigrant and other underserved populations.

A recent study demonstrating that odontoblast cells are part of the immune system and launch their own response when attacked by bacteria paves the way for possibly reducing the number of unnecessary root canals and shows that these cells are a critical weapon in the fight against dental disease.