The right furniture for your dental laboratory is essential. It requires a big investment on the part of the lab owner or manager, but it can pay off big in terms of improved workflows and efficiency, opportunity for additional growth, and even in happier and healthier employees. That’s why it is important to allow plenty of planning and research before making such significant lab furniture investments.

If the wrong furniture and equipment are installed in a lab, you could end up with added costs and more time wasted attempting to correct the situation. Rick LaDuca, President of Handler International, Red Wing Brand Products, recently answered questions from DLP and offered up advice to help those looking to build a lab or bring new furniture into an existing lab.

 What are the key considerations when a dental lab is planning to purchase new lab furniture?

 The decision to purchase new lab furniture is big, because it involves a financial investment for today as well as the future and it clearly impacts workflow and efficiency. First and foremost a lab owner or manager has to consider their goals and objectives and look at the project as a solution to improve productivity, quality of the work, employee satisfaction and the ability to meet the needs of the customer. They should fully understand the applications they are running in their lab and make sure the supplier can accommodate. They should be realistic in their expectations and know that planning is essential and timing varies depending upon the solution. You can’t expect to make a decision and have it come to fruition in just a few days or even a few weeks. Decision makers should allow at least 6 to 8 weeks for delivery of their order from the time prints are approved and a purchase order is cut. Lastly, making sure you are aligned with a good install team who has been there before and done that is very helpful.

 Does the type of lab or number of employees play a role in what types of furniture are best suited for the lab?

 Yes of course. There are components that are congruent through the various applications in the lab, but each lab is unique and different applications have different requirements. For example, a pure removables lab will have specific requirements that are different for a crown and bridge. The amount of people and the role they play and just as important the amount of cases being processed in a day is very important. The lab must have adequate processing space and infrastructure to support the volume now and forecasted in the future.

Are there areas that labs tend to overlook when purchasing new lab furniture?

 This is an excellent question. Most lab owners and managers pretty much know what they want or need based upon their experience, their current state and where the industry headed with regard to technology-the past, present and future so to speak. Generally speaking, there is no one particular area that is omitted, but sometimes there is not enough thought given to the raw space needed and more importantly the proper infrastructure before a design and purchase is made. For example, we always ask questions such as, how much electricity is available at the site and what is the electrical configuration? Have you considered ducting before construction for central dust collection? How will the work flow from the point of receiving a case to shipping a finished product in order to minimize movement and maximize productivity?

 What advice can you offer labs in terms of best planning to add furniture now with plans to expand in the future?

 Know thy self. Understand what it is you are trying to do, have an open mind to the possibilities and talk to industry experts and peers. Look at various providers and find one that best meets your goals and objectives now and in the future. Don’t just look at the price tag, but more importantly look at what the solution will do to improve your business and provide you with the return on investment.

What are the possible consequences when a lab does not sufficiently plan for proper furniture needs?

Well, it can be fairly unpleasant. Specifically, it could mean added cost, more time spent trying to fix things, frustration, and negative impact on employee morale and productivity, which may translate into lost business. Fortunately, we have tools and resources available to help plan and minimize the risk.

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The Build-Up: Each lab has unique furniture requirements

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 

 of the usefulness of this once ubiquitous device.

I can recall the first time I interacted with a mouse. It was the early ’80s and a friend’s family had a brand new Apple MacIntosh set up on their kitchen table and I got a chance to point and click rather than typing in commands.

Like most firsts, it was an awkward experience. The mouse was boxy, the single button rigid and even the cord was a bit stiff. But it was a whole new way to interact with a computer and that alone was amazing. With a cursor-driven interface directories became folders, and finding them was easier to understand. It was still a step away from a fully intuitive computer control concept, but using a tool to drive an icon and then to select the item you went to enter with the push of a button was far easier to explain than trying to teach someone the command language involved in running a command line based computer.

 remained on the fringe during the 1980s, the mouse and the graphic interfaces it permitted certainly took off. Microsoft’s Windows operating system was built with mouse control in mind and it wasn’t long before every desk with a computer had a mouse off to one side.

Using the mouse became second nature to most, despite some limitations. I can certainly remember the issues of running out of both mouse cable or room on the desk. When dragging an item all the way across the screen it was quite common to get it halfway, then pick up the mouse, take it back to the other side of its available territory and drag that item back the other way.

