Q&A: Dave Lang

1. When was Lang Dental founded?

Lang Dental was founded in 1929 by Samuel C. Lang. The company was housed in a small bungalow on the north side of Chicago. The first products were a zinc oxide and eugenol cement and silver filings that were used to make silver amalgam fillings. We no longer produce these items.

2. Where is the company located now?

In 1989, the company built a modern, 20,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Wheeling, Illinois, about 10 miles north of O’Hare Airport. All of our products are manufactured, tested, packaged, inspected, and shipped from our headquarters at 175 Messner Drive.

3. How many generations of Lang have been involved in the management of Lang Dental?

I am the third generation. I joined the company in 1973. Sam Lang ran the company from 1929 until 1957. My father, Ed Lang, was a chemical engineer. He joined the company in 1945 when he was discharged from the Navy. Ed ran the company until 1979. It was under Ed Lang’s administration we introduced the JET line of auto-polymerizing acrylic resins. Today, there is a fourth generation of the Lang family involved in management. My daughter, Kate Seger, joined the company in 2002 and my other daughter, Jennie Dompke, started in 2009.

4. Who are Lang Dental’s customers?

Lang Dental sells its products worldwide through a network of authorized distributors; however, the end user is the practicing dentist and dental laboratory technician.

5. What makes JET so special?

Virtually every dentist who has graduated from a U.S. dental school in the past 40 years has been taught how to make a provisional crown with JET Acrylic. The results are consistent and the colors are accurate. The end result is durable and color stable, ideal for long-term treatment.

6. What else do you offer besides JET Acrylic?

Over the years we have concentrated on developing and improving all forms of acrylic resin products. Acrylics are very versatile and can be effectively implemented into many procedures and appliances that will benefit the patient. We currently produce denture base resins, denture repair acrylic, orthodontic acrylic, provisional crown and bridge materials, denture reline products, and a number of materials that improve the function and esthetics of each of these products. A complete list of products is available on our updated website, langdental.com.

7. What does Lang Dental Manufacturing have that is new?

We recently started selling two new materials. The first is NOVUS, a truly permanent resilient denture liner. NOVUS is a laboratory-processed resin that permanently bonds to the denture base and maintains its resiliency indefinitely. Additionally, it is easy to trim and finish, and does not promote microbial growth. This is a denture liner that will last the lifetime of the denture. The other new product is JET SET-4 provisional crown and bridge acrylic. This is the next generation of JET Acrylic. It is faster setting without any additional exotherm or distortion.

8. How has Lang Dental lasted so long under the same management?

The principles of unwavering quality and customer service are well ingrained in the company’s culture. That, together with value pricing, will allow any business to survive.

9. What is the most unusual application you have heard of for your products?

In the early days of the NASA Space Shuttle missions, a resin we produce was used as a fabric stiffening agent on the asbestos insulation between the skin of the spacecraft and the heat deflection tiles. This was the result of research done at Rockwell International. It goes to show that acrylics are a very versatile material, and Lang Dental is one of the few companies to have put a product into outer space.

10. What’s next for Lang Dental?

Lang Dental will continue to expand the scope of its products. As technology changes and research expands, we will be keeping our eyes, ears and minds open to new ideas and applications for our current, and soon-to-be-current products.

This article originally appeared in the April 2013 issue of Dental Lab Products. To read more great articles like this every month, click here to subscribe.

Photo courtesy of Lang Dental