Glidewell Celebrates 50 Years of Service to Dentistry

Glidewell commemorated its 50th year of operations on Jan. 15, 2020 at its campus in Irvine, California.

U.S. Navy and Vietnam War veteran James R. Glidewell founded his company on Jan. 6, 1970, in Orange County, California. Spurred by a desire to make rehabilitative dentistry affordable for all, Jim applied a unique blend of technical knowledge, business principles and marketing philosophies to expand his one-man operation into a multifaceted technology company among those at the forefront of the oral health industry today. In its 50 years of existence, Glidewell has remarkably experienced year-over-year sales growth in all but 2009, at the outset of the Great Recession.

The end of that same year saw the release of BruxZir® Solid Zirconia, a tooth-colored material developed by Glidewell’s R&D team as a durable alternative to cast gold or metal occlusal PFM restorations. In the decade since, BruxZir zirconia has become the material of choice for clinicians worldwide, and been hailed by renowned independent research publication Clinicians Report® as “the most successful tooth-colored restoration in the history of dentistry.” Perhaps even more notably, the CAD/CAM processes used to manufacture BruxZir restorations have spurred a digital transformation across the dental lab industry, resulting in faster turnaround times and better-fitting crowns and bridges.

Glidewell now occupies one million square feet of office and production space in Irvine and neighboring Newport Beach, California. Employing a diverse team of certified technicians, engineers, scientists, clinicians, and support personnel, Jim continues his lifelong dream of advancing the materials and techniques available to treatment providers, enhancing knowledge through free education platforms, increasing patient access to premium services, and in growing the careers of the nearly 5,000 individuals who’ve come to join him in his pursuits.

To learn more about Glidewell’s unique complement of education, preventive, and restorative solutions, visit glidewelldental.com.