With early mice, the trackball on the bottom caught its share of dust and required cleaning every so often. They also required smooth flat surfaces and spawned the mousepad, which provided an ideal mousing surface and a convenient opportunity for corporate branding.

Like all creatures, the computer mouse evolved over time. Versions with multiple buttons were among the first useful innovations, creating the nuanced computer commands available through right and left clicking. Scroll wheels were another innovation that became common on many mice, again allowing enhanced control of the computer without having to remove the hand from the mouse.

Technology improvements also made the experience of using a mouse better. The problem of dust in the trackball sensor was eliminated in two ways. First the mutant trackball control was a mouse flipped upside down. I never liked using this mouse format, but many people did. I assume those were the people who were naturally skilled at video games such as Centipede and Crystal Castles. Of course the biggest technological advancements were the wireless mouse that cut the cord, and optical and laser mouse designs that eliminated any moving parts beyond the buttons and scroll wheel.

Controlling a computer with a mouse was a shared experience of the growing computer culture. Point and click became a common term, and the mouse a key component to the computing experience.

The USB connected wireless mouse kept these control devices vital as the era of laptop computers was dawning, it was the development of laptop controls that started the mouse down its current path toward insignificance. Early laptops did their best to emulate mouse function with joystick-like controls embedded in the keyboard. I never got the hang of using those nubs and was far happier when 

At first they were clunky, unreliable and simply less convenient to use than a mouse, but trackpads eventually grew in size, became more sensitive to touch and quite simply got better and better. Plugging an internal mouse into a laptop became far less necessary when the trackpad offered a more intuitive control experience in a simpler design. These days many laptop trackpads allow users to click anywhere, eliminating the buttons from any part of the control scheme.

While the computer mouse was once a part of the laptop experience, it’s no longer a key component. Instead the tide is moving in the other direction as the trackpad is making its way into the desktop space. First the mouse absorbed some of the trackpad’s best features, but now it’s actually ceding some space on the top of the desk to actual trackpads.

Many PCs can now be purchased with an optional multi-touch control surface instead of a mouse, and while these trackpads might be taking over a bit of the mouse’s territory, the real threat comes from the smartphone and 

 spaces. Nothing is doing more to end the useful lifespan of the computer mouse than the prevalence of touchscreen technology.

Recent stats show more than half of American cellphones are now smartphones. People who never felt comfortable sitting in front of a computer are embracing this computing format, and touching the icons to interact with content is so intuitive it makes learning to use a computer easier than ever before. Touchscreens have really only been widely used in this format for four or five years, but already their influence is changing the way desktop computer software is being designed.

Those changes are not great news for the computer mouse’s future prospects. One of the things Apple has been very good at is pushing older computing technologies out of the way. The company’s frontal assault on Flash was news when the iPhone first launched, and the company has made no secret about working to eliminate optical drives. It has also been pushing against the computer mouse.

Sure, the Magic Mouse is a touch enabled mouse, but the company also offers a trackpad option for all it’s desktop systems and is bringing elements from its mobile iOS operating system into its OS X desktop system. It makes sense as computer users certainly benefit from a shared command experience whether using a smartphone, a 

, a laptop or a desktop. As more people get used to touchscreen controls on their smaller devices, it makes sense for bigger machines to adopt similar command schemes.

But while Apple is keeping its mobile and desktop systems separated to some degree thus far, Microsoft is eying a real jump into the tablet space with the forthcoming Windows 8. A completely new approach which also borrows some design aspects from the company’s smartphone OS, Windows 8 is being designed to run on both desktop systems and touchscreen devices. This means the way people will drive a Windows 8 computer needs to be largely the same as the way they’ll drive a Windows 8 tablet. Touch is the best way to make that happen, and while touchscreen on a desktop or a laptop is not the ideal way to go, touchpad like surface controls or even no touch, gesture controls such as with the company’s Xbox Kinect are a perfect, 

Now the mouse isn’t disappearing overnight, and the rabid community of PC gamers is likely to keep a niche of gaming mice around for a long time, but it will soon be a completely unnecessary component. Computers will be controlled by voice, gesture and touch, with point and click taking on a far more literal meaning.

The next generation raised in a world of voice, touch and gesture will certainly miss the joke from Star Trek IV when a time travelling Scotty picked up and spoke into the mouse after the computer didn’t respond to his initial voice commands. Instead this will be just one more sci-fi joke rendered moot by the realization of the technologies it predicted.

