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Ashley Byrne discusses some of the changes and challenges that come along with advances in dental technology, and how the industry can adapt to this new era. I recently attended the LMT event in Chicago. My takeaway was that the industry is evolving faster than I anticipated. I’ve always maintained that our industry is changing…
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Ashley Byrne compares the current denture process with the printed digital one and asks if 2024 is the time to revolutionise dentures. I’ve written about digital dentures before and they remain a little controversial for many. But a new time is coming and, in all honesty, I can confidently see the end of flasking and…
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Carving a new era: Ashley Byrne explains why he is never looking back after adopting digital diagnostic set-ups. I remember doing a lecture more than 10 years ago on the digital wax-up and I was heckled from the audience. ‘You are single headedly killing our industry – digital will be the death of the dental…
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Ashley Byrne discusses the trials and tribulations of 2023, and why he believes 2024 will be ‘the year of the dental technician’. As we all breathe a huge sigh of relief that this year is coming to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on what 2024 will bring to the party. From our…
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‘Opening new career paths in our industry is vital’: This month, Ashley Byrne discusses the importance of investing in education and professional development in a dental lab. Professional development has always been one of the most important factors in running my lab. From day one, we have invested heavily in education and team development. We’ve…
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Ashley Byrne reveals some hard truths about the real meaning of trust and the ‘incalculable’ benefits of having a team who feels trusted. ‘I trust my team’, is so often said. But how many employers actually trust their team completely? When we say, ‘I trust my team’, what do we actually mean? More importantly, what…
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All dental labs are at risk of cash flow problems and debt. Here, Ashley Byrne discusses the best method for dealing with debt recovery without destroying customer relationships. Richard Branson famously quoted, ‘Never take your eyes off the cash flow because it’s the life blood of the businesses’, and he couldn’t be more true. Companies…
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With labs at the cutting edge of dentistry and undergoing enormous changes, Ashley Byrne discusses the value of outside influence and looking beyond the lab industry. We all focus strongly on making false teeth and making the best false teeth we can. We look at other labs, we look at social media of other techs…
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This month, Ashely Byrne explains how dental lab technicians and their teams can help to combat the time crisis that is developing in dentistry. As I glanced at the pile of boxes arriving from the post man, one box caught my eye. On the outside of my lovely environmentally friendly shipping packs was the lab instructions: ‘Darren…
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This month, the Dental Lab Expert breaks down the decision to sell your laboratory, integrate into a corporate group or remain independent. Over the last decade, we have witnessed increasing acquisition activity of dental practices into groups, and even further, the acquisition or mergers of groups into larger corporates. With several of these groups now owning…
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With health and safety considered an annoyance for many, Ashley Byrne provides a dental technician’s view on why it’s an asset to be proud of. ‘It’s turning into a nanny state!’ was one comment. ‘Who has the right to tell me what health and safety I have to use at work?’ was another. Health and…
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‘I’ve never been this excited about the future of our profession’: With Corus expanding into the UK market by joining forces with Byrnes Dental Lab, Ashley Byrne discusses what the partnership really means and how he plans to disrupt the dental landscape. Ashley, your lab has just joined forces with Corus. Can you tell us…
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‘It’s our time to really step up’: this month, Ashley Byrne discusses all of the things we can look forward to in 2023, calling it ‘the year of opportunity for the dental technology industry’. In my last post I spoke about the 2022 summary which, for me and my team, was stressful, manic, overloaded, successful…
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Ashley Byrne, the Dental Lab Expert, reflects on the trials and tribulations of 2022 and what the industry needs to prepare for in 2023. By my own standards, 2022 was flipping hard work! As I write this, we sit in the middle of a postal strike, couriers almost collapsing under the additional volumes, and work…
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Some client relationships just don’t work. This month, the Dental Lab Expert, Ashley Byrne, discusses the tricky topic of how and when to fire a client, and the benefits of doing so. I had to think carefully about the title for this months article, for fear of sounding arrogant or egotistical. Clients, dentists for the…
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‘We all need as much help as we can get in these crazy times’: As he heads home full of new ideas and itching to get back to his lab, Ashley Byrne discusses why overseas conferences are worth the time, money and hangovers. I’m writing this on a plane heading back from several days in…
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Ashley Byrne discusses the salary crisis dental technicians are facing and how to encourage people into the profession. For many years dental technicians have been poorly paid. There is a ton of evidence to back that up. With many papers and studies quoting less than £29k (in some, less than £24k) as an average salary,…
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This month the Dental Lab Expert, Ashley Byrne, discusses why you shouldn’t undervalue your services when turning to digital technology. The old story of a ship engineer springs to mind. A large shipping company bought a second-hand boat on the cheap as the engine wouldn’t start. None of their engineers could get the old boat…
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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…
