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‘There has never been a better time to be a dental technician’ – Ashley Byrne explores the evolution of dental technology in the past 25 years, and how it has transformed from an archaic mess to aspirational art. Whilst this article is about the history of dental technology, it’s hard not to tell a little…
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Ashley Byrne explains how he has built a company culture in his dental lab and why other labs need to start focusing on their culture too. Your company culture is probably the most important thing you can invest in. And yet, it’s often put to the back of lab owners’ minds because we focus on…
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Ashley Byrne explains why finding the right partnerships and outsourcing could really help strengthen your dental lab. When I say ‘working partnerships’, I don’t mean your business partner (if you have one). I mean the people and companies you choose for supplies. And – for the purposes of this article – for outsourcing actual lab…
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This month we hear from our regular Lab Expert columnist, Ashley Byrne, and find out more about his life away from the lab. Tell me about where you grew up and what your family life was like? Ashley Byrne: My dad was a dental technician/lab owner and my mum ran the financial side of the…
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Ashley Byrne explains what dental labs can take from other areas of manufacturing to help solve dental lab challenges. I’ve spoken in this column before about the challenges our industry is facing. A lack of dental labs, scarcity of dental technicians, and a surge of dental lab work – and this is a global problem.…
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Despite not offering it himself, Ashley Byrne explains why casting still has a place in some dental laboratories. I’m a digital dental lab, so casting is dead…or is it? When I set the lab up with my dad some 15 years ago, the shopping list was small with just four big ticket items; porcelain furnace,…
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Ashley Byrne explores how environmentally friendly he can make his dental lab and explains the measures he’s taken. If I look back to when I started as a dental technician 25 years ago, it was a bit of an environmental disaster. But back then, the environment wasn’t high on the agenda. Gas Bunsen burners ran…
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Ashley Byrne reflects on the last 12 months and, despite a difficult 2021, gets excited about what 2022 might hold. This year wasn’t the most innovative year for dental technology in my opinion. Post COVID, companies adapting to the new normal and more lockdowns has not really been the best platform for ground-breaking new technology.…
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Trusting your team is the only way to run a dental lab without driving you to a nervous breakdown, Ashley Byrne says. Byrnes Dental Lab – it’s right there in the name. That’s my name, and people know I’m the owner. That brings with it a pressure to ensure that every case is correct; you…
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Ashley Byrne explains why automation and artificial intelligence are helping to improve dental labs, not taking away jobs. Automation is defined as the: ‘Use or introduction of automatic equipment in a manufacturing or other process or facility’. And artificial intelligence (AI) is: ‘The theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring…
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Dental labs need to start appealing to the younger, ‘computer gaming’ generation to ensure the industry remains prosperous. The latest GDC figures show a further decline in registered dental technicians. That means a third have now dropped off the GDC register since 2008. And yet industry papers show a rise in demand for lab work.…
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With a growing number of splints to avoid tooth grinding, Ashley Byrne explores how dental labs can make designing the splints a scalable business solution. Whether it’s the pandemic, modern life, or simply greater patient awareness, we are seeing dramatic growth in patients requiring splints to help avoid tooth grinding. In the past, this has…
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Ashley Byrne opens up about what needs to happen to encourage young people into the dental lab industry. Whether it’s Brexit, lack of colleges and apprenticeship schemes, or just a distinct lack of desire from the young to become technicians – we have an employment crisis on our hands. Recent GDC registration figures have shown…
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In the first of a new series, Ashley Byrne gives us an insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting dental labs and how he is handling communication and navigating his way through it. Last year running into 2021 was a year like no other. And hopefully we will never repeat it again. As a…
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