the DPR Editorial Team

	Each year, Dental Products Report goes behind the scenes to tell the stories of the companies and people behind the products and services taking dental practices to new levels of success and driving toward improved patient care. This year’s special advertising section puts the focus on the inspiration and the action that pushes the dental industry forward.

Over the next several pages, we present interviews with people in leadership roles at a wide range of dental manufacturers and organizations. Read on to learn about how these innovators and go-getters turned dreams and ideas into success that they pass along to customers and partners. Be sure to check out the online version of these profiles at dentalproductsreport.com for extended versions of these interviews and an entire extra company profile. Dentistry continues to grow and change at a rapid pace-here are some of the people leading that charge.  

	Get acquainted with one of the best kept secrets in dentistry

SCOTT LAMERAND - Co-owner, Apex Dental Materials

: Apex began its first product development with Dr. John Kanca III, DMD in 2001. The idea was to provide a self-etch or no rinse adhesive system that prepared enamel as well as a gel etch yet simplified the bonding protocol. The project culminated on July 22, 2002 with the first commercial shipment of Simplicity Self Etch Adhesive.

	Q: How did this influence the growth of the company?

: Simplicity was the flagship product for Apex’s first several years. Just after the launch of Simplicity, we saw a need within the CEREC community for materials to aid in the delivery of CEREC restorations. As we already had an adhesive we set out to design an easy to use ceramic etch and silane along with a resin cement. These developments led to an ideal suite of synergistic products: Simplicity Self Etch Adhesive, Interface Ceramic Etch and Silane in One and Anchor Core Build Up / Luting Cement designed to work in conjunction with each other to deliver CEREC restorations.

	Following this success, Apex decided to create an adhesive that provided the highest bond strengths ever achieved. This resulted in the Surpass® Self Etch adhesive system, which still does just that.

	Q: What inspires new innovations from Apex?

: Apex has always been a customer driven orga- nization and our approach to new products is con- sistent with that mind set. The Apex product line doesn’t cover all product categories; rather it focuses on unique products that address the issues our cus- tomers face daily. Apex focuses all of our energies toward improving results by providing better materials.

	Q: What sets Apex materials apart from other dental materials that are currently available?

: Apex is different from other companies because we focus on the end user and only the end user. Everything we do from 24 hour shipping to immediate technical support to product innovation is driven by a never ending commitment to improving results for our customers. We apply this to every facet of our business and pride ourselves on delivering exceptional products and service every time we interact with a customer.

	Q: Is there a product that exemplifies what makes Apex different?

: The entire Apex product offering really illus- trates our dedication and focus on solving end user issues. We 

don’t offer a single product created to be a “me-too” offering. Each product is unique and offers a unique benefit to improve results or simplify a doctor’s office. Whether it be maximizing bond strengths like Surpass Self Etch Adhesive System or improving the handling of all dental composites with Seamfree or preparing a tooth surface for bonding like Clean & Boost

, all of our products improve results and solve common issues encountered by doctors every day.

	Q: Can you highlight a few of Apex’s products and discuss how they are designed with benefits for the clinician in mind?

 Self Etch Adhesive was designed to maximize bond strengths within a simple protocol. While our competitors were working to provide short cuts or reduce bottles, we focused on increasing performance within an easy protocol. The result was Surpass, which provides bond strength of 60MPa with a 30 second procedure start to finish. When compared to the single bottle materials, Surpass is faster and provides bond strengths that are approximately doubled.

	Titan flowable composite was developed to provide a high modulus material that was flowable and easy to place. The higher modulus leads to elevated bond performance for Class I and Class II materials. Other flowables on the market have been designed for polish while we have taken a different approach to improve the final restoration and long term results.

 was designed to aid in the process of preparing a tooth for bonding. Initially, Clean & Boost was designed to remove the imaging powder being used in CAD/CAM dentistry. Along with the ability to remove imaging powders, we added features like disinfecting, desensitizing and etching to provide more than just a simple cleanser. This resulted in a material, when used prior to bonding, which produces an ideal surface for bonding and properly prepared enamel to ensure superior margins.

	All of these products illustrate the way we focus on solving a problem and deliver products to overcome clinician’s day-to-day challenges.

	Q: How does Apex stay in touch with clinicians?

: From tradeshows to lectures, to online communities to phone calls we attempt to stay in front of our customers at all times. We pride ourselves on providing support and answers to all questions quickly and accurately. Our level of service, makes us the first place many clinicians go for answers to dental material questions.

