PUBLISHED ARTICLES
JDT The WOW Factor
October 2023
Harvest EasyGumTM
Harvest EasyGumTM is a patent pending light cure Gingiva Composite material that achieves fast and esthetic tissue characterization in minutes. The material is sold in a malleable 'strip' form and is easy to apply. This revolutionary product works on all printed or milled PMMA dentures and temps and comes in five shades.
Spectrum Dialogue
September 2023
Digital Workflows: The Revival of the Friction Fit Denture
Over the last two decades the dental industry has witnessed a definite shift towards better treatment options for the edentulous patient. Over this time,
all-on-X hybrid implant solutions have become the standard of care in restoring both function and esthetics for edentulous patients.
Oralhealth
April 2023
Predictable Aesthetic Success With a Digital Workflow
Dentists today live during exciting times where advancements in materials, techniques, and diagnostics allow us to predictably improve the quality of our patients' lives and their overall health. Digital treatment planning and workflow enables clinicians to accurately attain healthy form and function of the stomatognathic system even with the most complex of cases.
Lab Management Today
November/December 2022
Readers' Favorite Cases of the Year
Over the last two decades, the popularity
of All-on-X cases has grown
exponentially, but hygiene concerns remain. In this challenging case, processed with Dr. Mark Ludlow, Utah
University, the patient presented with
severely failed dentition.
Dental Lab Products
December 2022
By Conrad J. Rensburg
Dental Innovation of the Year
Over the past decade, demand in the dental industry has driven digital design software development and become a mainstream solution. This drive to expand the functionality of design software platforms is fueled by the staggering disappearance of qualified technicians in the United States.
Spectrum Dialogue
September 2022
By Conrad J. Rensburg and Jack Marrano
Digitally Driven Synergy From Surgery to Final
The 2000's will forever be remembered as an era of great dental evolution! Even though this transition from analog to digital technology driven applications lagged most other industries, the effects of this change has now started to exponentially influence almost every aspects of the industry.
Industry Era
August 2022
Top 10 Admired Leaders of 2022
Conrad J Rensburg is CEO and President of Absolute Dental Services and leads the highly respected and renowned Absolute Dental Prosthetics team. Conrad proudly states that the company vision, with its roots firmly planted in integrity, is the driving force behind Absolute's success.
Dental Lab Products
March 2022
By Conrad J. Rensburg and Jack Marrano
How to Gain a Competitive Edge with Digital Dentures
The digital denture concept is not new and was introduced to the dental industry in 2011. Early on, digital systems required convoluted workflows with what some would say were lackluster esthetics and strength.
Inside Dental Technology
March 2022
By Conrad J. Rensburg
Demystifying 3D Printed Dentures
For many years, technological advancements in the laboratory were heavily focused on the fixed prosthetic market. Milling equipment and zirconia product advancements received most of the research and development money, but as this market became more competitive, the industry experienced a definite shift to the rather neglected removables arena.
Inside Dentistry
January 2022
By Conrad J. Rensburg
Digital Synergy for Full-Arch Hybrid Solutions
The introduction of the revolutionary All-on-X full-arch hybrid concept led to a true evolution in the treatment of edentulous patients.
Dental Lab Products
December 2021
By Conrad J. Rensburg and Jack Marrano
How to Make Digital Processing the Key to Innovation
A new era of CAD and digital processing has changed the dental restorative landscape forever. This evolution will have far-reaching effects on the industry and lab owners and technicians alike must stay vigilant to navigate these uncharted waters.
Spectrum Dialogue
August 2021
By Conrad J. Rensburg and Jack Marrano
Techno-Polymers -
21st Century Support Structures
For decades, the dental industry defaulted to alloys for support structure materials. In the 20th century, most technological advancements were made around the lost wax technique with a focus on wax and alloy development.
Compendium
July 2021
By Conrad Rensburg
Dental Materials for Esthetic Implant-Supported Restorations
The dental industry has seen exponential advancements in technology in recent years, and with these advances has become subsequent evolution in modern-day clinical workflows.
Inside Dentistry
May 2021
By Conrad Rensburg
Efficient, Predictable Denture Fabrication
Some clinical innovations that were thought to have great potential have been rendered obsolete either because clinicians found them cumbersome chairside or because technicians found them arduous to fabricate.
