Experts abound across the Internet in the modern digital culture. It seems as though anyone and everyone can set up a website and proclaim to be the latest and greatest authority around.

What is often missing from these so-called experts is that invaluable commodity that cannot be bought-trust.

For dental technicians and lab owners, building trust in the community and the industry as an expert, whether online or outside the lab’s front door, is a hard-won battle, and never has this been truer than in today’s world, where online marketing-and online reputation management-dominate.

If anyone can purchase a domain name and create a blog or website, how do consumers filter through the “experts” to find what they are actually looking for? As customers-and prospective customers-increasingly turn to the Internet when searching for laboratory information, how can you enhance your online presence and come across as true, genuine, knowledgeable oral health care experts? The answer is putting maximum efforts into building trust online, and garnering positive online reviews to provide a solid foundation.

Consumer review websites, such as Yelp!, Google+ Local, and Healthgrades.com, among countless others, play a dominant role in the research that dentists might  conduct online when searching for a lab. According to a 2012 survey by SearchEngineLand, almost three-quarters of consumers trust online reviews as much as they do personal recommendations.

As a result, these online review sites present an essential opportunity for labs today to reach clients before they ever pick up the phone to contact a lab, and to reinforce word of mouth referrals as well.

Sites such as Yelp! and Google+ Local automatically create a profile for most businesses based on information gathered from online directories, and the data listed may or may not be accurate, so lab owners/technicians must claim their existing profiles and update them with the current contact information, your logo, as well as hours, a website link and photos and videos of the staff and its services. Typically, there is a link labeled “Is this your business?” or “Claim this profile” that can be used to log into the site and verify ownership of the business to make these key edits and upgrades.

When potential customers are able to find accurate information about your lab and read a history of reviews, (whether those reviews are truly representative of the lab or not) they feel as if they are getting a real sense of the overall experience.

With these positive online reviews in place, you don’t have to figure out how to communicate to prospective customers why your lab is their best option-your existing customers are doing it for you via social media.

It’s important to note that authenticity is paramount when it comes to online reviews. Internet users are savvy, and while they may rely on the opinion of complete strangers in researching a dental laboratory on websites like Yelp!, they are also on the lookout for anything disingenuous.

The websites that host these reviews also work hard to maintain their own credibility by using algorithms that analyze user data, studying unique identifiers like IP addresses and flagging accounts created for the purpose of writing a single review to ensure “fake” reviews get filtered out. In fact, nothing destroys trust online faster than the laboratory creating multiple accounts to try to post reviews, even if they contain legitimate testimonials from real clients.

Client reviews and online marketing strategy

There is truly no higher seal of approval than a public testimonial from a satisfied client. As online reviews become more and more pervasive-and more trusted-building a reputation through this medium will become a make or break proposition for many dental labs when it comes to attracting new clients.

Building trust online is not an easy process, and it certainly doesn’t happen overnight, but the optimal time for dental lab owners to start cultivating a positive online reputation-and positioning themselves as experts-is now. Those of you who make the commitment today to foster a strong history of online reviews will create unstoppable momentum for your lab’s online marketing efforts for years to come.  

Naomi Cooper is President & Founder of Minoa Marketing and serves as Chief Marketing Consultant for Pride Institute. She is a respected dental marketing consultant, author, speaker and industry opinion leader who co-teaches Pride’s groundbreaking marketing course, “The New Rules of Dental Marketing.” Naomi can be reached via email at 

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How to get better online reviews for your lab

01. Give us a brief overview of Valplast. 

 brand flexible partials and flexible denture base resin is the world’s first flexible partial denture solution. The product was introduced in 1953 to provide an affordable and durable esthetic removable denture.

02. What do you see as Valplast’s greatest strength? 

Valplast provides a resin ideally suited to take advantage of all of the benefits of the flexible partial denture concept. The resin itself has exceptional strength, and the ideal degree of flexibility to provide patients with a comfortable, durable and beautiful restoration.

03. Can any dental lab use Valplast? Is Valplast for every type of case?

While Valplast is well-suited to nearly every patient needing partial replacement of missing teeth, and any dentist can work with Valplast without extensive special training, laboratories do require special training and special equipment to work with Valplast. The learning curve is very manageable, and with the new innovations we offer in digital dental technology, Valplast can provide services that accelerate the laboratory output and reduce the amount of steps required while also reducing some of the training time for technicians.

04. What have you heard from patients who have experienced Valplast partial dentures?

Patients comment on the comfort and the appearance of Valplast. They also are typically very happy to experience normal function of the Valplast denture without compromising their eating habits.

