Josef Kolbeck has accomplished a lot in his 12 years in the industry. He received his dental technology degree from the Universidad Latina of Costa Rica, served as Academic Coordinator in dental technology at that same university, owned his own lab and is currently the managing director of a five-person removable department at Town and Country Dental Studios in Freeport, NY.
Kolbeck is part technician, part innovator: he continually tests new materials and techniques to improve the lab's fabrication processes and has created many original techniques, including the Kolbeck Technique featured in the March 2012 issue of LMT. It uses a unique method of processing a fixed removable denture with the pouring technique which saves time and materials and increases accuracy. He has also developed a flexible hybrid technique that combines flexible structures with acrylics, and is in the process of developing the Kolbeck Flask, a method for simplifying acrylic denture processing.
In fact, more than a dozen of his methods have been implemented at the laboratory. "Josef's techniques have dramatically improved our quality, workflow efficiency and, in some instances, lowered our operating costs. He's also helped bring our remake and adjustment percentage down below 1%," says Joseph Apap, CDT, MDT, General Manager. "Furthermore, he continually strives to keep his department one day ahead of schedule and has virtually eliminated all overtime from his team."
For Kolbeck, it's all about the patient. "I love bringing smiles to people and my biggest reward is a patient's happiness," says Kolbeck, who is currently seeking patents for two of his original procedures. "It pushes me to create new techniques that allow us to produce our highest quality work."
