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Corporate Profile: BonaDent & Danaren

Right: Technicians and dentists routinely train with top clinicians in BonaDent’s state-of-the-art 84 seat auditorium.

Historically, the founding fathers built this nationally cherished aspiration with the intent to encompass all that was available in America – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – hallmarks which united people on a common quest for personal and national success. In the midst of record high unemployment rates and based on today’s headlines, one might think the American dream has turned into a nightmare. However, one family, one organization continuously strives to epitomize the American dream of the 21st Century. Under the leadership of Bruce H. Bonafiglia, CDT, BonaDent and Danaren Dental Laboratories prove that it is possible for successful American businesses to provide opportunities to American workers and help them achieve their own American dream.

The Bonafiglia dream began 60 years ago between a father and son. Angelo Bonafiglia, with the help of his father Henry, established BonaDent Dental Laboratories. Back then, if Angelo’s son, Bruce, wanted to spend quality time with his father it would have to be at the bench in his dad’s four-person dental lab, learning the business while watching over his father’s shoulder. From cleaning denture flasks and sweeping the plaster room floor as a child to washing cars and changing oil in his youth, Bruce learned the true meaning of hard work. As his father’s lab grew, Bruce became more involved with the technical aspects of the laboratory and began to experience the self-satisfaction of taking part in the completion of a great restoration. It soon became clear that he wanted the laboratory’s legacy to continue.

Many members of the Bonafiglia family play an integral role in the overall success of the current operation. Since purchasing BonaDent from his father in 1986, Bruce has served as President and CEO. Angelo Bonafiglia, though officially retired 23 years ago, is still passionate about his legacy and craft. He splits his time at the bench between the Upstate New York lab and the BonaDent facility in Melbourne, Florida, operated by Bruce’s sister, Andrea. Daniele Bonafiglia Wirth, Bruce’s oldest daughter, serves as CFO of his companies. Daughter, Erin Bonafiglia is herself an accomplished technician and focuses her time on training her fellow technicians. The fifth Bonafiglia generation, grandchildren Ella and Harrison, are down the hall in BonaDent’s on-site daycare, patiently awaiting their turn.

Today the family’s laboratories have grown to more than 225 employees, a far cry from the original two-room lab. Within the new 40,000 square foot flagship facility in Seneca Falls, NY, employees enjoy amenities including a Cybex fitness center, full service café, laundry facilities, hair salon and an on-site day care center. Personal conveniences are not the only benefits offered at BonaDent. Most importantly, an 84-seat auditorium and state-of-the-art hands-on training center equipped with four operatories and 12 dental simulators presents their technicians outstanding opportunities to train with world-class leaders in the industry such as Thomas Trinkner, Willi Gellar, Bill Blatchford and John Kanca, just to name a few.

This unique facility helps BonaDent attract and retain some of the best technicians and dental professionals in the country. “As dentists from across the country visit and train in our lab, and work alongside our team, they come to understand why in today’s world someone would provide amenities like ours,” says Bonafiglia.

When BonaDent was planning its new building, Bruce found it difficult convincing family members and his management team of why it was so important to devote such a large amount of the new lab space to education and hands-on training rather than laboratory production. It was a major commitment, but rather than sending just one or two technicians at a time to valuable training courses halfway across the country or farther, BonaDent routinely brings in top clinicians to teach a large group of its staff, which saves both time and money. BonaDent’s technicians learn from the best at a fraction of the cost. The concept of dentists and technicians learning together has helped his technicians understand the challenges that dentists face. Bonafiglia claims, “Two-year technical schools are a nice start but they can’t begin to compare to the continuing education opportunities that BonaDent and Danaren employees receive.”

It is his commitment to and deep-rooted respect for technicians that continues to drive Bonafiglia’s business model – something that was influenced by an invitation to visit a competitor’s laboratory in the early 1980s. There, he was offered an opportunity to partner with that lab owner to outsource crowns to the Philippines, which at the time was gaining popularity.