The computer mouse has led an unheralded but essential life, and it deserves a bit of recognition for its years of service. But like many technologies, it is now entering its Autumn years as the things that will replace it come into focus. The mouse won’t be disappearing on its own. Other staples of the PC era will soon join it on the sidelines as more powerful smartphones and advancing cloud computing will combine to make the desktop less necessary. But before the desktop completely fades, the mouse will disappear with all its charms and quirks.

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.

Tech Smart: The rise and fall of the computer mouse

A commitment to providing quality esthetic dentistry and staying ahead of new technology-along with a shared middle name-have been passed down from one generation to the next at Sikes Dental Studios in Charlotte, N.C.

Four generations have been or are currently employed at the company that was founded by Adam Lee Sikes, who got his start in the industry when he worked for a couple of dental labs before launching 

Adam was joined by his son, Raymond Lee Sikes, who purchased the lab in the late 1960s. Raymond’s son, Lindy, whose middle name is Lee, came into the business in the 1970s, and he continues to own and operate it. He is now working with his son, Shelton Lee, the newest Sikes to become part of the company.

“In the early days it was a small operation,” said Lindy. “They (Adam and Raymond) worked side-by-side. It was a 3- to 4-person operation.”

Like many who have grown up in a family business, Lindy had decided he was not headed toward a career in the dental lab industry. Instead, he tried other things, working for a time in sales and service in the boating industry. He returned to the lab business in the mid-1970s and, much to his surprise, discovered it was in his blood.

“When I got back into it, it was like falling in love,” he said. “Because I knew where I wanted to set my direction.”

He purchased the company in the late 1970s and has worked to continue the reputation for quality esthetics started by his father and grandfather. The studio takes pride in working with the some of the country’s premier cosmetic dentists.

 also strives to be at the forefront of new technology. The studio is a Beta center for 

, and works on new product development initiatives for the CAD/CAM and dental technology company.

When the CEREC AC Bluecam was developed, Sikes Dental Studios had a chairside unit in the laboratory months prior to its introduction to the rest of the dental community.

“It’s kind of cool because I see the stuff that nobody else gets to see,” Lindy Sikes said.
	
	As a past president of the 

National Association of Dental Laboratories

, the Southeast Conference of Dental Labs, and the North Carolina Dental Laboratory Association, Lindy Sikes has his finger on the pulse of the industry, and he enjoys being part of promoting it.

“This industry is made up of phenomenal people,” he said. “They all have this love for a craft. And you won’t find a more caring group.”

He said being involved in industry associations enables the exchange of information and helps lab operators to be ready for important changes, such as digital technology, that are coming and which he expects to change the way labs operate.

“We’ve already got the digital lab up and running,” he said. “Daily there are more and more digital impressions coming in.”

 will enable labs to serve dentists even quicker, and possibly expand their client bases.

“With the new digital technology we’re already working with doctors in 12 states and Canada,” Lindy Sikes said. “We can receive a file digitally and turn a case around in three to four days.”

He sees digital as having the potential to revolutionize the industry.

“In my career, the two most dramatic changes were the pressable ceramics that made better esthetics possible, and that was 30 years ago,” he said. “The second biggest thing is going to be the digital revolution.”

As thrilling as the future promises to be, his son, Shelton, said he also appreciates the older ways of doing things and believes they are important. Both Shelton and Lindy are certified dental technicians.

“This industry is rapidly changing,” Shelton Sikes said. “But it’s not all mechanized. It still involves techniques that my grandfather used.”

He said that those older techniques used by generations before appeal to him because he enjoys working with his hands.

“You still have to have the talent and the touch because everybody’s smile is different.”

A commitment to providing quality esthetic dentistry and staying ahead of new technology-along with a shared middle name-have been passed down from one generation to the next at Sikes Dental Studios in Charlotte, N.C. Four generations have been or are currently employed at the company that was founded by Adam Lee Sikes, who got his start in the industry when he worked for a couple of dental labs before launching his own business in 1944.

dlpmagazine.com-2012-04-01

The Build-Up: Each lab has unique furniture requirements

Tech Smart: The rise and fall of the computer mouse

Legacy Laboratories: Sikes Dental Studios