Voices from The Bench

• 401: Seth Smith and Ryan Alexander: From Chaos to Clicks: The GreatLab.io Upgrade

  This week, we sit down with Seth Smith, founder of the rapidly growing lab software company Greatlab.io (https://www.greatlab.io/), and Ryan Alexander from Vitality Dental Arts (https://www.vitalitydentalarts.com/), who’s been living the GreatLab life since May and has plenty to say about it. Seth shares the long, winding road from e-commerce to dentistry, to clear aligners, to scanners, and finally to building what he hopes becomes the most modern, integrated, and speed-driven LMS in the industry. He talks workflow obsession, eliminating downloads, killing paper dockets, listening to lab pain points, and why he’s visited over 100 labs (and keeps going). Ryan brings the real-world perspective from a 100-tech lab that went through multiple LMS transitions before landing on GreatLab. He explains how their booking teams shrank, inbound calls dropped by 50%, audits disappeared, and technicians suddenly found computers they “didn’t have” once the system made their jobs easier. From the CRM that kills phone tag to ScanHub pulling every scanner into one feed, Ryan breaks down exactly what changed on the bench, in customer service, and across production. We also dig into bad scans (yes, 20% of them), doctor communication, automatic file routing, task automation, shipping integrations, data migration fears, and why some labs should not switch systems unless they’re truly ready to modernize. If you’ve ever wondered what a cloud-based, automation-heavy, lab-built-from-the-ground-up LMS looks like—or why another lab described GreatLab as “a Ferrari while everyone else is a Civic”—this episode lays it all out. Learn more or request a demo: greatlab.io Find them in Vegas at NADL Visions (https://www.nadl.org/nadl-vision-21) and in Chicago at Lab Day (https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday)! Happy Holidays from Ivoclar! As the year comes to a close, all of us at Ivoclar want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the incredible Voices From the Bench community. Thank you for your partnership, your trust, and the support you’ve shown throughout the year. From our Ivoclar family to yours, we wish you a joyful, healthy, and safe holiday season. May your days be merry, your nights be bright, and your smiles shine like freshly fallen snow. Ho, ho, ho — Happy Holidays from Ivoclar! Elvis and Barb are gearing up for their chat with the HyperDent Dude himself, Jordan Greenberg from FOLLOW-ME! Technology (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/). At LabFest, Elvis found out that every hyperDENT (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/hyperdent/) license comes with Template Editor Lite — a built-in feature that lets you make safe, customized tweaks to your milling strategies. Whether you want to prioritize surface quality or speed, this tool gives you the control to fine-tune your results while FOLLOW-ME! keeps everything validated and reliable. Because in the end, us lab techs love to tinker — and hyperDENT makes it easy to choose your own CAM-venture. Special Guests: Ryan Alexander and Seth Smith.

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• 400: Joe Young - Hail to the Young: The Presidential Edition

