Believing with Passion

With more than 40 years of experience in the clinical and business aspects of dentistry, which includes becoming the first female district manager for a dental implant company, Laura Watkins, COO of Jesse & Frichtel Dental Labs’ leadership style has evolved into “believe with passion.” Put another way, when you believe in yourself and try as hard as you can, you can accomplish great things!

For Laura, challenges are a source of motivation. “I lead my team with a hands-on leadership style, coaching team members, caring for them, and supporting them in good times and bad,” she says. Balancing the needs of our dentist clients and their patients with the real-life issues our team members deal with, is one of the most important aspects of my job. Empathy and care are a leader’s strongest suit, and they can transform work environments and employee loyalty.

Being vision-driven, strategic thinker, and goal-focused with a proven history of international team leadership and achievements, Laura has been setting the standards and maximizing returns to harnessing her team strengths to improve corporation-wide performance. For the steadfast leader, collaboration can build consensus among executive teams and stakeholders to promote transparency and influence positive change, which has been repeatedly proven. “Clear and effective communication with a wide range of stakeholders, including employees, customers, shareholders, and regulators, is the key,” she explains. “I also lead by example, by being myself and true to myself, being aware that I am being observed and sometimes seen as a role model to other women.” She has been promoting learning and creative thinking to keep curiosity for leading-edge trends in the healthcare industry, self-development, and striving for change that builds and rebuilds the organization that serves the customers well and performs at its best.

According to Laura, believing in oneself and working hard and smart is crucial to anyone who wants to make it big in the industry. With this pioneering mindset, Laura has taken the organization to new heights. Jesse & Frichtel Dental Labs provides superior crowns and bridges, fixed and removable dental implants cases as well as dentures and partials. In house case are made by highly trained technicians who were trained by or learned their craft in Germany. Since they started in 1994, they have become a leader in providing superior restorations and services. They have handled more than 200,000 implant cases and only use FDA 510(k) approved manufacturers to assure patients that their case conforms with the implant manufacturer’s warranty protection. From their lab in the Pittsburgh area, Jesse & Frichtel Dental Labs serve dentists throughout the United States and work closely with dental assistants and dental office staff as cases require. They also use the latest digital technologies to help practices improve productivity and patient comfort and decrease turnaround time on lab work to strengthen patient loyalty.

For Laura and her team, delivering fantastic customer service and genuinely caring for the doctors and patients is the top priority. For Jesse & Frichtel Dental Labs, no order is too small or complicated. “We created our Implant Assist service for that reason. We use custom CAD/CAM software to create abutments designed for your patients’ requirements. Although many labs use generic implant components that are less expensive than the ones we use, we believe that the price difference is worth it to doctors and patients,” explains Jesse & Frichtel Dental Labs’ website.

Compared to other dental labs, Jesse & Frichtel Dental Labs offers personalized service to their clients. The organization’s most significant achievement has been investing in digital dentistry in the early days of that technology and continually looking for innovations in materials, techniques, and know-how. Perhaps most importantly, the team's and people's diversity are vital in enhancing the organization. “We find talent in art schools or wherever dental technicians and artists may be, train them, and help them create amazing things to help people. That combination of creativity and practicality is rare these days,” elucidates Laura. “I am working towards the progressive development of this company by keeping up with the constant changes in the technical aspects of the industry, professional staffing, and exceeding the requests of our dedicated doctors in the dental industry. For example, we are working on our 47th continuous education (CE) seminar coming this October to provide practical and valuable insight for our guests. I know it sounds cliché, but I still have a few years to give, and my goal continues to be to make Jesse and Frichtel the best it can be for our team, our clients, and our partners.”