Digital Dentistry: Building Smarter Dental Workflows | Jessica J. Knott | EODP #28

00:00:05:35 - 00:00:52:21 Rob Welcome back to the Evolution of Dental Podcast, brought to you by Evolution Dental Science, where we share the stories of the people and the technology shaping the world of dentistry. I'm your host, Rob Norton. Today's guest has taken an unusual approach into dentistry. She is probably one of the very few people that's touched every single aspect, every corner of the industry. Started her career in the US Air Force. Earned her CDT early. She lived every angle from managing one of the country's largest, most successful labs down to R&D development of everything and anything, up to practices and R&D with 3D printers that she's helped co-develop herself, and some more technology we'll talk about later in the podcast. Jessica Knott, welcome to the Evolution of Dental podcast! How are you today? 00:00:52:26 - 00:01:13:26 Jessica Thanks, Rob. Thanks for the introduction and for you guys reaching out to have me here today. You know, I always say the easiest way to get my phone number is say, hey, do you want to talk about 3D printers? Instant handout. So I'm really happy you guys reached out. And we can share some of my experiences with the podcast today. 00:01:13:30 - 00:01:26:40 Rob Thank you again for being here. Seems like you're one of those people that has a tendency to kind of go deeper into a subject than maybe the subject calls for, initially, from other people's perspective. How did that start? Where did that begin? 00:01:26:43 - 00:01:59:19 Jessica Yeah, that's a good introduction into my life. And, you know, I would say a lot of it has to do with the military. But even before that, I've always kind of been one of those people. I was like, I played in the marching band as a child, right? Well, I played 14 instruments in band just because I've always been one of those people. I'm going to learn something. I want to learn all of it. But you can never learn all of it. There's always more to learn. So I kind of call it going down the rabbit hole, right? It's the common reference in the military. 00:01:59:26 - 00:02:11:30 Jessica thankfully, that's the route I went. You know, one of the best laboratory programs there today and has been for so long, especially with that Air Force manual. We had a lot of R&D opportunities 00:02:11:35 - 00:05:20:47 Jessica we get to train clinicians, assistants, R&D, two year product testing, and laboratory training program. So the DoD, it's a two year accredited program. And that's where I learned to go down the rabbit hole. I would want to go explore something. You know, we wanted to start 3D printing. Well what who do I do? What do I do? I go to every manufacturer. I want to know everything about your printer. Why you vote your printer this way. What's the longevity about it? Question them and processes. Why would I use the same, you know, resin vat or tray for surgical guide resin that I would another material? Wouldn't there be possible cross-contamination? I mean this is 2015, 2016. You know, I went to various high name people and I wanted to know what's the source of your class? Two biocompatible temporary ceramic material. Who is the real state manufacturer? I know it's not you with your label on it. This was in the early games, but this was important to the DoD and important to our Air Force dental program. When we bring our product into our laboratory, when we bring a product into the clinic, we want to make sure we're using that product to the standard. It's if you it's safe for the patient. And I was kind of given that authority to do more testing and more research because of the position I was in. And my commander gave me my five rules. Right. I think I've told you about this before. Rob, is it moral? Is it at the. Is it good for the patient? Is it good for the clinic? And is it good for the mission? Then just do it and cc me later, because I was going down the rabbit hole every night. FDA alone, I could spend 8 to 10 hours in the evening just trying to figure out how the FDA was classifying resin materials. And this was a no one knew. I mean, we just all got a form labs here and kind of listened, you know, use their materials. And then we got these guys and we wanted to use our own different materials. Then some people wanted to get carbons. Some of the early large labs had Stratasys. You know, there's a lot going on here. And we were the first industry in medical to like skyrocket into 3D printing, which makes us so blessed, you know, in orthopedics and other industries there just this year, you know, getting to even one fourth of where we are today in classifications and materials and the broad spectrum and offerings that we have. It's not just get your form labs, it's your only option anymore, right? So it's been fun. And I will tell you guys, I started my dental laboratory school in 2013. So that's that's how long it's been. And yeah, it's been a good journey. And I've had to like you said, I've had the chance to see all the angles. So that's why I am a down the rabbit hole 00:05:20:52 - 00:05:38:33 Speaker 1 Oh, I didn't see you there. Hey, y'all, it's Robert with the Evolution of Dental podcast. If you love these stories and you want to see more guests, more content and help the show, please remember to share it. Like it? Subscribe to our channel and hit that little notification bell if you're watching on YouTube so you can get notified of our new episodes. 00:05:38:35 - 00:05:46:50 Speaker 1 New episodes drop every Friday. Follow us on all the socials. You'll see all the latest content. Looking forward to seeing you there. 