  Join Elvis and Barb at all these amazing shows coming up in 2026 * Vision 21 in Las Vegas Jan 15-17 https://www.nadl.org/nadl-vision-21 * Cal-Lab Association Meeting in Chicago Feb 19-20 https://cal-lab.org/ * LMT Lab Day Chicago Feb 19-21 https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday * Dental Lab Association of Texas Meeting in Dallas Apr 9-11 https://members.dlat.org/ * exocad Insights in Mallorca, Spain Apr 30 - May 1 https://exocad.com/insights-2026 This week, Barb and Elvis finally sit down for a long-overdue full episode with the man behind the Fans of Voices From the Bench Facebook group, second-generation lab owner, NADL (https://www.nadl.org/) President, and all-around industry cheerleader: Joe Young of Young Dental Laboratory (https://youngdentallab.com/). Joe shares his family’s incredible journey from Hong Kong to Philadelphia, how his parents built a small ortho lab out of a spare room, and how he grew up trimming models on a step stool before eventually returning to the lab after college. He walks us through the evolution of the business—from analog ortho, to adding fixed, to diving head-first into early CAD/CAM. Today, Young Dental is a 26-tech, multi-department full-service lab serving PA, NJ, and DE. Joe talks about the challenges of ortho work in a digital world, the need for wire-bending talent, the rise of aligners, and the struggle of balancing old-school techniques with new-school tech. He also reflects on family legacy, his dad’s 45 years as a CDT, and why keeping that generation’s knowledge alive matters more than ever. As NADL President, Joe dives into board service, workforce development, collaboration across organizations, and his goal of connecting labs and vendors more effectively. Plus, he gives an honest look at what it’s like to step into leadership, find your voice, and leave a legacy for the next wave of techs. Of course, it wouldn’t be a VFTB episode without gifts, jokes, accidental innuendo, and a rapid-fire Q&A that reveals Barb’s love of tomahawks and Elvis’s dream of 88-degree weather. Happy Holidays from Ivoclar! As the year comes to a close, all of us at Ivoclar want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the incredible Voices From the Bench community. Thank you for your partnership, your trust, and the support you’ve shown throughout the year. From our Ivoclar family to yours, we wish you a joyful, healthy, and safe holiday season. May your days be merry, your nights be bright, and your smiles shine like freshly fallen snow. Ho, ho, ho — Happy Holidays from Ivoclar! Elvis and Barb are gearing up for their chat with the HyperDent Dude himself, Jordan Greenberg from FOLLOW-ME! Technology (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/). At LabFest, Elvis found out that every hyperDENT (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/hyperdent/) license comes with Template Editor Lite — a built-in feature that lets you make safe, customized tweaks to your milling strategies. Whether you want to prioritize surface quality or speed, this tool gives you the control to fine-tune your results while FOLLOW-ME! keeps everything validated and reliable. Because in the end, us lab techs love to tinker — and hyperDENT makes it easy to choose your own CAM-venture. Special Guest: Joe Young.

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• 399: Jordan Greenberg: The CAM Man Can Follow-Me to HyperDent

  Join Elvis and Barb at all these amazing shows coming up in 2026 * Vision 21 in Las Vegas Jan 15-17 https://www.nadl.org/nadl-vision-21 * Cal-Lab Association Meeting in Chicago Feb 19-20 https://cal-lab.org/ * LMT Lab Day Chicago Feb 19-21 https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday * Dental Lab Association of Texas Meeting in Dallas Apr 9-11 https://members.dlat.org/ * exocad Insights in Mallorca, Spain Apr 30 - May 1 https://exocad.com/insights-2026 This week, we finally bring on a guest who has been six years in the making: the one and only Jordan Greenberg, the North America Managing Director of FOLLOW-ME! Technology (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/)—better known as the HyperDent (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/hyperdent/) guy. Jordan takes us on a wild ride through the world of CAM software, milling strategies, toolpaths, and the surprisingly fascinating story of how dental CAM even became what it is today. From his early days as a third-generation “dental nepo baby” to running a zirconia milling center with his dad, all the way to helping launch titanium-bar milling on Datron (https://www.datron.com/) D5 machines, Jordan’s journey hits every corner of digital dentistry’s evolution. He breaks down what CAM actually does in the simplest possible terms (yes, even Elvis-level simple), explains the magic behind toolpaths, tools, post-processors, and how HyperDent “drives the car” for hundreds of different mills. You’ll hear how materials get validated, why some ideas labs come up with are physically impossible, and why you should ALWAYS talk to your CAM provider before releasing new materials or components into the world. Jordan also shares a behind-the-scenes look at solving problems like angulated screw channels, milling lithium disilicate pucks, and HyperDent’s upcoming work on milled dentures—including Ivoclar’s Ivotion processes coming to open CAM. Whether you mill every day or still think CAM is just “putting a crown in a puck,” Jordan demystifies it all with humor, honesty, and more tech insights than we've ever had on the podcast at once. * Dental Labs—The Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_us) Flash Sale Is On! * From November 3rd to 14th, Ivoclar is bringing you unbeatable deals on the equipment that will set your lab up for success in 2026. * Upgrade your mill, your furnace, or expand your workflow—and save big while doing it! * Plus, when you purchase a milling machine (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_us/products/product-list?page=1&limit=12&filters=%5B%7B%22id%22%3A%22professions%22%2C%22advancedFilter%22%3Afalse%2C%22values%22%3A%5B%22Lab%22%5D%7D%2C%7B%22id%22%3A%22categories%22%2C%22advancedFilter%22%3Afalse%2C%22value%22%3A%22Digital%20Equipment%22%7D%5D), you’ll get delivery, installation, and training—all included. That means your lab will be production-ready from day one. * But hurry—these savings vanish after November 14th! * Contact your Ivoclar sales rep today and power up your lab for the year ahead. Elvis and Barb are gearing up for their chat with the HyperDent Dude himself, Jordan Greenberg from FOLLOW-ME! Technology (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/). At LabFest, Elvis found out that every hyperDENT (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/hyperdent/) license comes with Template Editor Lite — a built-in feature that lets you make safe, customized tweaks to your milling strategies. Whether you want to prioritize surface quality or speed, this tool gives you the control to fine-tune your results while FOLLOW-ME! keeps everything validated and reliable. Because in the end, us lab techs love to tinker — and hyperDENT makes it easy to choose your own CAM-venture. Year-end chaos is here. Labs are slammed, deadlines are brutal, and mistakes are not an option. That’s when dental technicians rely on the one thing that never quits: https://www.rolanddga.com/applications/dental-cad-cam. The DWX-53DC (https://www.rolanddga.com/products/dental/dwx-53dc-5-axis-dry-dental-milling-with-automatic-disc-changer) is a true workhorse—24-hour automated milling that keeps your lab running, your overhead down, and your ROI up. No redos. No downtime. Just consistent, precise results. Built on decades of Japanese engineering, Roland delivers the reliability that keeps labs sane, profitable, and on schedule. Finish the year strong with the mill you can trust. Choose Roland DGSHAPE. Precision. Reliability. Performance. Learn more at rolanddga.com Special Guest: Jordan Greenberg.