DENTAL LAB PRODUCTS
Oct 2020
By Conrad J. Rensburg and Chris Love
Not Your Grandfathers
False Teeth
According to 1989’s Back to the Future Part II, by 2015, we would have video billboards, flying cars, and hoverboards. We certainly got those billboards (yay), but the film missed the boat on the airborne items
DENTAL LAB PRODUCTS
Oct 2020
By Jack Marrano
Speed Polish From Harvest Dental
Over the years we have witnessed and enjoyed the benefits of CAD/CAM technology and material advancements. These advancements are now being coupled with advancements in support products that pair perfectly with today’s modern materials. Harvest Dental’s Speed Polish is an example of an advanced support product.
LMT
Nov 2020
By Jack Marrano
How to Block Out Understructures When Using Translucent Zirconia
Zirconia has evolved into the restorative material of choice and recent advancements have resulted in a material that's unsurpassed not only in strength but in esthetics as well, even in monolithic full-contour restorations.
Read More
IDT
Sept 2020
By Conrad J Rensburg
Printing vs Milling Dentures
Over the last two decades, the dental industry has seen the rise of subtractive manufacturing technology. CAD software programs have proven predictable and are now also within the financial reach of most dental laboratories. However, a new challenger has emerged to test milling's technological supremacy: additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing.
Dental Lab Products
Aug 2020
By Conrad J. Rensburg
Balance Digital and Analog Design
Most technicians, trained in the 1990s and before, fully understand the design freedom that a wax knife, a Bunsen burner, and a block of wax offered. This was a world where a talented artist—with a firm understanding of function, anatomy, esthetics, and a willingness to work long hours—easily ruled the universe.
JDT
Feb 2020
By Conrad J Rensburg
The Artist’s Brush of the Future
Many of today’s articles focus on the implementation of innovative technologies.
But without FDA-approved, strong, and most importantly esthetic restorative
materials to support them, these technologies are nothing but “dust collectors”.
Inside Dental Technology
Jan 2020
By Conrad J. Rensburg
Digital Dentures Lead to Laboratory's Best Year
Conrad J. Rensburg, ND, NHD, has seen certain trends in the dental laboratory profession - profit margins shrinking, businesses closing. He just does not see those trends in his own laboratory. Absolute Dental Services experienced approximately 20% growth in 2019, including more than 30% for its national business.
Inside Dental Technology
Oct 2019
By Conrad J Rensburg and Jack Marrano
Nanoceramics and Nanocomposites in Implant-Retained Fixed Hybrids
Over the last few decades, the dental industry has experienced a staggering evolution in technology. This evolution has caused a need for better materials and ultimately has led to the development of new and exciting products. These products have opened the door for the creation of extremely innovative new treatment protocols. Arguably, one of the biggest advancements during this period has been the ability to treat edentulous patients with a fixed hybrid solution.
Inside Dentistry
Sept 2019
By Conrad J. Rensburg and David Hedgecoe, DDS
The Missing Link in the Digital Workflow Clock
During the last decade, the dental industry has witnessed a true technological revolution. Initially, the progression was slow, and the early adopters quickly realized that the line between being at the leading edge and the bleeding edge was a faint one at best.1 Once all of the cogs in the digital workflow clock started working together, the technological revolution truly turned exponential. Yesterday’s question of whether or not to go digital has now been replaced with the question of how to stay abreast of all this technology.
Read More
LMT
May 2019
By Conrad J. Rensburg
Fifth time's a Charm: Laboratory Renovation Achieves 'Wow' Factor
Absolute Dental Services knows a thing or two about growth: Due to its constantly expanding roster of staff members and services, it has renovated its Durham, NC. headquarters five times in the last 13 years. "If I have any advice for other lab owners, it's this: if you're expanding, go bigger than you think you need. We've had to renovate multiple times because we were always thinking just a little bit too small,' says Conrad Rensburg who co-owns the laboratory with Drew Van Aarde.
Inside Dental Technology
May 2019
By Jack Marrano
High-End Technician's Journey Continues
Jack Marrano, CDT, recalls his first job in a dental laboratory as a minimum-wage position, working 7 days a week, arriving at 4:30 AM but not clocking in until 8:00. After 4 years in the Marine Corps, Marrano was driven to succeed in the profession he fell in love with as a 14-year-old sitting in on classes at the University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine.
