A Firsthand experience from matt Cushing, First choice Dental Lab ceo
As you might know, LMT Lab Day 2024 in Chicago recently took place, Feb 22-24, 2024.
Billed as the “largest international gathering of the dental lab community in North America,” this incredible event has grown to over 275 exhibitors, with more than 4600 attendees and three days of seminars, encompassing two entire exhibit halls.
Thankfully, I and a number of our team members were fortunate enough to attend, embracing seminars on new products, techniques, workflows, and technology.
Additionally, I was also privileged to attend both the CNC Group and Cal-Lab meetings which led up to the weekend. There’s no doubt these were both invaluable sessions, well worth the price of admission.
I’d love to take a moment to share with you our firsthand points of view, and some of our biggest takeaways from the amazing event.
Taking It All In
With so much to take in, we spent quite a bit of time on the showroom floor, discussing trends and trying out new offerings from our trusted vendors like Argen, Asiga, Roland, Jensen, Aidite, GC, Ivocar, Dentsply, Preat, 3Shape and Exocad.
Of course, in addition to seeing products and materials, one of the best reasons to attend is to catch up with friends & colleagues throughout the industry. It’s incredible to witness how over the last 20 years, LMT Lab Day has grown exponentially into the biggest dental lab show in the U.S.!
If you’re ever able to attend, I highly recommend you do yourself a favor and go for it, especially if you’re looking to embrace the latest technological advancements in dentistry (or even just a little curious, for that matter!)
LMT Lab Day has turned into quite the high-tech show with mills, printers, scanners, and software making up a large percentage of the displays.
The same can be said for this year’s event.
Advancements on Display at LMT Lab Day 2024
While the range of products and topics were almost too numerable to mention, the ones that especially caught my attention included artificial intelligence (AI), advancements in 3D printers and materials, and lean manufacturing.
To see how far all these have come in a relatively short time frame makes me wonder just how much we might see change over the coming years, too.
As part of the dental industry, the dental lab side continues to grow, evolve, and consolidate. Factors here include the labor market, trends on the doctor/patient side, technology advancements, and continued DSO growth.
As with the rest of the world, AI is already impacting dental labs in the ways products are designed, as well as utilization in areas such as marketing & communication. Now, it’s even making its way into the fabrication of our products.
It was clear from the show that it’s not going away anytime soon, and that the labs who embrace it will gain a true advantage, both for themselves, and for their customers.
Additionally, 3D printing in the dental lab continues to grow, held back only by the development of resins and other materials. But, as materials continue to advance, we can expect labs to print more and more of their output.
A strong final crown and a flexible partial are a couple of the key advancements that most are waiting for, but the current use of 3D printers in the lab industry has absolutely exploded.
Lean manufacturing was also highlighted by one of my favorite vendors, Argen. Their COO, Julie Woolf, presented their company’s informative and eye-opening journey with Lean.
With today’s dental lab becoming much more of a production facility, employing concepts like lean manufacturing makes sense, as we look to operate as efficiently as possible.
An Amazing Journey
LMT Lab Day is an event we always look forward to, providing an opportunity to get together with industry colleagues, learn about new products, and bring fresh ideas back to the lab.
This year, with the incredible products, technological advancements, and new innovations, it certainly lived up to its hype.
Now, the biggest question remaining: What amazing new aspects can we take away from it again next year?
–Matt Cushing, CEO, First Choice Dental Lab
***
About First Choice Dental Lab
First Choice Dental Lab is a full-service dental lab with locations in Downers Grove, Il. & Wauwatosa, Wi.
We manufacture & customize quality dental restorations for general dentists. We create smiles based on your needs and budget.
We’re here to help you give your patients a reason to smile!
Request your fee schedule today by completing the form on this page.
