Noah Levine

Lately things have been moving at The Argen Corporation, and not just the numerous alloys the company produces for the global dental laboratory market. A recently launched employee Wellness Program helped encourage 39 members of the Argen team to take part in the La Jolla Shores 5K event last month. 

Since the first generation iPad was released just two years back the market for tablet computers has exploded, and with good reason. Tablets provide previously unknown portability and convenience. Sure laptops were portable, but they needed to be flipped open to use and weighed far more than a tablet. A tablet is as simple to use while standing as it is while seated and by design, these machines are ready to go the moment they're clicked on. Abundant advantages

Investing in the latest technology can provide large benefits for a practice, but with any technology, what was once new and cutting edge eventually becomes out of date.

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park in Boston, Objet Ltd., produced this massive replication of the Boston Red Sox's ballpark on an Objet Connex500 multi-material 3D printer.

Full Contour is a business that exists in the cloud and other digital spaces. Just five years ago it would have been extremely difficult to create a Web-based digital design service, but today Full Contour is thriving thanks to the rapid expansion of cloud computer and a world connected via the Web.

High tech for a dental lab doesn’t have to mean CAD/CAM, and more importantly it doesn’t have to come with a wallet-draining pricetag. Plenty of the cutting edge technologies ready to help you manage the business and make work at the bench more efficient can be accessed for free.

File sharing via Dropbox A cloud service that works equally well on computers and the mobile apps for the major smartphone platforms, Dropbox allows users to store files in online folders that can be shared to create a cloud-based portal between two Dropbox users. Video calls via Skype

The Lab Founded in 1976, PRO-DENT Laboratory Ltd. is a full service dental lab located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. With 45 people working in 7 departments, the lab strives to provide high quality restorations with customer service to match.  The product

Dental companies are starting to take advantage of the ways they can engage their customers and provide information and tools via iPhone and iPad apps. Here are some of the free options currently available in the Apple App Store: coDiagnostiX™ This implant treatment planning software from Straumann comes to the iPad in a robust app version that provides a great interface for viewing and sharing case images. ToothScout HD

I come here not to mourn the computer mouse ahead of its passing, but to celebrate it’s wondrous life and accomplishments, because surely we are nearing the end of the usefulness of this once ubiquitous device.

The QMIX 2in1 Irrigating Solution removes the smear layer and disinfects in one step following NaOCl application.

Delcam will launch major upgrades of its software for the design and manufacture of dental implant restorations with the release of the 2012 versions of its DentCAD and

CAD/CAM has become a way of life for some technicians and dental labs, but even labs with little to no CAD/CAM investment have felt the impact from the technology and the material and restoration options it’s made available. Numerous outsource options and workflows are available, ranging from sending a model to be scanned, designed and milled by an outsource partner, to investing in a scanner for in-house design, to buying into a complete system with on-site milling. It comes down to each lab finding what level of integration fits best.

With the many furnaces available from numerous manufacturers, selecting just the right one can be a daunting task for any dental lab technician. There also are four categories of furnaces to differentiate from, each made to best handle varying tasks. Having more than 30 years of component-level electronics experience, Daniel Serrago of IBEX Dental Technologies Inc., Richardson, Texas, literally knows all types of furnaces inside and out.

The new VITA ZYRCOMAT 6000 MS sintering furnace is capable of sintering up to 25 units as well as 9-unit bridges in 80 minutes starting from room temperature.

It’s no secret that the general public has almost no understanding of the work done by dental technicians. Most people don’t realize their dentist works with an outside expert when crafting their crowns, dentures or other potentially life-changing prosthetics.

Information provided by Henry Schein Inc. A complete online digital prescription workflow that helps route and manage lab casework, DDX Labscripts is a new feature of Henry Schein’s DDX (Digital Dental Exchange) digital case management system.

For good and ill, taking your work home with you has never been easier. The Internet makes it possible to connect to just about everything from anywhere, and connecting to the Internet often is as simple as pulling your smartphone from your pocket or a tablet computer from your bag.

It’s not uncommon for a lab with a complete in-house CAD/CAM system to open up excess capacity as an outsource option for other labs. That can be a way to maximize return on the technology investment, but it doesn’t make the lab into a milling center. Creating a milling center in the truest sense of concept means building a business dedicated to providing dental labs with access to CAD/CAM produced parts that can then be finished into restorations ready for the prescribing dentist to place into the patient’s mouth.

The Lab Gnathodontics Ltd. is a full service dental lab located in Lakewood, Colo. with about 60 employees. The lab specializes in complex combination cases, implants and cosmetic work.  The Product

Designed to recreate the internal effects and characteristics of natural teeth, Lite Art light-curing coloring pastes are highly fluorescent with low viscosities. Featuring a newly developed, multi-functional monomer and photo initiator, they  deliver excellent surface covering qualities.

No one really knows what’s coming just around the corner tomorrow-let alone throughout the next 12 months-but proceeding without even a general concept of what might be on the way can be just as risky.

It’s not as if change is a new thing to the dental laboratory industry. Innovation and embracing new materials, techniques and technologies always have been a part of running a successful dental lab business. However, the pace of that change seems to be continually accelerating, and labs need to constantly adjust to keep up.

Proper infection control and sterilization procedures are about a lot more than just patient and staff safety. Having an efficient sterilization process is critical to smooth practice operations. Having all the tools and instruments clean and ready when you need them takes planning and coordination. Without this, a practice might end up rushing the process in one way or another to get the needed tools to the operatory.

With the economy skittering along on the edge of recession it’s no surprise many dental labs took a cautious approach to major purchases during 2011. The year may have started with hints of optimism in a rebound just around the corner, but as the months dragged on and that rebound refused to solidify, it makes sense that many labs are ready to tread lightly as 2012 arrives.

A Web-based dental laboratory and supply-chain management software, SoundTrack is a suite of innovative tools designed to help labs drive revenue growth, decrease costs and strengthen customer loyalty. Designed to blend seamlessly with emerging dental technologies, labs can manage hundreds of concurrent cases online from anywhere there’s an Internet connection.

I have always been drawn to new technology. When analyzing the WaveOne file, it is clear that a lot of science went into its development. The concept and design behind the file system is built around a conservative shaping approach. The file system allows me to establish deep shape in the apical third of the root canal system while maintaining a conservative preparation in the middle and coronal third.

Flip through the pages of an issue of Dental Lab Products or walk a tradeshow floor, and you’re likely to cross paths with at least one new material. Keeping up with the stream of new options for your lab can be almost dizzying.

Someday chairside digital impressioning may be standard operating procedure and cases will go directly from the operatory to a lab’s computer, but until then, lab scanners will be the main gateway to digital workflows.

The opportunity to do some professional concert photography came about as a surprise bonus from the freelance writing I’d been doing for a number of music publications. I was offered an assignment covering Lollapalooza as long as I could provide them with both the copy and accompanying images, and even though I hadn’t done much serious photography since taking a handful of classes back in college, I wasn’t about to turn this opportunity down.