	Q: How do benefits for the patients fit into the product development process at Apex?

: The products we design simplify protocols and optimize clinical results. The patient’s benefit is ultimately the outcome of everything we do. Take for instance our adhesives; all of our adhesives eliminate post operative sensitivity. By eliminating what could be an extended period of discomfort, the patient’s experience improves by leaps and bounds. Another example is our DesensiMAX product that not only desensitizes but also prevents secondary caries and stops bond degradation due to MMPs.

	Q: What advantages does Apex offer dental professionals that are harder to find with a larger company?

: By being small, Apex is able to get to know our customers and their needs. Whether it be order patterns, 

product choices or delivery needs we understand what drives our customers’ offices. This understanding allows us to offer better service and improved products quickly.

	Q: What current dental material trends or innovations do you believe will have a lasting impact on the dental industry and patient care?

: The market for dental materials is always changing and new materials are always being created. We focus on new products to drive the doctor’s ability to deliver exceptional results. It would be easy to point toward bioactive materials or the development of better ceramics or the advancements in scanning technologies or the like to say these are the future, but that isn’t our approach. We focus on the market to deliver better products that solve needs and function to optimize all associated materials. Our developments are organic in nature and will continue to evolve where needed to improve results for all of our doctors. We strive to be the doctor’s partner to create the next generation of products they need to improve the results for their patients.

	Q: What innovations are you most proud of in the last few years?

: Recently, we’ve launched a desensitizer material that not only provides densitizing but also disinfects, stops MMP generation, delivers fluoride to the impacted portion of a tooth and creates a zone of inhibition to prevent secondary decay. For so long doctors have applied desensitizers to simply address the most obvious issue the patient is experiencing. We took the concept forward to do more and address all underlying issues and challenges in the same application step. DesensiMAX is a product EVERYONE should use to eliminate sensitivity and deliver protections again all future challenges at the same time.

	The development of Exquisite Restoration

 low shrink, nanofil composite is another great example of providing a product doctors need. In the past several years numerous competitors have provided bulk fill materials to the market. These materials have largely had poor esthetics and were difficult to place. We created Exquisite with low shrink technology to allow for a highly esthetic material to be bulk filled and provide higher level results and a final restoration with superior polish and wear characteristics.

	Q: What innovations can dental professionals expect from Apex in the near future?

: Without giving away too much, doctors should expect the next step in bioactive materials. Materials that deliver 

what other have only promised. These products will change the mindset and advance the idea of restorations that function within the oral environment to “heal” decay and prevent future challenges. Stay tuned, these are going to be exciting.

	Q: What is the vision for Apex in the future?

: The vision for Apex has not changed. Simply put, we will continue to listen to the doctor and deliver products that make clinical success the standard. We can add quite a bit of detail to this but the essence has not changed...we will work tirelessly to provide doctors the tools they need to optimize clinical outcomes for their patients.

	“We are able to eliminate mistakes, get things done faster and pass down the savings to our clients.”

ART SAFARIAN - President and CEO of Arminco Dental

	Q: What first brought Arminco to the dental industry?

: In 2004, Arminco started concentrating on building dental practices and its mission was to provide doctors with proper resources to build and start their dental practice efficiently.

: We have built over 500 dental offices. Every year, we have broadened our resources to provide more ser- vices and save our clients more money. I’m honored to have been part of so many start-ups, and I can honestly say that with the services we offer, we’re able to control the budget of the entire process of building a dental practice, which helps our doctors achieve their dreams. The overall project of starting a dental practice can be extremely overwhelming, therefore, we take away most of the stress and provide the support a dentist would need in order to get things done.

	Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced getting the business started?

: The biggest challenge for us is to be able to educate the industry that we are a dental equipment provider as well. Over the years the big three equipment dealers have done a great job of keeping the market blinded by other possibilities, so dentists have always been trained that there no one other than the big three can provide them with equipment. Now, with the industry changing, more and more dentists are becoming aware of other possibilities.

	Q: How did the father-son aspect of the company impact your operations and growth?

: My vision for the company was to be a complete construction company, rather than only an HVAC company. So, once I took over, I immediately started pursuing that route and growing the company in that department. My father had complete trust in me and to let me handle everything. This showed his abilities and greatness to make sure it works without fully being involved. Once the construction portion took off, we separated the two into different companies.

	Q: Why add equipment and supplies to your offerings?

