High-End Technician’s Journey Continues
Contour specialist appreciates benefits of new multilayer zirconia
Jack Marrano, CDT, recalls his first job in a dental laboratory as a minimum-wage position, working 7 days a week, arriving at 4:30 AM but not clocking in until 8:00. After 4 years in the Marine Corps, Marrano was driven to succeed in the profession he fell in love with as a 14-year-old sitting in on classes at the University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine.
"I was really influenced by the romance of the superstar technician," Marrano says. "I read everything I could get my hands on about dental technology, and I became obsessed with contour."
After that first job in his hometown of Buffalo, New York, Marrano moved to California to open his own high-end, boutique laboratory at a time when cosmetic dentistry was on the rise. However, the recession took a toll on his business.
"One of my dentists affectionately called me ‘The Starving Artist,' and I carried that around like a trophy," Marrano says, "but then I woke up one day and said, ‘I need to eat. There must be a better way.'"
Around that time, Lee Culp, CDT, was consulting at a laboratory back in Buffalo whose owner Marrano knew. So Marrano and his wife packed up and headed back east, and he went to work with Culp at that laboratory.
On Marrano's first day, Culp challenged him with a full-mouth metal-ceramic implant case, saying "You think you're good? Don't put a hole in my framework." Marrano confidently promised he would not; he then proceeded to put a hole in it. The two technicians had a good laugh, and their relationship took off from there.
Culp eventually left the laboratory for a job with a manufacturer, but Marrano later joined him back in California when Culp moved to MicroDental. Marrano became PFM Division Manager there and eventually took over the all-ceramic and implant divisions as well.
Eventually, Marrano and Culp moved back east to open Sculpture Studios in Cary, North Carolina, and last year Marrano moved to Absolute Dental Services, which has three offices in North Carolina and one in South Carolina, where he is Director of Signature Prosthetics.
Marrano says that while he has failed hundreds of times, both personally and professionally, he believes those failures have brought him his greatest successes and keep him humble.
"I have never believed in celebrity technician egos," he says. "I hate egos and have no use for them." He believes in having close, open relationships with other technicians in order to help them achieve their dreams.
"I am absolutely having the time of my life," Marrano says.
Still supremely passionate about contour, Marrano has closely followed the developments in zirconia materials, including the new Cercon xt Multilayer (ML) from Dentsply Sirona. The benefits of multilayer zirconia have been well-documented by the many companies that manufacture it, but Marrano says Dentsply Sirona's stands out from the rest.
In addition to its 750-MPa flexural strength and approximately 49% translucency, Cercon xt ML includes the full range of 16 VITA® classic shades and BL2, which not all multilayered zirconias do.
"Without the full spectrum, it sometimes becomes necessary to layer or to stain," he says. "When you are able to mill to shade, the results are incredible."
Cercon xt ML also utilizes the same sinter cycle as Cercon xt and Cercon ht, so users can sinter all Cercon restorations together.
"Various manufacturers recommend different sintering cycles to optimize the esthetics of their zirconia, and for the laboratory, these different cycles become very overwhelming and problematic," Marrano says. "Even if the laboratory manages to avoid sintering anything on the wrong cycle, it can become a production issue. Most laboratories have a limited number of sintering ovens, and taking one out of the rotation for just a few units that require a special cycle is inefficient. Being able to fire all of our Cercon restorations on the same cycle is extremely beneficial and convenient."
Support is another important factor with any product, and Dentsply Sirona stands out in that area as well.
"Every company is trying to sell zirconia, so you need to make sure you are buying from a reputable company," Marrano says. "Who is more reputable than Dentsply Sirona? They have built their company off their reputation and offering quality products to technicians and dentists. In working with them, you have that support, and you know that quality is inherent."
With Cercon xt Multilayer, Marrano is able to use his passion—contour—to provide the highest quality restorations for dentists.
"Dentists absolutely love it because they get true, lifelike esthetics with the strength of zirconia, which is really a game-changer," he says. "In the mouth, it disappears, and ultimately that is what is really important."
For more information, contact:
Dentsply Sirona Laboratory
dentsplysirona.com
844-848-0137