Inside Dental Technology
March 2019
By Conrad J. Rensburg
Fricton-Retained Hybrid Prostheses
One of the most popular new approaches to implant dentistry involves the use of removable, friction-retained hybrid prostheses. The concept is based on the time-tested SynCone system.1 In the early days of implant dentistry, restorative options were easily defined as either supported or retained options,2 but with innovation and change often comes confusion and questions. The concept of a removable, friction-retained hybrid prosthesis truly epitomizes the gray area between implant-supported and implant-retained prosthetics. Experience has taught today's professionals to restore retained and supported protocols with different techniques. Unfortunately, using a protocol that relies on both systems for success can become a more daunting task.
LMT
February 2019
By Conrad J. Rensburg
Absolute Dental Lab Celebrates the 25th Anniversary
Absolute Dental Services, headquartered in Durham, NC, is celebrating a milestone this year: 25 years in business. The company was purchased by South African natives Conrad Rensburg and Drew van Aarde in the early 2000s. Over the years, the team has grown from four technicians to more than 120 employees
LMT
January 2019
By Conrad J. Rensburg
Many Lab Owners Ramping Up for Growth and Change in 2019
Every December, I like to reach out to LMT readers to learn about their business goals and priorities for the upcoming year. It’s always enlightening to hear about their strategies for success. This year, plans run the gamut from ramping up for growth to working hard to hand over the reins.
JDT
1st Quarter 2019
By Conrad J. Rensburg
Making the Impossible Manageable: Esther's Story
It was a "feel good" Human interest story; the kind you often see on a TV broadcast to balance out the day's sad news. ABC11, out Raleigh North Carolina, ran a piece about a woman named Esther, who found a wedding ring in the parking lot of a local Walmart. Wanting to get the wedding ring back to its rightful owner, Esther reached out to ABC11. With their help, and after weeks of searching through social media sources, Esther found the ecstatic owner and returned her wedding band.
Focus
4th Quarter 2017
By Conrad J. Rensburg
The Evolution of Restoring Dental Implants: A CoCr Alloy Case Study
The ability to embrace and implement cutting-edge technology gives today’s dental lab the advantage needed to survive in an ever-changing market. In my more than 25 years in the dental technology industry, I have seen a definite shift from technicians being seen as the guy in the backroom making teeth to one of the most valued partners in the restorative team.
Inside Dental Technology
April 2016, Volume 7, Issue 4
Published by AEGIS Communications
Giving Back
Laboratory Professionals Working to Make the World a Better Place
By Jason Mazda
Conrad Rensburg attributes his outlook on life to two extraordinary events — one that propelled him to success as a dental laboratory owner, and another that nearly took it all away.
A result of these events was the Absolute Cares Foundation, through which Rensburg, business partner Drew Van Arde, and associates help people in need in various ways, from renovating a home to sponsoring a local athlete.
Read More
Inside Dental Technology
May 2015, Volume 6, Issue 5
Published by AEGIS Communications
Cement-Free Esthetics: The Exceptional Difference
This technology changes the Long-standing norms
By Conrad J. Rensburg, ND, NHD
With the ever-increasing amount of new technologies, products, and procedures available to dental laboratories today, it is becoming exponentially more difficult to differentiate between the exceptional and the average. Not only is it important for laboratories to choose carefully before investing, but it’s even more essential for laboratories to be cautious before they introduce these technologies to their customers.
Inside Dental Technology
September 2014, Volume 5, Issue 9
Published by AEGIS Communications
Business Ethics and Savvy Lead to a Successful Laboratory
This carefully crafted laboratory values its partnerships. Business success and business ethics can become estranged bedfellows when confronted by an economic downturn, global competition, and gray-market practices. That is unless you have a higher commitment to fulfill in life and push back against the grain by building a holistic business culture that measures success not only by its ability to provide the best in patient care but also by stretching that caring culture into the social fabric of the community being served. It’s a business model that Conrad Rensburg, ND, NHD, believes is responsible for the high degree of success and business growth he and his partner, Drew Van Aarde, ND, NHD, have achieved since their 2004 purchase of North Carolina-based Absolute Dental Services.
Read More
Ceramic Artistry Returns
to Fixed Hybrids
By Conrad J. Rensburg, ND, NHD
Patient History and Expectations
A longtime patient maintained her maxillary teeth as long as she could, but we knew she had some teeth that were non-restorable and she was facing some decisions (Fig. 1a). Her maxillary fixed bridge was fractured and had been re-cemented numerous times. The patient did not want a removable prosthesis. In addition, her extreme gag reflex took other options, such as anything with a palate, off the table. She eventually chose to do a fixed full-arch implant-supported prosthesis and was adamant that she did not want denture-type esthetics.