RiverRock Dental laboratory has been restoring smiles for over 30 years. It is our passion.
Tim and Karen Bolin (owners) met in high school in 1976; he was a junior, she was a freshman. They knew from the start they were soul mates so they married soon after graduating high school to start their life together. Karen’s father Cass Kopczyk owned and operated Castle Dental Laboratory, a large successful dental laboratory in the Detroit area. As Tim sought a career after high school he ended up taking an entry level position in his future father in law’s lab. He soon fell in love with the work and was offered the opportunity to learn every part of the dental laboratory from models, porcelain, waxing and removable. He devoured the opportunity.
After ten years, Tim decided it may be time to venture off with a lab of his own. With only one account and a dream, he and Karen, along with their three sons, packed up everything and moved to Traverse City, MI and started their dental lab in 1989.
In the beginning, Tim specialized in removable appliances (partials and dentures) and soon the work was coming in. He studied the removable market and built the laboratory around it. Seeing the need to fabricate crown and bridge casework that worked in conjunction with his partials, Tim decided it was time to offer fixed restorations as well as removable. He soon hired an experienced porcelain technician and began, once again, educating himself.
Tim’s passion for knowledge eventually lead him down a path studying all the major occlusal philosophies, spending the most time in centric relation and myocentric dentistry. His philosophy has always been “level to what?”, and he has a deep understanding of all the different philosophy camps, whether it be Dawson, Pankey, Spear, Myocentric or OBI. He has never limited himself to just one method to find the patient’s plane of occlusion.
Today, the lab is thriving, wrapping itself around digital dentistry. “It has not always been easy to allow a machine to do the work the human hands once did, but you have to let that go and realize all the benefits that comes with it as well”.
RiverRock has always been a small laboratory focused on serving our dental community with restorations that are both aesthetic and functional, along with superior customer service. A happy patient who loves their smile is our goal!
RiverRock is a family run laboratory. Tim and Karen’s eldest son Ryan has been involved in the lab in some capacity for more than 20 years. Ryan’s wife, Sarah, is the laboratory’s production manager and brings nearly 20 years experience as a technician and dental assistant to the table. Ryan and Sarah are the new generation bringing innovative ideas along with talent, which adds to the beautiful life like restorations that are sent out the door each day!