Bruce reflects, “I remember leaving that meeting a bit scared and intimidated at the thought of what outsourcing could do to our small lab. This competitor’s lab was bigger and newer; he even had tufted leather chairs and a fireplace in his office!” Admittedly a bit impressed and while also presuming that this could be a monetarily successful venture, he immediately thought of his friends and family who were back at the lab, working hard to follow their own American dream. It was during his return to BonaDent that he decided to take a stand and do everything within his power to show loyalty back to the U.S. technicians who had faithfully supported him and his father. It is this strong desire to support the American workforce that prompted Bonafiglia to create Danaren Dental Laboratory, a separate lab facility on the BonaDent campus. Danaren combines lean manufacturing, CAD/CAM equipment and an assembly line process to create restorations that are not only consistent and beautiful but affordable as well. Named after his daughters, Daniele and Erin, Bonafiglia believes Danaren can substantially increase dentists’ income without outsourcing to offshore labs. Combined, both full-service laboratories are capable of satisfying any need a dentist might have, from traditional cases to full-mouth reconstructions.

“It is not financially necessary for labs to use offshore facilities, like those located in the Philippines and China, in order to provide low-cost restorations. I believe outsourcing to offshore facilities hurts all of us by undermining the American labor force and therefore jeopardizing our nation’s economy,” Bonafiglia says.

He disagrees with the claim that there are not enough technicians here in the U.S. to adequately serve the demand, as he’s been busy interviewing technicians from across the country whose jobs have either been reduced in hours or eliminated completely. It’s been reported that over the last five years thousands of U.S. labs have closed their doors. “In the last few years we have provided opportunities for some small lab owners who have expressed that between offshore competition, in office CAD/CAM technology, and the high cost of continuing education and benefits, it’s just too difficult to keep their labs open. There are plenty of talented U.S. technicians out there. I love that we can offer fellow technicians an opportunity to continue to flourish in their field.”

Very few small lab owners can afford the technology and high-end education opportunities that BonaDent and Danaren routinely offer to their staff and customers.

In the future BonaDent and Danaren plan on continuing to invest heavily in the advancing technologies as they become available to help control costs and improve consistency. “Although these new technologies have a steep entry level price, in our 60 years of being in the lab business we certainly have seen the benefits of what new technologies have brought to our industry and we have adjusted accordingly. For instance, our PFM crown waxers have been retrained and moved into diagnostic and implant waxing.” A large percentage of BonaDent and Danaren’s PFM substructures are produced by rapid prototyping technology. They are a certified 3M Lava COS and milling center as well as iTero and Sirona inLab. “I think that all patients deserve affordable treatment and these new technologies have helped us keep restoration costs under control while improving consistency. In our labs, technology improvements mean technician advancement, not elimination” says Bonafiglia.

BonaDent and Danaren Laboratories, each with unique roles in the dental industry, are designed to compliment one another. BonaDent’s highly trained technicians are more skilled and well rounded. Bonafiglia says, “When choosing BonaDent a dentist typically expects more comprehensive treatment planning and prefers a higher level of lab communication and collaboration.

When choosing Danaren the expectation is strictly for a lower price, consistent, quality product.” In order to meet this demand for a lower price Danaren utilizes lean manufacturing and assembly line efficiency. Danaren’s technicians focus on just one or two specific functions enabling them to become experts in that particular part of the process.

Danaren’s most commonly fabricated restorations, which include single unit PFMs and small span bridges, start at $80 a unit with payment incentives. This price point, coupled with Danaren’s rapid turnaround times and direct communication, allows Danaren to compete against offshore labs. In addition Danaren provides doctors with the confidence that they are partnering with 60 years of laboratory experience in order to provide their patients with American-made, FDA-approved products.

Not only has Danaren become an alternative to outsourcing while creating American jobs, it also gives doctors a choice when presented with a patient whose care is regimented by insurance companies. In the end, it is the shared responsibility of dentists and their laboratories to ensure each patient receives quality dental care. Bonafiglia states, “I don’t quite understand why a doctor would take the risk to send a patient’s case overseas to save $10 or $20. Let’s face it, when laboratories outsource their work this creates opportunities for only one person, the lab owner.” BonaDent and Danaren on the other hand, have created opportunities not only for the Bonafiglia family, but for their employees and the surrounding communities as well. With the goal of keeping the American dream alive, Bonafiglia’s laboratories have created and maintained American jobs, kept patient’s restorations in the United States, while at the same time keeping dollars circulating in our nation’s economy. A win for the entire dental industry.

Is the American dream alive and well? It depends on who you ask. Ask one of the millions of workers across the nation who recently lost their job partially due to outsourcing, and you’ll get a resounding “no.” Ask a technician you pass in the hallway of this family-oriented dental laboratory located in Small Town USA, and chances are, you’ll get a resounding, “Yes!”
Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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