05. What differentiates Valplast from other offerings? 

Valplast brand flexible denture base resin was developed specifically to realize all the benefits of the flexible partial denture. The product and the company behind it are completely dedicated to this concept. Valplast has never been modified since it was first introduced because it remains the standard against which all other offerings are measured. And it is backed by a company that considers flexible partials the gold standard of removable restorations.

06. How can dental labs increase the quality of their communication with dental clients?

Valplast offers published guides for the dental office that are also available for labs to use as guidelines in communicating with their dentist-clients to prepare for a successful restoration with Valplast. We also offer the expertise of our customer service staff to engage in case planning in collaboration with the lab and the dentist.

07. When it comes to innovation, what is Valplast doing? 

Valplast is pioneering new ways to engage digital dentistry in the laboratory process. We have already introduced Precise-Fit Functional Trial Bases to make better use of rapid prototyping in creating the actual try-in, and we have developed new systems that will streamline the entire lab process in the fabrication of flexible full and partial dentures.

08. What challenges do today’s technicians face in terms of education?

We all recognize that dental technology education in our country is grossly under-provided. I proudly sit on the Advisory Committee for Citytech’s Dept. of Restorative Dentistry, one of the few accredited dental technology programs available in the U.S. We all recognize that our profession would benefit greatly for the benefit of patients’ health and dentists’ satisfaction if formal education in dental technology became the norm for laboratory technicians here, as it is in almost every other country. This commitment would help our industry remain innovative, productive and successful.

09. What can we expect from Valplast in 2013?

You may know that Valplast suffered huge interruptions in 2012, most remarkably from the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy in late October.  We saw the challenges as opportunities to find new ways to be more efficient, to produce record amounts of our product, and to expand our operation internationally. In 2013 Valplast is already becoming bigger and better than ever, and you can expect to see Valplast in more places here and around the world.

10. Where can readers go to learn more about Valplast and its injection system?

You can visit Valplast.com to learn more about our injection system and overall flexible partial solutions. You also can find a distributor and find out more about the educational opportunities we offer along with details about becoming a Certified Valplast Lab or Technician. Alternately, feel free to call us at 800-843-2861. Finally, you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

01. Give us a brief overview of Valplast.  Valplast brand flexible partials and flexible denture base resin is the world’s first flexible partial denture solution. The product was introduced in 1953 to provide an affordable and durable esthetic removable denture. 02. What do you see as Valplast’s greatest strength? 

10 Questions: Valplast talks innovation, why their partials work and overcoming challenges

 is a full- service lab located in Slidell, La.

The lab offers fixed and removable prosthetics, and  specializes in implants, especially fixed hybrid prosthetics. Master-Tech has 18 employees and 110 active accounts. The company is co-owned by Bob Carpenter, CDT, and his partner, Debbie Arceneaux.

 permits a fully automated, controlled injection and polymerization procedure of special PMMA resins, which are coordinated with the system. The chemical shrinkage of the resin is entirely compensated during polymerization-thanks to the patented temperature control in the flask and the heater. This enables the fabrication of denture bases featuring high accuracy of fit and precision. The injector has been especially developed for the IvoBase material and is said to permit exceptional restorations. The IvoBase Injector also can be used for the tried-and-tested 

• “All-in-one” injector, quick and easy setting into operation possible

• Controlled polymerization shrinkage for optimal accuracy of fit

• No water and compressed air connection necessary (plug and play)

• Compact, modern and ergonomic design; requires only a small space

• OSD indicator: current operating status visible from a great distance

• RMR key for a clear reduction of the residual monomer content

• USB port for software updates via PC/Internet

• Direct flask heating without water bath permits polymerization without annoying steam

• High maintenance friendliness and easy replacement of the heating elements due to the removable cover

WATCH THIS IVOBASE SYSTEM TRAINING VIDEO:

Carpenter, who is president at Master-Tech, says they switched to the IvoBase system about a year ago and is happy to report they now get much better results.

“We were drawn to the IvoBase system because we were using another injection system for our fixed hybrids and were not happy with the results we were getting,” he notes. “I was looking for a system that would produce esthetic-dense acrylic.”

The lab now uses the IvoBase system for a variety of cases.

“We have been using the system for about a year. We process all of our acrylic cases using the IvoBase-dentures, acrylic and cast partials and fixed hybrid cases,” Carpenter says.

Master-Tech is thrilled by an improvement in its efficiency as well as with the quality of its work now.

“The IvoBase system has a two-fold benefit to our lab. It immediately improved the efficiency of our removable department,” the lab’s president explains. “Traditional mixing and packing of acrylics is fraught with inefficiencies in mixing of material and packing technique. The IvoBase eliminates these variables; the material is pre-measured and impossible to mix incorrectly and the injection technique is foolproof. The resulting improvement in the quality of the work cut down on in-lab repairs and remakes saving time and money.”