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• 398: Jonathan Bourke Went From Six Strings to Six Implants

  Join Elvis and Barb at all these amazing shows coming up in 2026 * Vision 21 in Las Vegas Jan 15-17 https://www.nadl.org/nadl-vision-21 * Cal-Lab Association Meeting in Chicago Feb 19-20 https://cal-lab.org/ * LMT Lab Day Chicago Feb 19-21 https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday * Dental Lab Association of Texas Meeting in Dallas Apr 9-11 https://members.dlat.org/ * exocad Insights in Mallorca, Spain Apr 30 - May 1 https://exocad.com/insights-2026 This week, we sit down with a guest whose journey hits all the right notes—literally! Meet Jonathan Bourke, a jazz guitarist turned dental technician who went from pouring models to designing full-arch restorations and running his own in-office lab. Jonathan shares how a chance gig driving for a denturist opened the door to a career he never expected, taking him from analog dentures to digital workflows, photogrammetry, and Exocad (https://exocad.com/) wizardry. Now a lab owner working directly with clinicians, Jonathan talks about collaboration in full-arch cases, teaching with Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/) and MiYO (https://miyoworld.com/), and what it’s like to see his work come to life chairside. From learning CAM milling to demoing in front of dental rockstars, Jonathan’s story is a reminder that artistry comes in many forms—sometimes from six strings, sometimes from six implants. * Dental Labs—The Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_us) Flash Sale Is On! * From November 3rd to 14th, Ivoclar is bringing you unbeatable deals on the equipment that will set your lab up for success in 2026. * Upgrade your mill, your furnace, or expand your workflow—and save big while doing it! * Plus, when you purchase a milling machine (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_us/products/product-list?page=1&limit=12&filters=%5B%7B%22id%22%3A%22professions%22%2C%22advancedFilter%22%3Afalse%2C%22values%22%3A%5B%22Lab%22%5D%7D%2C%7B%22id%22%3A%22categories%22%2C%22advancedFilter%22%3Afalse%2C%22value%22%3A%22Digital%20Equipment%22%7D%5D), you’ll get delivery, installation, and training—all included. That means your lab will be production-ready from day one. * But hurry—these savings vanish after November 14th! * Contact your Ivoclar sales rep today and power up your lab for the year ahead. Elvis and Barb are gearing up for their chat with the HyperDent Dude himself, Jordan Greenberg from FOLLOW-ME! Technology (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/). At LabFest, Elvis found out that every hyperDENT (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/hyperdent/) license comes with Template Editor Lite — a built-in feature that lets you make safe, customized tweaks to your milling strategies. Whether you want to prioritize surface quality or speed, this tool gives you the control to fine-tune your results while FOLLOW-ME! keeps everything validated and reliable. Because in the end, us lab techs love to tinker — and hyperDENT makes it easy to choose your own CAM-venture. Special Guest: Jonathan Bourke.