00:05:46:55 - 00:05:52:51 Rob What came first? Did you want to go to the Air Force or were you looking to get into dentistry? 00:05:52:56 - 00:05:54:12 Jessica Funny story again, 00:05:54:12 - 00:07:39:01 Jessica I've always been a musician. I've always kind of been more leaning towards the engineering type of person, and I didn't know really what I wanted to do. I mean, honestly, I told my mom was going to go to hair school and this is after I played 14 instruments and she spent over $100,000 in lessons and stuff. She was going to kill me. So at 16, I started joining the Met's program for the Air Force, started associating with other people who wanted to join. And at that point, it's very hard to get into the Air Force in comparison to the other services. I was kind of just happy to take what they could give me. I tested really well in the general area. It was from my understanding that I was going to be a dental assistant, and I was like, you know, I was a young kid. Oh, that's fun. Simple, girly, you know, easy. And then when I was in training and it was a very quick training program, almost two months for mental assisting when I was in Basic, someone had washed out, I believe, the laboratory program. And then we take six people every six weeks because it's a long program, small people, about 450 across the Air Force, not like the assistant population. So somehow I got rolled into this person's slot, right? I cried because all I, you know, I, I didn't have cell phone access for very long. And we get your calls on Sunday. I looked it up. Dental laboratory technician. And there's this person with an alginate impression. And they're poor in a model, and they got big goggles on and a white lab coat, and I was like, oh, my God, you know, this is just I'm just going to be pouring stone the rest of my life like a concrete man is what I kind of, you know, that's what I envision from this Google photo. And like, you're you're not. 00:07:39:01 - 00:07:56:35 Rob Far off. That's reasonable. Like a lot of people in our in our generation zone, I feel like didn't get into dentistry. There's a huge gap because labs were a legacy legacy industry for the longest time. And then you had all these people who grew up with the with the you have to go to college. Are you going to flip burgers? 00:07:56:40 - 00:08:02:10 Rob it's like, I don't want to be a part of that. I'm going to go to college and get that desk job that they promised me, which, anyway. 00:08:02:12 - 00:08:04:02 Jessica Isn't always there for you. Exactly. 00:08:04:08 - 00:08:16:41 Rob It's always there for you. So so you got you got enrolled into the laboratory program where they was the technology there. When you got there, were they already 3D printing or is that something that you helped spearhead? 00:08:16:46 - 00:08:47:29 Jessica Yeah. So I would definitely say for my clinic and my portion of our AGD two, I definitely helped implement some of the 3D printing research and working with various people like the director, digital technology consultant to the Surgeon General, Colonel Zindel Richardson. He was great and I got to work with him a lot during various trade shows and educational opportunities to evaluate what those DoD sole source contracts, what technology we were using. 00:08:47:32 - 00:08:58:46 Jessica When I went through the program, I was very lucky. Like I said, I went through like 2012, 2013. That was right at the time. We started getting like a 3 a.m. wax printer 00:08:58:46 - 00:09:01:36 Jessica so we could cast our wax. 00:09:01:49 - 00:09:07:29 Jessica That was the year. Most of our clinics were fitted for AC units with an MCL 00:09:07:38 - 00:09:09:56 Jessica and we had in lab software. 00:09:10:01 - 00:09:28:37 Jessica like the first day, you know, you set venture teeth and then they tell you they look a little dirty, you should steam them off and then steam them off. They fly into the sink and they all laugh at you, you know. So I started, you know, from dentures to crown wax ups to casting, I press on Metal palm. 00:09:28:46 - 00:09:54:03 Jessica Do you want to remember is that various pressing techniques repairs, RPGs, induction casting, broken arm casting? I can cast five 10-K interfaces on a broken arm because these are all good role skills that I learned from that education program. So it's about 6 to 7 months at a joint service school in San Antonio. And then in the Air Force. 00:09:54:03 - 00:10:15:34 Jessica You grand show off to one of seven locations, which has the two year extension. So you're then and more of an education in clinical laboratory. My clinic there at Keesler, we had about like 60 operators. We usually managed about 50 to 55 dentists. And we had an aged two residency program. 00:10:15:44 - 00:10:18:19 Jessica And then we had that laboratory training program. 00:10:18:19 - 00:10:38:55 Jessica So as soon as I hit my two year, a little bit early finish mark and I was kind of a laboratory technician in the eyes of the Air Force, I was immediately training new people who were coming in. I never left that educational base. And that's where this all started to write. I want to be a good example for these kids coming in. 00:10:38:55 - 00:10:45:21 Jessica I called him kids. I was the same age as them, or maybe they were older than me, but in lab years, you know, I was different. 