Industry News

Robert Kreyer will be conducting several Advanced Denture and The Art of Prosthetics courses throughout the summer and fall months in Sarasota, Fla. and Los Angeles. On June 25-26 and again on September 11-12 he will be at University of Southern California in Los Angeles teaching The Art of Prosthetics, sponsored by Canulor USA. To sign up, contact Joanna Randall at 800-436-3827.

When deciding to enter the world of marketing, it’s essential for dentists to start not only with an idea of what they’d personally like to accomplish, but also what experts agree are the most urgent and important marketing strategies. This approach enables dental practices to create a more measured and organized marketing plan based on what works in the real world, rather than simply focusing on what might subjectively feel “important” in the moment.

Hasselt, Belgium, September 7, 2010-DENTSPLY Prosthetics sponsored a panel of dentists and dental laboratory technicians to convene at the DENTSPLY ES Healthcare facility in Hasselt, Belgium for a two-day symposium, held on July 15th and 16th, 2010. The purpose of the meeting was to gather dental industry thought leaders for Compartis® ISUS implant case presentations, interact with and gain exposure to new implant-technology developments, and share ideas.

Modern Dental Laboratory USA named one of Top 75 corporate citizens in Washington state

New York, N.Y.-On May 21, an excited group of young ceramists took part in a free ceramics course presented by Rich Pavlak, CDT, MDT, FNGS, at New York City College of Technology. “Participating in Rich Pavlak’s Porcelain hands-on workshop was really exciting to me.” said attendee Rocio German. By design, corporate sponsorships were limited to gifts for the students, technical support and lunch, so the event stayed focused on high quality ceramics and professional motivation.

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.

Photo:Top Row: Stuart Schultz, Cindy Murphy. Bryan Murphy Bottom Row: Helene Schultz, Juan Hamilton, Lorraine Golding

Jensen Dental has acquired the assets of Chemichl AG, a world-class dental ceramic manufacturer located in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Chemichl is a diversified OEM developer and manufacturer of ceramic powders, ingots, and blocks for the worldwide market. Jensen, with headquarters in North Haven, CT, has purchased Chemichl as part of its strategy to develop new products to complement its long-term and ongoing commitment to the Willi Geller Creation line of ceramics.

National Dentex Corporation (NASDAQ: NADX), one of the largest owner/operators of dental laboratories in North America, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger to be acquired by GDC Holdings, Inc. (GDC), which is a holding company of GeoDigm Corporation (GeoDigm), a technology-based manufacturing and laboratory company and a portfolio company of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe XI, L.P. (Welsh Carson).

Senior Mobile Dental is a non-profit organization focused on bringing dental hygiene services to the elderly population of the Colorado Springs area. Photo: Courtesy of Senior Mobile Dental

Long-time Vident employee Gil Villavecer has been recently promoted to Vice President, Business Development. In his new role, Villavecer will be responsible for building relationships and negotiating agreements with some of the nation’s major lab and dental practice groups.

The National Board for Certification in Dental Laboratory Technology (NBC) announces the full launching of the home-based Modularization Program.

September 20, 2010-Julie Brander, small business mentor and coach, and past chapter chair of SCORE New Haven will host the Small Business Administration’s monthly September one-hour web chat on “Cash Flow Management Thurs. Sept. 30  at 1:00 p.m. ET. Brander will offer tips and advice on effective cash flow management for your business, and answer questions about how to plan and prepare for the future and for changes in the market.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Dental laboratories with 3Shape and Dental Wings scanners now have access to Authorized Lava™ Milling Centers as part of the 3M™ ESPE™ Lava™ Network, giving them the ability to offer their customers clinically proven 3M materials. This includes Lava™ Zirconia, Lava™ DVS Digital Veneering System full contour digital crowns and 3M Essential Zirconia. The opening of the Lava Network to these systems is another significant move from 3M ESPE as the company continues to broaden its associations with validated partners and systems.

WOBURN, Mass. - SensAble Technologies Inc., a leading provider of dental restoration design and fabrication solutions, 3D modeling software and haptic devices, has named Core 3D Centres, a global supplier of digital manufacturing services to dental laboratories, as a SensAble Authorized Milling Center partner.

SensAble Technologies, Inc®, the leading provider of touch-enabled modeling solutions and haptic devices, announced that it concluded 2009 with record sales, led by the growth and international expansion of its dental business unit.