: We knew in order to control the overall project budget of the dental practice, we had to be able to provide the dental equipment. We worked hard to manage the construction budget of the project only to see that doctors were overpaying on most of the purchased equipment. Furthermore, we started see- ing too many errors on the project caused by other parties as a result of equipment sales. This led us to pursue equipment manufacturers harder.

	Q: How does this benefit dental practices?

: It makes the process seamless and makes things a lot easier and affordable for the clients. We are able to eliminate mistakes, get things done a lot faster and pass down the savings we get to our clients.

	Q: Are there any influences from your father that still resonate within Arminco, and if so, what are they?

: The most important things that he taught me were “Hard work” and to “lead by example."

	Q: What can a dental practice expect when they work with Arminco to build, redesign or equip a dental practice?

: Honesty is key. They can expect us to explain all the available possibilities and what we recommend for their practice. With our in-depth knowledge of the whole process, we can suggest workflows, materials and, ultimately, which pieces of equipment they need.

	Q: How has the work you do and the dental industry changed during your time at Arminco?

: The industry has changed a lot since I have been doing this. There is more price shopping, and more upselling, and more cutting of corners. It’s making it very hard to educate the doctors with everything because, in the end, it all comes down to price.

	Q: What recent accomplishment are you most proud of?

: I’m most proud of the people and the chemistry we have created here at Arminco. Our company is built by people and I enjoy watching the dynamics and the communication between everyone here.

	Q: What inspires Arminco today, and what does the company see for the future of the dental industry in the next few years?

: What inspires us today is being part of and watching a practice start, develop and grow to be successful.

	Q: What’s the next step in the evolution of Arminco?

: We plan to keep working hard to improve our services and processes. We want to be known as ‘trusted-advisers." We enjoy working with dentists to provide them with marketing solutions and practice management in running their day to day operations efficiently and to see them prosper.

	“Our inspiration comes from truly enjoying, learning, understanding and implementing new technologies”

STEVE BRAYKOVICH - President and CEO, Axsys Incorporated

	Q: What is Axsys Dental’s origin story?

: It is first necessary to understand Axsys Inc. as Axsys Dental Solutions was necessarily born out of Axsys Inc.
	Axsys Inc., founded in 1994 (www.axsysinc.com) distributes CAD/CAM software, services, training and consulting to manufacturing concerns in the state of Michigan.

	Our active customer base of over 1,800 companies are in involved in the design and manufacturing of parts and tooling for virtually all industry segments including: Automotive, Aircraft, Defense, Consumer Products, Marine, Electronics, Energy, Medical, Toys, and more.

	These companies range in size from single persons with CNC machine(s) in their pole barn to small “mom-and-pop” shops, mid to large size ($20M-$100M) operations through Fortune 500 companies such as the Big 3 automotive companies, Stryker Medical, Dow Chemical, General Dynamics, etc.

	Given our wide customer base and associated wide range of design and manufacturing applications, we have experience in the design and manufacturing of just about any type of part or tooling from virtually all material types and all types CNC Machine tool (3-5axis milling machines, 2-4axis lathes, multi-axis EDM’s,  grinders, robots, complex mill-turn work centers and more.

	However, even though we have and do distribute other software products, the largest part of our software and service revenue is based on the Mastercam software product from CNC Software, a Tolland, CT based publisher.  We enjoy exclusivity in distributing the Mastercam product in the State of Michigan. As such we are heavily leveraged in the automotive industry and subject to the up’s and down’s that characterize this business.

	The revenue swings of the automotive industry reached significant levels in the year 2000 where revenues were at an all time low. Over the next few yeas we, like many struggled to survive with significantly less operating income. New, reduced revenue targets were now the norm with little or no (as well as decreased) annual growth for five years or so after which we started to see some consecutive year incremental growth.  During this time many manufacturing companies (including many of our existing customers) exited the State of Michigan with many, hundreds in fact, closing their doors or went out of business.

	This new increased revenue trend stopped abruptly in the year 2009 where we lost approximately 30 percent of our business which you can imagine is a significant loss.

	During this time (and since about 1995) we also distributed CAD/CAM software from a British company by the name of Delcam International into the same markets with territories that included Michigan and Northern Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York State.

Each year Delcam would hold a worldwide distributor meeting in Birmingham, England (or locations thereabout), the location of their worldwide headquarters. Here meeting were held to discuss distributors local sales and support issues, distributor representatives would meet to discuss sales, service and marketing ideas, new product announcements and demonstration were given, etc.