00:10:45:24 - 00:10:46:43 Rob I didn't have. 00:10:46:48 - 00:11:06:43 Jessica In lab years. Right. I tell these kids with two bachelor's degrees, I said, hey, I've had socks that have been in the laboratory program longer than you. You know, just to remind them to be tough. But, you know, sometimes I would get, you know, some troops that would come in and they would love lab. Other times I had people that did not want to be here. 00:11:06:43 - 00:11:22:29 Jessica They did the open general situation like me. They weren't bad kids. It just wasn't what they wanted to do. I would help them accelerate through their program and then get across training opportunity into something else. Had someone cross-trained out of dental laboratory and now is a drone pilot, assistant 00:11:22:37 - 00:11:25:49 Jessica adjourn operator. And that's what he wanted to do. 00:11:25:52 - 00:11:32:35 Rob It sounds like you're training processes as much or more than you are the people. Then is that sound right? 00:11:32:40 - 00:11:53:18 Jessica Yes. And, you know, it's down to the smallest things. And I was traveling in various clinics last week in California, and I was laboratory training some assistance. That's what I do most of these days. Or, you know, getting them to base level skills and safety is a process as well. Safety is so important. You know how we use all these materials. 00:11:53:23 - 00:12:15:37 Jessica And I tell everyone 20 years from now, I don't want to learn that I've poisoned, you know, hundreds of thousands of people. I want to hear that I taught good, safe practices. I question people and, you know, processes to be questioned because the process is an important part. There's multiple ways to do it. And the Air Force Manual says the only important part is the process. 00:12:15:40 - 00:12:33:11 Jessica Actually, there's a question what part of this is not important? The process, as long as you do one of the correct processes and you get a good outcome, it's fine. So we're not saying that this is the process you have to do. We're saying that this is an option. This is an option 00:12:33:18 - 00:12:34:22 Jessica and this is an option. 00:12:34:22 - 00:12:36:12 Jessica if I wanted to do a hard night guard, 00:12:36:12 - 00:13:08:28 Jessica I always say there's ways to cut corners, but you can't always cut every corner, even in 3D printing, even in digital, even in milling. And you'll laugh at this because I sit here all the time. I'm like an old lady pushing my glasses up. I told you so a million times. I'm preaching the same stories. Since 2019, so many traditional laboratory processes are applicable to our digital processes today, and these companies who are developing products act like they're reinventing the wheel and they're the first person to do it. 00:13:08:33 - 00:13:39:21 Jessica Like tell me why it takes us this many years. I've been yelling since 2016. Anyone that will listen to put an air barrier coating on a 3D printed, biocompatible part. Anyone who has made a custom tray into a triad machine as a base level bench technician in the laboratory space knows that by. If you paint a BC and air barrier coating on that light curable resin material to submit light cures to final, this is an important step. 00:13:39:21 - 00:14:06:48 Jessica So you it's not tacky, it's biocompatible. It's safe for the patient. Why? Just in the past 2 or 3 years, we found like, oh man, we should really glycerin or nitrogen or parts. Why are 3D printer companies still producing curing units without air barrier options even this year? I mean, there might be other solutions out there. You can do fans, you can do gas, you can do liquids. 00:14:06:48 - 00:14:16:11 Jessica But we always know, since the Air Force manual, the triad light that we point an air barrier coating on a resin material. 00:14:16:22 - 00:14:24:46 Jessica it's just that when it comes to products, I think application engineering is the most important part. What is the actual application of that product? 00:14:24:48 - 00:14:51:53 Jessica Who is the person who uses that product every day? Because if they're not making a decision of how much it weighs, how you should hold it, how this piece should perform, because you're the engineer and you're the specialist, or you're the marketing guy who thinks it's the best way and you're not consulting the application engineering step. You're you're building a faulty product because you're building it for what you know, not for the industry. 00:14:51:53 - 00:15:14:29 Jessica And even then, you know, one person is great, but you should have a pool of people. And that's what I believe Co programs, you know, should really, truly be used for. You know, when I work for companies, co programs are used for education building out product testing. Level one, level two clinical advisors feedback. So that's me. And I work really hard every day. 00:15:14:39 - 00:15:34:48 Jessica If you tell me to, you know, install your Mil, I'm installing your Mil. If you tell me, hey, I also have 50 educational models I need printed. They're veneers for like trial smiles, which aren't the easiest thing to print. My assistant printed this 16. They all have holes in them. You think you can give me a hand? Well, yes. 00:15:34:48 - 00:15:45:07 Jessica And between running my Mil calibrations, I'm going to pump out veneers. And, you know, I just do. And I never have ever my life charged for education personally. 00:15:45:10 - 00:15:54:00 Rob So actually, maybe to rephrase what I said earlier, it's less process focused and more outcome focused. And then what process is linked to that. Does that sound right? 00:15:54:03 - 00:16:13:48 Jessica So that's funny that you say it's more outcome related than process. Like you said, the Air Force right there at the beginning, we don't care about the process as long as it works. And you know, a lot of your rankings, it would be insertion rate. We'd rank you at the end of the year based off your insertion rate and your success. 