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Corporate Profile: Gold Dust Dental Laboratory Benjamin Lund, Editor, Dentaltown Magazine

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by Benjamin Lund, Editor, Dentaltown Magazine

With a renowned reputation in the area of aesthetic restorations, Paul Lindsey and Rob Maatta, the principals of Gold Dust Dental Laboratory, are more anxious to celebrate their clients' successes, than to talk about their own. For the last 14 years these two have driven Gold Dust to become one of the most progressive medium-sized laboratories in the country. Dentaltown Magazine interviewed Lindsey and Maatta to learn more.

Tell me a little about Gold Dust's history.
Rob: Gold Dust was established in 1981 as a high-quality posterior crown-and-bridge laboratory. In 1997, both Paul and I, en route to dental school, did internships at the lab. We were inspired by the technical and artistic side of the business. Ultimately we made the decision to make this our career path in the dental profession. We purchased the lab in 2003 with the intent of making it something special.

Describe Gold Dust's current business philosophy.
Paul: Simply put, we believe the cornerstone of our business is the relationship we have with our clients and their teams. Our motto and the philosophy we live by is, "Do what you say you are going to do," which holds every one of our employees to a level of integrity valued by our clients. While it's not a revolutionary concept, we find it's pretty rare.

What are the key products Gold Dust produces?
Rob: Gold Dust is a fixed restorative laboratory in all materials, but possesses a true expertise in all-ceramic restorations. Everyday products include Empress, e.max, Authentic, Lava zirconia, PFM, implants, composites and gold restorations. We use only branded, quality materials with the research and development to support excellent results. We've been involved as a beta lab and materials-testing partner for manufacturers to ensure Gold Dust stays ahead of the competition.

What sets you apart from other dental labs?
Paul: The relationships we have with our clients. Ultimately, if we contribute to their success, we know it will come back to us. We know them by name; we know their preferences; and we know what they want and what their patients expect. We don't have aspirations to be the biggest dental lab. We just want to be the one with a great reputation for taking care of people. We plan for the growth necessary to invest in emerging technologies and education, contribute to our team members and continue to grow with the needs of our clients. We do, however, want to stay small enough that we never lose sight of the importance of relationships with the clinicians who make Gold Dust what it is.


Gold Dust Success Story: Dr. John Nosti

Dr. John Nosti practices full time in New Jersey with an emphasis on treating functional cosmetic cases, full-mouth rehabilitations and TMJ dysfunction. Completing more than 1,800 hours of advanced training, Dr. Nosti shares his expertise with dentists around the country in providing advanced procedures.

Nosti lists three things that have contributed to his success and made dentistry something that he loves. First, he notes advanced continuing education, which "fires you up and gives you confidence." Second, he lists Gold Dust who "understands what's on the line with my patients and delivers superb ceramics, making me a better dentist," and third, he says, "the lifelong friendships I've been privileged with along the way."
How do you sustain those relationships?
Rob: We constantly find ways to contribute to our clients – hosting continuing education and providing practice support such as found on our Web site. We customize the ways we connect to our clients based on what they need. The basis is to obviously provide high-quality restorations that meet the aesthetic demands of today's most discerning clinicians and patients.

How do you ensure the quality and aesthetic excellence Gold Dust is known for?
Paul: We recruit and retain the most talented ceramists in the country and ensure they are growing with our clients' needs, which means providing education and a constant, never-ending objective to improve their skill set.

Rob: In pursuits such as an aesthetic ceramic case, they require not only technically exceptional ceramists, but a special attention to the artistic element that brings a doctor's vision to life. This unique balance – artisan and craftsman – in one individual is not something you can train, only something you can nurture in someone who already has it.

What does Gold Dust do to stay closely involved with its dentists?
Paul: The collaborative process in every case is to ensure that the patients get what they want. In some cases, that means developing some additional ways to communicate and confirm a patient's desires. We support our clients by talking through concerns in aesthetics and function and oftentimes communicating these through a variety of tools to validate what a patient really wants.

Rob: For instance, a patient might indicate they want "Reese Witherspoon's smile." As a restorative team, we need to confirm what that means before final fabrication. Does she really want a reverse smile line with facial displaced squarer centrals and laterals or does she want a broad buccal corridor? By discussing our concerns through our experience with other cases, we enhance the doctor's ability to effectively communicate with the patient and achieve a patient's desires simply by our relationship. In fact, we guarantee patient satisfaction at try in, if they aren't happy, we will do whatever is necessary to make sure they are.