	As fate would have it, during the 2009 Delcam Sales Partner Meeting in England, Delcam had a special session pertaining to the dental industry. Here they discussed the dental business and the state of CAD/CAM technology in this business. Specific attention was given to dental CAD/CAM software and milling machines and the closed nature of those solutions. Current technology was reviewed as well as the adverse effects the, less than state-of-the-art technology, closed solutions had upon restoration quality and the businesses of dental labs/milling centers.

	At this meeting, in early February Delcam announced the initial release of two new, open-source Delcam CAD/CAM products to penetrate the fast-growing dental market desperately needing the advanced technology existing in their current industrial solution in an open-system environment.

	These two products were DentCAD (developed from their industrial CAD product PowerSHAPE) and DentMILL which was developed from their industry leading PowerMILL 5-Axis CAM product.

Articles

Dental companies and organizations are built on big ideas and thrive on the energy of people determined to turn those visions into reality. 

Dreamers and Doers

Showcasing the articles that garnered the most attention this year. 


The top 5 Digital Esthetics articles of 2018

	With 2019 quickly approaching, we decided to take a look back and showcase the articles that made a big impact this past year.

Trending article: 3 MAJOR challenges when creating dentures

	This year, you, our readers, were most interested in ways to get involved with digital dentures, the worst states to be a lab technician, materials that lab techs need to know about, and more. We’re excited to see what next year brings for the dental lab industry, and we’re looking forward to keeping you up to date with engaging content.

	Click through the slides to read the most popular Digital Esthetics articles of 2018.

	5 ways to get involved with digital dentures

	Digital design and manufacturing technologies have been slowly developing in our industry for over 30 years.

	The majority of crown and bridge restorations are now metal-free - a trend that has largely been influenced by the shift to CAD/CAM and the streamlined precision that it offers. CAD/CAM removables have been slower to develop, but recent advancements have generated enough buzz to help them go mainstream in the near future. With more than 36 million fully edentulous Americans, here’s a look at how labs can get their feet wet and prepare for the coming onslaught of digital denture technologies.

	The top 10 worst states to be a lab technician

	Americans take a lot of pride in the state they call home. Maybe your state is home to Abraham Lincoln (Illinois), maybe your state is home to the fi rst man who walked on the moon (Ohio), or maybe your state is home to the country’s largest pumpkin (Washington). For whatever reason, we embrace the best that our states have to offer.

	On the other hand, there are some states that aren’t ideal for everything. For example, dental lab technicians may have a tougher go at it in some states as opposed to others.

	We compiled data on areas such as employment, wage, healthcare, affordability and other statistics to identify which states were the toughest for dental lab technicians. Is your state on the list?

	6 materials lab techs need to know about

	There’s no dearth of materials at labs’ disposal. And with all of the different fabrication methods, a lab technician’s material options only broaden.

	Whether creating restorations through conventional methods, milling or even 3D printing, there are several material options that labs should keep in their arsenal. Here are the top six materials lab techs definitely need to know.

	5 things you need to know about 3D printing

	You’ve been hearing it for years by this point: “3D printing will revolutionize the industry,” “This technology is going to make this other product obsolete,” “Invest in 3D printing before it’s too late!”

	3D printers aren’t new, but they’re continually being made cheaper, better and more accessible than ever. This means that not only do you have to track the 3D printing revolution as it relates dental industry, but you also have to track the revolution being brought to 3D printers themselves. It’s a lot to take in, but we’re here to help.

	Here are five things you need to know about where 3D printing is now - what it’s being used for, how to best utilize it - and where 3D printing will be in the future. 3D printing shouldn’t be intimidating, so here’s how you can stay on top of the 3D printing revolution.

	As an expert on dental prostheses and restorations, you might take it for granted that you do excellent work.

	But there’s an entire corner of the internet that says, “I don’t need an expert for that; I can do it myself.” Here’s what happens when non-experts try to get into the dental game.

	You’ve spent years training to use the best materials and techniques to create the best product that’s esthetic, safe and (most importantly) functional. The following groups of people spent a few hours using household objects and YouTube guides to make or fix their dentures.

	After seeing some of the worst denture tips and “hacks” from across the internet, you’ll agree that the phrase “leave it to the experts” has never been truer.

	Not only will these tips not create something long-lasting or beautiful, they may just be the worst thing a patient could put in his or her mouth. They might be cheaper in the short run, but these could end up costing patients a lot more in wasted materials or health problems.