00:16:13:48 - 00:16:36:55 Jessica So remakes and stuff were noted. You know, you were evaluated on black and white paper. The person next to you wearing the same uniform, making the same dollar as you. So where does that outcome lie? In the clinic with the patient? It's not you know, I tell technicians all the time, I've been in the same spot. I've spent two weeks on even a single unit. 00:16:36:58 - 00:16:57:03 Jessica Number eight. And it's my baby and it's the best baby. Right. And then the doctor, this is his journalism case that he's having published somewhere. This is his baby. It's the best tooth. It's the best baby in the world. The patient's like, they think it looks off. And you know, everyone else we share this case do is like, yeah, it looks like a tooth. 00:16:57:05 - 00:17:22:29 Jessica You know, it doesn't matter. You know how much time you put into it, how much love and passion. You know you feel right. It's all about how that patient feels. And a lot of times it's not even about the prosthetic going about in their mouth. It's about the experience. It's about the patient education, knowing what's going in, having faith in that process, having faith in their clinical team. 00:17:22:29 - 00:17:49:19 Jessica And I see that clinical team always as clinician, assistant and technician. You know, that is a one team. May that be a remote technician or on site from day one. They used to bring me in for more complex patients. And a lot of times it's like they're uncomfortable, right? I'm there to build that comfort. Hi, I'm Jessica, I'm going to be the one making your smile. 00:17:49:24 - 00:18:10:46 Jessica You know, doctor so-and-so, he's fantastic and so is his assistant. And I know we're going to get to a great option, you know, and I may I build that confidence to the patient already from the start. Positivity. Good smile I listen to them. I listen to their stories. I don't tell them about my problems, that I got ten other patients down the hall and I got to go. 00:18:10:51 - 00:18:38:46 Jessica You know, a lot of times, especially in the arts realm that so many of us have moved into, this is a life changing opportunity for someone. And I work a lot in anaplastic doing eyeballs, ears, noses, consulting with the surgeons for trauma cases, cancer oncology patients, pediatric birth defects. Again, may it be a new smile, may it be a facial prosthetic. 00:18:38:58 - 00:19:01:58 Jessica These people are going through something life changing. The only thing that matters right now is how they feel, right? That's the success of this whole thing. It doesn't matter. You know, I use this process because I know as a technician it's the best outcome for me. I've built confidence with my doctor that this material process will give us this outcome. 00:19:02:10 - 00:19:20:46 Jessica We're going to use it in this intended way, maybe modifying it with this from other processes that we had tried, tested and proven, because it's going to work for that patient I used to hate in my early days when I just received the case ban. And like, you know, I wax my gold crown and like, get it out. 00:19:20:48 - 00:19:27:46 Jessica I eventually moved on to, okay, we took the Sarah cases, we built them into the clinical schedule, 00:19:28:00 - 00:19:32:52 Jessica and then you booked the AC like it was a doctor, right? 00:19:32:56 - 00:19:40:22 Jessica We've been doing that practice, you know, there at Keesler Air Force Base since 2018, 2017. This is a standard practice. 00:19:40:37 - 00:20:03:46 Jessica Everyone coming out today with their little institutes acting like they created same day dentistry like, no. If you just read the issues, you read the material processes and you build the workflow to what works for your practice, your clinic, your lab. Everyone's been doing same day dentistry or has had the availability to because we've had such a boom in technology. 00:20:03:50 - 00:20:10:43 Jessica Not every small lab has an R&D team, right, to help them use equipment right for them. 00:20:10:47 - 00:20:28:04 Rob And not every clinic. I mean, that's a that's a tremendous level of communication that you have available to you between you, the doctor, the assistant and the patient. I mean, that's the kind of coordination that most, most technicians dream of, frankly, is that level of ability. 00:20:28:07 - 00:20:58:04 Jessica People think I'm crazy and they say, oh, no, this doctor would never work with me like that. Demand it. And because I told this is how I would get anything done in the Air Force, you'd have to have justification. Okay. What's your justification for your demand? If it's patient safety, if it's product quality and like consistency and education, I'm going to demand this process from my doctor because it's going to improve these four things. 00:20:58:04 - 00:21:24:35 Jessica I'm not going to demand it because I feel like it. These are things I believe in. You know, as a technician, I love having people that I depend on in the process. I don't think I'm a real super specialist in anything. Anything. You go into some of these huge labs, right. And John, who's been running that CNC hyper DIT interface or, you know, the raw state of it that builds aeronautical parks on these big, huge mills. 00:21:24:35 - 00:21:48:35 Jessica And John's been doing it for 20 years. And John has a country accent and a simple life and a simple family. He is the product expert for that interface. All because I can tell you on how to install it, how to troubleshoot it, and how to use it does not make me the product expert. And I think that's a really important tone to a lot of people are teaching education saying, it's me, I'm the best. 00:21:48:35 - 00:22:11:31 Jessica I know it all. Well, crap, I tell you, I try so hard to know it all. I have newts all over. I have digital notes. My project management software has thousands of notes and tasks. I search to make sure I try to have the most accurate information. But John, with 20 years experience knows better than me and we're going to have to refer to John as the product expert. 