Gold Dust Success Story:
Drs. Jason and Colleen Olitsky

Drs. Jason and Colleen Olitsky operate a practice with a focus on cosmetics in Jacksonville, Florida. As one of the youngest dentists ever to achieve accreditation with the AACD, Dr. Jason Olitsky is passionate about the quality of dentistry and his patient results. His motivation for pursing accreditation? He says, "I knew the process would make me a better dentist and I had the full support of Gold Dust, which has been my lab partner since I finished my aesthetic training." His next goal is fellowship… which involves another 50 perfect cases, and the partnership of Gold Dust.
What is the most significant change in your clientele in the last ten years?
Rob: No doubt, the shift from a focus on cosmetics to function. As a lab partner, we have always been most concerned about how things are going to work or last while making a case look great. Our clients are really Functionally Aesthetic dentists.

There is a perception in dentistry that Gold Dust is a dental lab only for cosmetic dentists; how accurate is that perception?
Rob: We believe that everything we do is aesthetic in nature. While many clients only send their complex work, smile designs, full-mouth rehabilitations, implant restorations and the like, Gold Dust's foundation in single-unit posterior restorations continues to be what makes most restorative practices successful and recession-proof. We've developed a department that specifically supports this segment, called Gold Rush, which is primarily pressed and stained units as a value priced product line.

Education is a large component of Gold Dust's repertoire. What sort of education is Gold Dust involved in?
Paul: We have been committed to postgraduate, live-patient, hands-on education for more than 14 years. As a participating laboratory and primary partner in Pac-Live, LVI, the Hornbrook Group and Clinical Mastery Series, Gold Dust has been privileged to support education by providing the restorations and working in tandem with doctors chairside. We host a series of occlusion, over-the-shoulder and live-patient programs. It has been congruent with our vision of creating relationships, as we have a special bond with participants when we go through that process together. We find that the doctors who are committed to improving their clinical skills are the doctors who value excellence and want the best for their patients. This ultimately is the type of doctor with whom we work most effectively.

How is CAD/CAM affecting your business? Do you use it in your lab?
Paul: CAD/CAM has been a significant part of our business for many years. With the inclusion of 3M Lava Milling operated as a subsidiary of Gold Dust called Core Design, we were a very early adopter of the technology.

Rob: We certainly are not the first to predict that the future of dentistry will be centered in CAD/CAM technology, however we find that milling is not the ideal solution for every restoration, nor can we achieve the aesthetic results equivalent to pressed restorations… yet.

We've recently invested in chairside imaging technology to test different systems and provide recommendations to clients based on their desires moving forward. The ability to file share in real-time with our clients prior to the patient leaving the office will be more and more common, along with everyone benefitting from the accuracy of digital impressions. We anticipate this being the fastest growing area in CAD/CAM and are excited to be part of it.


Gold Dust Success Story:
Drs. Valerie Warren and Amy Carrico

Drs. Valerie Warren and Amy Carrico of Kentucky have developed a unique practice strategy that is custom-tailored to their goals. Operating as independent practices and sharing space, they are able to raise young families (each have three young boys), which allows them to have the autonomy, flexibility and independence to pursue clinical excellence while creating a lucrative income and benefiting from the joys of motherhood.

Since both clinicians work part-time schedules, their need to be productive is paramount. "Gold Dust has allowed me to be extremely productive because of the predictable, high quality work with very few adjustments. Time is my biggest asset and Gold Dust gives me time," says Carrico.

Warren adds, "Gold Dust is so much more than just a lab to me. I feel it has allowed me to take my practice to the next level. Not only does it provide me with the highest quality restorations with unmatched predictability, but it also provides me with a vast array of resources to enhance my practice and ensure my success. Gold Dust has honestly become a synergistic part of my practice and the only lab I use."
How does Gold Dust compete in terms of cost and quality?
Rob: As you can suspect, we are not a low-cost laboratory and neither are we the most expensive. Our fees are dictated by the level of talent we recruit to achieve the results that make Gold Dust what it is today. We manufacture everything we send to clients in our facility in Tempe, Arizona, and outsource nothing. Every restoration goes through a stringent quality assurance check. We believe in the talent of our team.

How do you address remakes?
Paul: Everyone suffers when a case needs to be remade, for whatever reason. We first address what we could have done, if anything, in order to avoid having it occur again. Ultimately, we have to stand behind the result and to that end we have created guidelines that guarantee all of our restorations against defects, while making sure the patient is happy.

What can a dentist expect when working with Gold Dust?
Paul: A passionate commitment to their patients' satisfaction. Period.

To learn more about Gold Dust Dental Laboratory, visit www.golddustdental.com or call 800-513-6131.
Dentaltown Magazine
October 2025
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