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  1. aidihra

    Why do the big implant companies complicate everything?!?

    It seems like every implant company has had new inexperienced people answering the phones the last several years. I avoid the websites and order everything I need by phone. Dentist sends me the surgeons letter they receive and I give the implant reference number to the implant company to help...
  2. aidihra

    CEBA loan repayment Canada

    Nice! This is something I may also do in the future as well. I already outsource dentures, but not c&b.
  3. aidihra

    CEBA loan repayment Canada

    You moved your lab into your house? You're still in the Ottawa area? If you don't want to work as much, why don't you partner up with another lab to do the work? You can outsource most of the work and just do what you want to do.
  4. aidihra

    CEBA loan repayment Canada

    Apparently, 2 out of every 6 immigrants decide to leave Canada within 10 years. Add to that the Canadian born citizens who are now leaving because it's become more unaffordable to live here. I don't think my kids will live anywhere near the GTA when they've grown unless they get some kind of...
  5. aidihra

    CEBA loan repayment Canada

    You got that right! I can't tell you how many people I've had conversations with in the last year that are considering leaving Canada. It's really sad.
  6. aidihra

    CEBA loan repayment Canada

    First half of the year was really good, but it really feels like a recession kicked in later in 2023 and unfortunately I expect 2024 will continue that trend. We were all supposed to be in this together during lockdowns. That was complete bull****. Our association comes out with an annual fee...
  7. aidihra

    CEBA loan repayment Canada

    Just curious how everyone's business is doing now that the CEBA loan repayment is due? I recently paid back the $40,000 owed. The last 3 months of 2023 were very slow for me & had to take a pay cut to fully payoff the loan, but I'll be okay. I know a couple of other labs that were also very slow...
  8. aidihra

    Who's drinking what?

    Never liked the taste or sometimes the smell of tequila. 🤢 I even tried some of the supposedly finer tequila in Mexico one time, but had a similar negative reaction. Whisky/Scotch are my hard liquor choices, but in recent years I've been trying out different beers regularly. Wheat beer, ales...
  9. aidihra

    GC Inital MC ceramic, becoming a real pain trying to keep it in stock. Looking for a new material that is available.

    Are you running out of a specific shade that you use a lot of or is it all shades you need? If it's only a couple shades that you need, I'd mix and match with what you currently have to get the desired shade. 80% of the shades I get are either A3 or A3.5 and I've mixed my Ceramco porcelains for...
  10. aidihra

    Cold cure reline feels like sandpaper after curing

    One time we were wondering why the acrylic was taking so long to cure for a couple of repairs and we figured out that two different brands were being mixed. Stick with the proper brands.
  11. aidihra

    Retirement for a Dental Lab Technician

    I really wanted to tell off one dentist a some years back, but they retired & denied me that satisfaction before I had the chance. Probably best they went away & that I didn't have to work with them again. I enjoy my work environment much more the last few years, but I'll be looking to 'retire'...
  12. aidihra

    Bioform porcelain

    Doing some house cleaning at the lab and found some old porcelain. Ducera is probably 20 years old, but I'm not sure how old the Bioform porcelain is. My business partner had it from a long time ago. Maybe 60s or 70s? Anyway, he had a heart attack this week(blot clot in heart artery & is now ok)...
  13. aidihra

    Discontinued Porcelain

    Nothing wrong with discontinued porcelain unless you just don't want to use it. Either find someone that will use it or throw it out.
  14. aidihra

    Looking for advice about casting fundamentals

    Lots of good info in here. I switched from gas to propane about 20 years ago and noticed less problems. Make sure you use different crucibles for different metals when casting and try not to overheat the alloy(specifically palladium). You should be adding new alloy ingots to the used ones every...
  15. aidihra

    COVID-19 RESTRICTION AND LOCKDOWNS- HOW YOU COPING??

    I'm always ready to learn more. So far I haven't been convinced that these vaccines offer me more of a benefit than a risk, but that may change in the future. At the end of the day I have to do what I feel is best for myself, my family and my community. Lockdowns and vaxx passports are divisive...
  16. aidihra

    COVID-19 RESTRICTION AND LOCKDOWNS- HOW YOU COPING??

    I got sick for a few days at the beginning of all this. I suspect it was Covid just because it felt like the worst flu I've ever had. I never got tested to confirm it. I watched the news when the doctors said not to wear masks because most were not effective against Covid unless you had n95 or...
  17. aidihra

    Thoughts on overseas outsourcing?

    The turnaround time would be an issue for sending out work overseas. Most dentists I know want the finished case back tomorrow. I outsource some work to a local lab. Not everything I get back is perfect, but they are reliable and do good work. I can't imagine the headaches sending work overseas.
  18. aidihra

    Are we being eliminated?

    I don't recommend this profession to anyone either. Dental technology is very interesting work and can be financially rewarding, but it's definitely not for everyone. My first 10 years were tough financially and was considering leaving before things got much better. If I could turn back time I...
  19. aidihra

    Are we being eliminated?

    This is the only job I've ever done besides working at a hot dog stand. I'd prefer to transition into something that I can still do in my lab. What that would be..., I'm not sure. Jewelry seems logical, but I'm not really interested in that. Becoming a welder was something I had thought about. I...
  20. aidihra

    Are we being eliminated?

    In the cities there are dental offices opening up on every corner. Most of those offices won't have as many customers as the more established ones. One way for them to compete is to possibly have an in house lab if they're willing to do the lab work themselves. I think this will become more...
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