00:22:11:35 - 00:22:13:16 Jessica It's important. 00:22:13:21 - 00:22:24:21 Rob So how was the how was that like taking some of the knowledge that you learned, actually learned hands on with a 3D printing in the Air Force and bringing that into the R&D world? In the private sector, though. 00:22:24:26 - 00:22:47:47 Jessica That's fun. And that's a really difficult question to answer. You know, my last project at the Air Force was like, hey, evaluate every 3D print from the market, what it does, how it does at its price point, it's material platforms, you know, it's actual valid platforms because regulatory is really popping up. I was doing this in 2017, 2018. 00:22:47:50 - 00:22:50:57 Jessica The FDA had just released this classifications. 00:22:51:05 - 00:23:23:12 Jessica My last day of the Air Force. I got to lecture at fun and the sun. It's the Biloxi so Mississippi Louisiana social event. And I was there at Keesler first base for so long I've been attending every year, and I was with my maxillofacial doctor, Travis Felici, at the time, and we collected on all that knowledge that we did because I was paid, you know, every day to just like research printers, go work with printers, touch every printer in the industry. 00:23:23:12 - 00:23:45:53 Jessica So we spent 2.5 hours on my last day in military uniform, and we educated a room full of people, and we had our friends there from carbon. We had our friends there from Stratasys, David Bullard, because all these people, you know, were helping us at the Air Force base. We had huge Stratasys printers for education models. We were evaluating all this. 00:23:45:55 - 00:24:07:55 Jessica We had good relationships with the Seagull. We had good relationships with foreign labs. So it was this small little meeting. But I took that 20 printer evaluation, and I stood up there on the counter and all my friends worked there. Oh, I wonder what she's going to say about our box. And I call them boxes. And people hate me because when I work for a company to, they want me to be very brand oriented. 00:24:07:55 - 00:24:32:55 Jessica Well, it's a box. That's a box and they're all boxes, if you ask me. So I would sit there and I told everyone that, hey, these are the cool features of this box. That box, this is when this box is intended for this volume, in this capacity, these are the material options for these boxes. And at the end of showing off all these boxes, I said, none of that really matters because all these boxes work and they all print and I, I put it like damage during. 00:24:32:55 - 00:24:52:58 Jessica Right. And I threw up all the material manufacturers that I'd worked with. I talked about the regulatory stuff that I just learned. I talked about how new names pointed. Some of these printers currently that I just showed off have do not have their class one and class two biocompatibility these materials, but they have it on their website that they do. 00:24:53:00 - 00:25:13:19 Jessica And I you know, I didn't name anyone, but I currently just said none of this really matters. What you need to identify is the material that you're going to use. Take it back to traditional lab. I don't buy an IV or oven and say, you know what, I'm only ever using materials from this day forward. I got an idea of it. 00:25:13:22 - 00:25:36:31 Jessica That's it. I don't go and buy, you know, like a sintering oven from Zuber and say, you know, what are the only one for the next 20 years of the centering oven? This doesn't make any sense to me. So I started questioning all these new digital products, like a traditional lab technician that's used to having material options that's best for the process and patient outcome. 00:25:36:36 - 00:25:57:07 Jessica I don't really care. You know what your feelings or your opinions are. The FDA says this, I want that and you know, I want options. I think that the sprint remodel, the formulas models. I think those are great. And I think that's how it should be here. In the beginning, as we first got in, I think it needed to be controlled. 00:25:57:10 - 00:26:16:24 Jessica Safety is a huge concern. It's the first thing he learned about in the military. Last week in clinic, I asked this assistant, how long does debris and aerosol stay in the air after something sprayed? When you grind on this resin and it's uncured resin, maybe, and it goes into the air. Rob, do you have a guess how many hours? 00:26:16:29 - 00:26:18:24 Rob I'm guessing at least one. 00:26:18:29 - 00:26:39:10 Jessica It's seven. Seven hours. So you were in an open clinic space in an open bay laboratory. We're growing it on a zirconia in the air. In hitting your vac systems floating around. It does not settle for seven hours. It's one of the first questions they teach you in the Air Force. 00:26:39:18 - 00:26:53:37 Jessica That contact goes into you, goes on to your clothes. You go home, hug your kids. My lab is in my house with my kids, and I can tell you that I have a safe space for my kids. I have no open resin anywhere in my ear. Everything is sealed. 00:26:53:42 - 00:27:15:42 Jessica When I do start, that resin kind of processes again, I'm currently modifying a glass wall separate even ventilation system for that laboratory space. My kids live in this house. I love what I do, but I would hate to land that I 20 years from now. I poisoned my kids too. And people think you know, she's too much. 00:27:15:44 - 00:27:41:25 Jessica You know, she goes down the rabbit hole, she's too opinionated, am I or do I just care? Yeah. And I will get you. I'm the most selfless person out there. You need help with something? I'll make time to help you. But please respect my time when I come and help. Please respect my care. I'm taking my time away from my family and my faith to balance my passion. 