This efficiency helps the lab’s ROI, but just as important, Master-Tech is delivering even better cases to its customers.

“Secondly, it greatly improved the quality of our work,” Carpenter says. “The injection system and technique is vastly superior to anything else available. It is so superior that we have rebased cases that were done with our previous system at no charge. The improvement in our quality was possible because of the increased efficiency in the department and the fact that it is hands down a superior acrylic and process.

“The IvoBase stands apart from the other systems simply because it is a better acrylic and the injection system consistently outperforms any other system we have used. For us, seeing is believing; it is head and shoulders over any other way of processing acrylic. Our customers love the fits (they have improved) and the density of the acrylic (it does not stain or collect calculus like the other acrylics).

“In summary, our choice of the Ivobase system is one of the best decisions we have made in our business. It has provided  an excellent return on the investment.”

For more information, visit ivoclarvivadent.us or call 800-533-6825.

The Lab Master-Tech Dental Lab, Inc. is a full- service lab located in Slidell, La.

Real-Time ROI: The IvoBase Injector [VIDEO]

The manufacturing world is increasingly turning to 3D printing in an effort to meet the fast pace of today’s competitive marketplace. By answering industry production challenges, lab owners can save costs and move more quickly to digital production.

, part of the Objet Eden™ line of systems. Objet30 OrthoDesk is specially designed for small- to medium-sized labs and clinics. It is reportedly compact, affordable and easy-to-use. With patented PolyJet 3D Printing technology, it offers all of the advantages of a 3D printer in a package created to work with labs of any size.

Within the Objet30 OrthoDesk, the PolyJet jetting head slides back and forth along the X-axis, similar to a line printer, depositing a single, super-thin layer of polymer onto the build tray. After building each layer, UV bulbs alongside the jetting bridge emit UV light, immediately curing and hardening each layer. This step eliminates the additional post curing required by other technologies.

SEE HOW ONE LAB IS USING THE OBJET30 ORTHODESK TO HELP THEIR WORKFLOW:

Avi Cohen, Director of Global Dental at Stratasys, elaborates: “The internal jetting tray moves down with extreme precision and the jet heads continue building, layer by layer, until the model is complete. Sophisticated software tools enable all heads to work in perfect harmony and superb accuracy, to synchronously jet identical amounts of materials on the tray. This results in a perfectly even and smooth surface. Two different materials are used for building: one for the actual model-the VeroDent material, and another gel-like material for support. The geometry of the support structure is pre-programmed to cope with complicated geometries, such as cavities, overhangs, undercuts, delicate features and thin-walled sections.”

Stratasys’ goal with the Objet30 OrthoDesk is that any lab can fabricate stone models, appliances, delivery and positioning trays, models for clear aligners, retainers and surgical guides-right on the benchtop. Stratasys says the advancements in their Objet30 OrthoDesk sets a new standard in 3D Printers.

Information provided by Stratasys. This tech brief orginally appeared in 

 magazine. To get more articles like this, 

The Objet30 OrthoDesk provides big capability—and a small footprint [VIDEO]

Our (Evident) customers rave about the ease of access. A typical response is “you mean I can work from home?” It’s the access from anywhere that grabs the attention of dental lab owners and their administration and sales staff.

The best unnoticed feature for cloud storage is the ability for Evident support staff to look at the same screen as the person in the lab. From support to training, cloud-based software means that Evident staff members can provide the best customer support in the industry. Problems are solved faster and lab staff trained more effectively. The days of the dental lab software support staff sitting at a desk with a help manual are numbered.

Lab owners at trade shows are showing more and more enthusiasm for the safety of running their laboratory in the cloud. Running your laboratory in the cloud means peace of mind. Anything could happen to the lab: fire, theft and natural disasters. How can a lab possibly account for this level of risk management? A dental laboratory can be literally destroyed. If you have the equipment or even the connection with another lab, you can continue to run your business if the lab uses cloud-based dental lab software.

Storing data in the cloud means you don’t have physical storage-so you’ll save money by avoiding the need for servers, paid upgrades and expensive back-up systems. Plus, you’ll find your IT staffing and hardware costs are much lower. 

This list was compiled with help from Evident. Learn more at 

1. Access from anywhere-even home! Our (Evident) customers rave about the ease of access. A typical response is “you mean I can work from home?” It’s the access from anywhere that grabs the attention of dental lab owners and their administration and sales staff. 2. Instant support

Dental Lab Products-2013-07-01

How to get better online reviews for your lab

10 Questions: Valplast talks innovation, why their partials work and overcoming challenges

Real-Time ROI: The IvoBase Injector [VIDEO]

The Objet30 OrthoDesk provides big capability—and a small footprint [VIDEO]

Top 4 reasons to store your data in the cloud