401: Seth Smith and Ryan Alexander: From Chaos to Clicks: The GreatLab.io Upgrade
Seth Smith from Greatlab.io joins the podcast to share how his team built a modern, automation-driven lab management system that streamlines booking, communication, scanning, and workflow for labs of all sizes. Ryan Alexander from Vitality Dental Arts explains how switching to GreatLab dramatically reduced calls, sped up case processing, improved technician efficiency, and transformed their day-to-day operations almost overnight.
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Show Notes
This week, we sit down with Seth Smith, founder of the rapidly growing lab software company Greatlab.io, and Ryan Alexander from Vitality Dental Arts, who’s been living the GreatLab life since May and has plenty to say about it.
Seth shares the long, winding road from e-commerce to dentistry, to clear aligners, to scanners, and finally to building what he hopes becomes the most modern, integrated, and speed-driven LMS in the industry. He talks workflow obsession, eliminating downloads, killing paper dockets, listening to lab pain points, and why he’s visited over 100 labs (and keeps going).
Ryan brings the real-world perspective from a 100-tech lab that went through multiple LMS transitions before landing on GreatLab. He explains how their booking teams shrank, inbound calls dropped by 50%, audits disappeared, and technicians suddenly found computers they “didn’t have” once the system made their jobs easier. From the CRM that kills phone tag to ScanHub pulling every scanner into one feed, Ryan breaks down exactly what changed on the bench, in customer service, and across production.
We also dig into bad scans (yes, 20% of them), doctor communication, automatic file routing, task automation, shipping integrations, data migration fears, and why some labs should not switch systems unless they’re truly ready to modernize.
If you’ve ever wondered what a cloud-based, automation-heavy, lab-built-from-the-ground-up LMS looks like—or why another lab described GreatLab as “a Ferrari while everyone else is a Civic”—this episode lays it all out.
Learn more or request a demo: greatlab.io
Find them in Vegas at NADL Visions and in Chicago at Lab Day!
Happy Holidays from Ivoclar!
As the year comes to a close, all of us at Ivoclar want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the incredible Voices From the Bench community. Thank you for your partnership, your trust, and the support you’ve shown throughout the year.
From our Ivoclar family to yours, we wish you a joyful, healthy, and safe holiday season.
May your days be merry, your nights be bright, and your smiles shine like freshly fallen snow.
Ho, ho, ho — Happy Holidays from Ivoclar!
Elvis and Barb are gearing up for their chat with the HyperDent Dude himself, Jordan Greenberg from FOLLOW-ME! Technology. At LabFest, Elvis found out that every hyperDENT license comes with Template Editor Lite — a built-in feature that lets you make safe, customized tweaks to your milling strategies. Whether you want to prioritize surface quality or speed, this tool gives you the control to fine-tune your results while FOLLOW-ME! keeps everything validated and reliable.
Because in the end, us lab techs love to tinker — and hyperDENT makes it easy to choose your own CAM-venture.
Special Guests: Ryan Alexander and Seth Smith.