00:27:41:30 - 00:27:54:56 Jessica Right. And I would say 99.9%. Every person I work with out there, they respect my care. There we go. All right, off the soapbox, but yes. 00:27:55:01 - 00:28:14:06 Rob No, I invited you to get on the soapbox in the first place because you have a very unique perspective. And and I think there's a lot of things that people don't, especially, especially the kind of people in our audience. We get very focused in on the work that we're doing, whether that's chair side or in the laboratory at the bench, and kind of forget some of the big picture aspects of it. 00:28:14:06 - 00:28:34:51 Rob And some like, like you're saying that the, the these materials don't exist in a vacuum unless you create that vacuum and that that's a conversation I have often it's like, no, no, no, no nitrile gloves with this resin that, that alcohol, the resin can permeate straight through some of the great. I know. 00:28:34:51 - 00:28:34:56 Jessica The. 00:28:34:56 - 00:28:35:06 Rob Way. 00:28:35:06 - 00:28:51:11 Jessica Your skin makes it absorb more, you know? Look, I already know I'm toast, okay? I did all that before there was even, like, recommendations for gloves and crap. I was literally drinking surgical guide rhizome in 2017 because I thought it was water. I'm just kidding. 00:28:51:11 - 00:28:58:21 Jessica But who knows the amount of exposure I've had to all these materials. I'm cooked, I still wear gloves every day. 00:28:58:21 - 00:29:15:31 Jessica Or I try to, you know, because not for my safety, because I already know I'm done for. It's for the image to others to promote that safety, to tell those stories, to say, hey, are you planning on having a kid one day? 00:29:15:36 - 00:29:35:31 Jessica It's really important. Wear gloves. The right important that you're protecting yourself. I know we all have passion and some of us get it's important this three way balance, right? We get so hyper focused. We all do in dental. We love this industry. We love the impact. You know, we give to people. We love the fulfillment it gives us. 00:29:35:33 - 00:29:55:29 Jessica Right. That's the German we all drive on. But you have to be safe in it, you know. And that means mentally to you can't be sucked up into like, I'm doing this always in my process. You have to just step away and say, I need to take care of my health. I have to do this process this way for the safety of my family members, 00:29:55:36 - 00:30:02:50 Jessica So maybe it's not just for the work. Maybe you're doing this at work to balance the family aspect. So I think it's important. 00:30:02:52 - 00:30:11:52 Rob We don't exist in just separate environments. It all does come together. We're environments. We are, at the end of the day, one human being in these different environments. 00:30:12:04 - 00:30:19:25 Jessica I feel like so many of us get sucked into the bench, right? Nothing happens outside the bench or the the chair, the clinic. Like 00:30:19:32 - 00:30:37:58 Jessica What we should be using this for is the good. How do we fix education to educate everyone? How do we make these processes safer? For me, you and them, you know. So who's doing it? You guys doing it? Do you know anyone that's going. 00:30:38:03 - 00:30:53:34 Rob To part of it. Really. And so it makes me want to ask them like what's what's something you think really. You've laid out several really good points. What's something you think really lends to a successful lab or a successful practice these days? 00:30:53:39 - 00:30:55:51 Jessica Sure. Organization. 00:30:55:56 - 00:30:57:12 Rob Organization. 00:30:57:17 - 00:30:59:13 Jessica Communication, 00:30:59:18 - 00:31:04:58 Jessica not having ceilings the minute you know, I heard that statement from 00:31:05:03 - 00:31:13:46 Jessica Fernandez, the head marketing at Glidewell, last week. He said, when I joined, started working for Jim Glidewell. Jim told me, Keith, there are no ceilings. 00:31:13:46 - 00:31:28:25 Jessica Keith is very successful at what he does. Their latest built some very successful products. And I tell you, setting the standard, if not in the globe, in the United States of new ceilings, you work for that team if it makes sense. 00:31:28:25 - 00:31:52:25 Jessica And it doesn't have to make financial sense. If it's good for the industry, they just go for it, you know? So I think that's always important, like not putting a cap, not putting handcuffs on people, but also keeping it regulated. It's good to always want to know more, but not doing something because someone told you to or actually testing the process, which means you know that too. 00:31:52:30 - 00:32:13:22 Jessica I so many times put 3D printed crowns into patients, but I always do the disclaimer of hey, it's either free crown or it's severely discounted and I'm not sure if it's going to last. It is biocompatible. Here's a toxicity reports. I'm just not sure its outcome, but as soon as it pops out, please call me, right? 00:32:13:30 - 00:32:14:32 Rob Right. 00:32:14:37 - 00:32:32:10 Jessica I don't care. Print it again and put it back in. You know, literally. I just was with the doctor last week. It was like, you know, a bridge. And for this patient situation, he's like 88 years old. And, like, you know, he really doesn't need to be back. And, you know, get a huge sarcomere bridge and go through the trauma. 