THE SET-UP “Dr. Garry Bey describes the challenges of doing a live patient demonstration. His enthusiasm for endodontics and passion for his chosen instrumentation and obturation system are contagious." -Dr. Richard E. Mounce, team lead When I was asked if I would perform a root canal in front of a live audience at the 2009 Greater New York Dental Meeting (GNYDM), my first inclination was, “Wow, how exciting!”

Thermoplastic Comfort System, Inc. is proud to announce the launch of their new Web site. The site includes information for patients from FAQs to How to Care for TCS appliances. For dentists we feature before and after cases, insertion and adjustment techniques, and other useful information. And finally, a full product catalog for the laboratory including You-Tube clips with techniques on many of the processes. An authorized dealer locator is also included.

Nobel Biocare announced today that it has signed a preferred partnership agreement with Germany-based VITA Zahnfabrik, a global market leader in restorative and prosthetic materials for dentists and dental technicians.

Glidewell Laboratories, a provider of dental laboratory services to North America, has announced its latest collaboration with Objet Geometries Ltd. (Rehovot, Israel), innovation leader of 3-Dimensional printing systems. Objet provided Glidewell with the ability to manufacturer custom printed models and other precision dental parts using Objet's Eden™ 3-D Printing Systems.

Participants recently traveled to Vancouver and Vident's home office in Brea, Calif. to attend hands-on denture courses taught by Dennis Purinton, CDT. Attendees learned to demonstrate proper articulation techniques focusing on mandibular denture stability and lingualized occlusion. Using available information, such as landmarks of the mouth, facial shape and gender, participants completed one denture set up with VITA Physiodens Anterior and Lingoform upper and lower posterior teeth.

Astron Dental has opened its third U.S. location, the Vanderbilt Beach Technical Center, in Naples, Fla. Astron also operates a corporate and manufacuring plant near Chicago and a Sales and marketing center in Las Vegas. For additional informatiion, call 800-323-4144.

In last months issue of Best Cosmetic Dentistry Practices I introduced the Silverman Institute’s Cosmetic Dentistry Boot Camp program and how you can use some of the systems I teach in Boot Camp to transform your cosmetic practice in one day. However, one of the essential ingredients in accomplishing this goal is the ability to determine predictable results with less stress before you expand your cosmetic program. In Boot Camp I teach dentists exactly how to do that.

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.

The Set-Up “With the emergence of new clinical data, health care professionals are becoming increasingly aware of the interrelationship of oral and systemic disease. In this article, Dr. Kelly Blodgett considers the possible connection of different inflammatory diseases,” Dr. Peter O. Cabrera, Team Lead

Management is difficult enough without  having to manage in a down economy. We are concerned about our businesses, the welfare of our employees, as well as our own welfare as we wait for things to turn around. The experts tell us the upturn is coming, but I doubt that you, like me, have seen many positive economic signs. I was told recently that economic trends hit the dental industry about six months after they hit other industries, so it looks like we may have a ways to go. Think about the points below as you continue to manage through our current economic downturn.

South Bend, Ind.-Heraeus Kulzer, LLC, a worldwide leader in dental esthetics, announced a new partnership with the Foundation for Dental Laboratory Technology, a non-profit 501(c)(3) whose purpose is to advance the profession of dental laboratory technology. As part of the partnership, Heraeus Precious Metal Refining will provide a charitable contribution to the Foundation for Dental Laboratory Technology (FDLT) based on the value of refined scrap from all NADL member laboratories that use its services.

CADCAM developer Delcam has established a dedicated Website for its Healthcare Division as part of the greater focus on this increasingly important part of its business.  The new Website, www.delcam-healthcare.com, shows how companies across the medical, dental, and associated industries have been able to apply Delcam’s software to give a higher quality service to their patients.  It incorporates five mini-sites describing Delcam’s solutions in five key areas; dental restorations, custom orthotic insoles, medical implants, orthopaedic footwear, and maxillofacial pro

Nobilium has been named the exclusive distributor of the Equipoise line of precision attachments, dentist tools, and teaching aids.  In addition, Nobilium will host the Equipoise technical certification course for dental laboratory technicians in its new Dental Technology Center. Equipoise is a complete removable restorative system that can be used with partial dentures and combination cases with crowns and implants.  The system enables esthetic partial denture designs using the Equipoise Balance of Force Principle.

On March 12, 2010 TCS will offer a hands-on TCS Unbreakable workshop at their training facility in Signal Hill, Calif. The four-hour course presents an overview of the tcs® Unbreakable fabrication process. Each participant receives an injected case to finish and polish using tcs® polishing technique and can take it home.