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• 397: Marc Rondeau: The Aussie Who is Making Teeth, Teaching Techs, and Spinning Records

  Shirts, long sleeves, and hoodies are back for a limited time! This batch has the podcast logo on the back and on the front is a simple name tag saying "Dental Technician". Be proud of what you do and show the WORLD that we exist. Shirts on sale until November 8, 2025. As always 100% of the profits go towards the Foundation For Dental Laboratory Technology (https://dentallabfoundation.org/)! https://www.bonfire.com/its-all-in-the-name160/ This week, Elvis and Barb cross the globe to chat with the legendary Marc Rondeau—a Sydney-based dental technician, educator, and yes, nightclub DJ. From being one of 30 accepted out of 300 applicants into Australia’s only dental tech program, to running one of the country’s top labs, Marc’s journey is packed with hard work, humor, and heart. He shares how a near-fatal car accident—and the brain tumor it uncovered—completely reshaped his perspective on work-life balance, pushing him to give back through teaching and advocacy. Now the Vice President of the Australian Dental Technicians Association (https://www.australiandentaltechnicians.com.au/), Marc talks about the fight to keep technicians recognized, the shift from analog to CAD/CAM, and why he believes every tech should know how to “wax before they CAD.” * Dental Labs—The Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_us) Flash Sale Is On! * From November 3rd to 14th, Ivoclar is bringing you unbeatable deals on the equipment that will set your lab up for success in 2026. * Upgrade your mill, your furnace, or expand your workflow—and save big while doing it! * Plus, when you purchase a milling machine (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_us/products/product-list?page=1&limit=12&filters=%5B%7B%22id%22%3A%22professions%22%2C%22advancedFilter%22%3Afalse%2C%22values%22%3A%5B%22Lab%22%5D%7D%2C%7B%22id%22%3A%22categories%22%2C%22advancedFilter%22%3Afalse%2C%22value%22%3A%22Digital%20Equipment%22%7D%5D), you’ll get delivery, installation, and training—all included. That means your lab will be production-ready from day one. * But hurry—these savings vanish after November 14th! * Contact your Ivoclar sales rep today and power up your lab for the year ahead. The right CAM software can completely transform your lab’s workflow — and no one understands that better than FOLLOW-ME! Technology (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/), creators of hyperDENT (https://www.follow-me-tech.com/hyperdent/#product_overview). That’s why Roland DGA (https://www.rolanddga.com/applications/dental-cad-cam) has partnered with FOLLOW-ME! North America to offer the Roland DGA x hyperDENT Bundle for their DWX-53D series mills. This collaboration gives labs optimized performance, smoother milling, and incredible efficiency gains — with some users reporting up to two hours saved per case cycle without sacrificing quality. And here’s the best part: Roland is making this available to everyone through a hyperDENT trade-in promo for existing users. It’s the perfect opportunity to upgrade your CAM and take full advantage of the technology you already have. Plus, Nowak Dental Supplies (https://www.nowakdental.com/) is participating in the promotion and adding an exclusive bonus for NOLA Lab Fest attendees: the Multiple Instances feature at no additional cost. Don’t miss your chance to see the difference in person! Join Jordan Greenberg — the “hyperDENT dude” himself — at NOLA Lab Fest, November 7–8 (https://www.nolalabfest.com/), and discover how CAM can redefine what your Roland mill can do. Special Guest: Marc Rondeau.

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