00:32:32:15 - 00:32:52:46 Jessica Like we were just kind of like veneer a bridge on. And he had that sucker printed in a ceramic resin for the last three years. The week I was there, he came and it popped up three years later and we printed another one in a new ceramic material. This one, yeah. So that it was just fun just to see it, like, you know, it lasted him three years functionally. 00:32:52:46 - 00:33:04:41 Jessica And, you know, he didn't have to come in and have some major thing and a huge cost to him. It gave him a quality of life and function. He's able to go eat. He's able to go smart. That's what it's. 00:33:04:41 - 00:33:22:56 Rob All a statement in and of itself. Because three years ago, the materials for what they call permanent residents barely echoed. What we look at today is what we consider permanent restorative options from the 3D printers. So the fact that that one lasted three years with that level of technology is kind of telling 00:33:22:56 - 00:33:36:53 Rob So that brings me kind of to the next idea, which is dual chamber milling machines, which is something that's been mostly just sort of discussed as like a well, that would be a really neat idea. And now you've been working to bring that into fruition. 00:33:36:53 - 00:33:39:17 Jessica What's that? How did that happen? 00:33:39:21 - 00:33:48:05 Speaker 1 That's a quick but fun story, and I'm going to say thanks to doctor Nick Canelo out of new Jersey, limitless dental 00:33:48:10 - 00:34:00:22 Speaker 1 He's great at what he does on so many levels, and he's a great cheerleader too. I cheerlead for everyone else, but he came to me and he was like, man, I just really want both. I want drawing what? 00:34:00:22 - 00:34:15:03 Speaker 1 And I said, I can't do it to you. I will not sell it to a clinic or a lab because you're going to ruin the machine and you're going to hate me in two years. So then I went to the drawing board and I went to our manufacturer, and I saw the products that we had kind of queued up and available to us. 00:34:15:03 - 00:34:38:41 Speaker 1 Everyone's been talking about this tool chamber. Well, you know what? Let's do it. No better time than the present, right? He was the first one to absolutely demand it. I told you, as a laboratory technician, demand this from your doctor. As a doctor. He demanded this from his laboratory technician. I want him if you want me to manufacture and house Jessica to save your hands, you know, or whatever. 00:34:38:41 - 00:34:59:37 Speaker 1 And for him to have a better outcome for his patient, then give me wet and dry. Yes, doctor. Nick. And that's what we did. So I'm really excited. You know, it can go anywhere from a small just inlay on lay to an Emax crown. It can hold six blocks on the wet side, or it can hold two custom abutments. 00:34:59:37 - 00:35:23:08 Speaker 1 Then it can also hold a full Titus on the dry side. All your dry materials are available with the sea clear 90 degree detail. We. All of our mills are built with full arch in mind. Angulated screw channels direct to MUA, the hard stuff and a plaster components. So the cool thing is having a very complex full arch, which is most of our market. 00:35:23:20 - 00:35:50:34 Speaker 1 We're cutting that in about two hours and 20 minutes using the box mill boxer. Fantastic third party validation for us. We're looking forward to working with their engineering team to even improve that speed. But for a large full arch angulated channels or, you know, Director Mouat, we're very happy with that outcome. The next spindle can leave the dry chamber on a conveyor belt to the wet chamber and cut, you know, a tie bar piece word as well. 00:35:50:39 - 00:35:53:12 Speaker 1 So. 00:35:53:17 - 00:36:08:31 Rob That's fantastic. I love that, absolutely. Where so where do you see these kind of things being in, say, the next 3 to 5 years. What's what do you see coming down the pipeline? Obviously we talked about the dual chamber mill. That's very exciting. We got all these new materials coming in. 00:36:08:38 - 00:36:23:26 Rob where do you see this coming together in the next, say 3 to 5 years and what? Let me add one more thought to it. What are you excited about versus what are you kind of leery and unsure and maybe even afraid of? 00:36:23:38 - 00:36:30:50 Jessica So where do I see the industry in next 3 to 5 years? I think every time I'm on a podcast, someone asked me that question, 00:36:30:55 - 00:36:48:40 Jessica you know, and I think it's a lot of what is realistic and versus what I'm hoping for. What is realistic is that we have a lot of people and a lot of good intentions that need to do more. 00:36:48:50 - 00:37:19:55 Jessica It's realistic and they can do more. What I'm hoping for is that our regulatory communities come together. I hope that we can build that gap from technician to assistant is really important. Like all these assistant schools picking up laboratory training programs, cross training, making the laboratory technician a skilled labor job is a really good start, right? To bridge a lot of these gaps, because we have all of this equipment coming down, all these digital processes, all this AI. 00:37:19:59 - 00:37:22:36 Jessica And what is the job of the technician going to be 00:37:22:36 - 00:37:27:02 Jessica come, we're going to maintain a large of these large labs productions. 00:37:27:07 - 00:37:44:50 Jessica It's going to go to smaller and clinic laboratories, more ceramic finished customized boutique high end type of work. So for all of us middle guys that do designs, clip buttons and kind of just pick up the scraps, what is our new job operations? 00:37:44:55 - 00:38:16:04 Jessica Also treatment coordinator I would say is where the lab technician lies. I see dental clinics every single day. Processing treatment coordinator, $110,000 salary, 20% of closure rate. And they get about all these poor technicians who literally mock up the smile from the scratch to sell the freaking case to the patient. A lot of these people who have great personalities, right, who would be great in these positions to meet the patient from the start, talk to them about their smile makeover, show them the process. 00:38:16:04 - 00:38:38:23 Jessica So I think that as technicians, we need to find kind of new hold of like, you know, operations as a whole of those digital processes, oversight of the cases, be on call for doctor Nick or doctor so-and-so or Doctor Who. You know, your accounts. You become their account management when they need a product in-house. It's not working. Work with that doctor to fix that product. 00:38:38:38 - 00:39:05:11 Jessica You know, if you are worried about being retained, then retain that doctor and tell them, hey, I'm on call for you for this amount. And the clinicians need to get better about respecting the laboratory, you know, because the assistant position as well. But it comes down to overall as a national whole, power industries talk together how the Ada interacts with the dental association and how it interacts with the DL. 00:39:05:23 - 00:39:32:14 Jessica Until those three are working together, it's hard for us as the minions to work together. And you know what I'm saying? They have to tell us to be friends. So that's where I hope the industry goes. I hope we get more validation for our spots, because there's a huge place for us in this process, and we are that $110,000 salary position. 00:39:32:16 - 00:39:59:07 Jessica We are that treatment coordinator. We are that consultant for the clinician. We are that education source for the assistant. We are that person to lean on when you can't manufacture in-house. That's who the laboratory technician is today. All of us, if you say, say it or not, I'm going to design. How many times a day does your doctor call you who has an MCL because he has a little issue of his M now you're his consultant, you're his support. 00:39:59:11 - 00:40:05:55 Jessica So I think we should start giving ourselves titles to support. You know what we do? 00:40:05:59 - 00:40:08:02 Rob Step up and take ownership, I like it. 00:40:08:04 - 00:40:34:52 Jessica Maybe you are the treatment coordinator and operations consultant for that clinic. You are the account manager for this service. You know, if you're doing the work, you might as well take the responsibility. You're already doing it. You're already stressed out. Might as well get paid for it, might as well get communication, build that trust, market that service. Of all these skills that so many of us in the industry have. 00:40:34:59 - 00:40:56:02 Jessica And, you know, for our friends, when they're down and they're not doing great and they've lost their job because they're just not a good fit for this lab, make sure we're, you know, having their back promoting them. We're they're good at promoting them to clinicians. You know, we only win if we all win together. Right. That's what the military taught me at least. 00:40:56:02 - 00:41:04:04 Jessica Like if you're a flight and like the one person in the back is coasting off, like there's going to be a problem, you know, you guys didn't win. 00:41:04:09 - 00:41:05:57 Rob We rise and fall together. 00:41:06:02 - 00:41:28:21 Jessica Exactly. And I think it's important in the industry to be a team player for everyone. Everett, be everyone's cheerleader. Make sure you're a cheerleader for your friends yourself and just stay positive. There's always we do such a great service. We have so much impact on quality of life of others, and I think we lose sight of that too. 00:41:28:21 - 00:41:48:55 Jessica Sometimes when it gets hard. And I just remember to take a breath. Passion base, family. Something's always good, usually one's bad, but try to balance them out. Find the good and the others. When you know the bads are in one and just keep pushing every day. 00:41:48:59 - 00:41:54:31 Rob I love it. That's deeply insightful. Where can people find you online if they want to look you up? Where can they follow you? 00:41:54:31 - 00:42:00:02 Jessica I tell you, you can find me on Facebook is my main because I like that groups 00:42:00:02 - 00:42:05:53 Jessica under that name Jennifer Jessica Journey not. And then Instagram's great who just started using that 00:42:06:01 - 00:42:08:27 Jessica and then I have leading Jessica J not 00:42:08:27 - 00:42:21:31 Jessica If you have a question, send it to me anytime as the first second I have available, I will answer it. I'm just that type of person. I won't leave you on read forever. I'm always going to come back and not. I don't sleep well so. 00:42:21:33 - 00:42:24:50 Rob That's awesome, I love it. Thank you so much for being a part of this. 00:42:24:52 - 00:42:40:47 Jessica Sure. Thank you guys for having me. And you know, I'm very excited about what you guys are doing. And I hope that, you know, we and others in the industry can be a part of like, always making things better. So I really love what you guys are doing for the industry and getting those stories out. 00:42:41:00 - 00:43:01:43 Rob Yeah. Thank you. We appreciate you. And thank you, everyone else, for tuning into this episode of the Evolution of Dental Podcast. Please remember to like, subscribe, share the show with your friends. It makes more of a difference than you can possibly imagine. We drop new episodes every Friday. We're available on all the major podcast platforms. And remember, never stop evolving.