For 70 years, the Marotta family has been an integral part of the dental industry.

It all began in New York City in 1935, when 16 year old Leonard Marotta, Sr., began working in a machine shop fabricating radar equipment for the war effort.  The shop also constructed steel frames for dental appliances, and Len apprenticed in this department.  After the war, when jobs became scarce, Len’s experience in dental prosthetics landed him a job at the Vulcan Dental Lab where he made $10 a week.  He had found his niche.  During the post-war years he honed his craft while trying to make a living. He was one of the first technicians to cast Vitallium and Krupps steel partial frames and Vulcanite Dentures. While working for D.P.Goodman, Len came into his own as one of the first technicians to perform Precision and Semi-Precision attachments such as the G/L and Type 7 for partials. 

After working in several more laboratories in and around New York City, Len, decided to move his family and his business to Long Island. In 1950 he opened Artwork Dental Lab in Valley Stream with his partner, John Sciacca.  They specialized in steel work for removable partials and SubPeriosteal and Blade restorations. Len would take extra work home, and his son, Leonard Marotta, Jr., got his start in the field of dental technology working with his father in their basement. In fact, he still has the very first paycheck he received on February 26, 1960, for $1.25 an hour; he was 14 years old.  As the lab grew, Len brought in other family members and trained other technicians, many of whom eventually went on to open their own labs

While working part-time in the lab, Lenny also worked in a restaurant and as a mechanic, fixing motorcycles and cars.  He loved working with his hands and thought he’d eventually be either an auto mechanic or a dental technician.  Dental technology won out, he says, “because it’s more of a profession.  I liked the idea of being a technician more than a mechanic.  And I liked the idea of fixing people, rather than cold steel.”

Lenny graduated from the Kerpel School of Dental Technology in New York City in 1965.  He worked part-time in dental labs as well as some dental offices during his training. It was in this time that Lenny was required to repair one of the last ever Vulcanite dentures as he saw the emergence of the new packed resin dentures. Lenny also worked chair-side for two board certified Prosthodontists, Dr. Robert Lewis and Dr. Bradley Fishman, learning the profession from the other side of the chair as well.  Lenny continued his training through graduate studies at Farleigh Dickenson University, where he focused on Gnathology and SubPeriosteal, Blade and Staple implants, and graduated in 1972. In 1975, he earned his CDT in four categories: Ceramics, Crown and Bridge, Partials, and Dentures.

In 1980, Lenny opened his own laboratory, Leonard Marotta Dental Studio, in the basement of his home in Old Bethpage, NY, with his wife, Christine.  As their case load grew, Lenny hired Steven Pigliacelli, his brother-in-law, to work the plaster department.  Steve worked and trained while attending high school and college.  Later they hired Angel Bonilla who remains an integral part of the Marotta team today.  The lab quickly gained a reputation for quality work, specifically cast gold inlays, onlays, full cast crowns and copings. Porcelain was sent out to a freelance ceramist. Steven apprenticed directly under Lenny, learning the intricacies of waxing and casting gold inlays, onlays and full cast crowns.  A ceramist was eventually hired to keep all the work under one roof and under one standard of quality at a new professional location in Farmingdale, NY.

During the early 1980’s, Per-Ingvar Branemark introduced techniques for the osseointegration of dental implants.  Lenny studied with the first graduating class of restorative dentists and surgeons in the Branemark system from the University of Toronto in 1984. In 1985, Lenny worked and trained under Dr. Cozzi, an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon at the Nassau County Medical Center as a hands-on technologist in the operating room doing osseointegration procedures.

With the advent of dental implants, the need for in-house denture fabrication was required. The early implant frames were denture teeth processed to cast frames. A denture technician was hired.  The esthetic revolution also began at this time. Marotta Dental Studio was one of the first labs to construct Maryland bridges and laminates, using such systems as the Optec system and Renaissance crown which are predecessors of the Empress Laminate and Captek crown of today.

 The lab continued to grow, adding on a few more technicians and moving to a larger location, also in Farmingdale.  Steven took on a supervisory role to assist Lenny in maintaining the quality and standards of the lab.  The motto of the lab was always Quality over Quantity. “Dental technology is an Art,” says Steven, “and should be viewed as Artwork.”

Education and customer support became a vital part of the protocol of the lab. Lenny and Steve took on the task of sponsoring educational programs to support the needs of both dentists and dental technicians.  They both believed that dental technology was an art form that needed to be nurtured and promoted.  To that end, Lenny became a Clinical Associate Professor in 1989, a position he still continues in today, at the New York University College of Dentistry, Department of Implant Dentistry and Restorative and Prosthodontics Sciences, Post Graduate.  He is euther on staff or a member of the board of several universities.  He has also completed numerous certificate programs.  Both Lenny and Steven lecture extensively, and are members of many professional organizations and societies.

In the 1990’s the implant market took off.  The demand for quality craftsmanship and esthetic restorations grew. Seminars were held at the dental lab itself, and continuous telephone support and chairs-side assistance were offered.  An in-office room for custom shades was installed to meet the ever-increasing esthetic demands. New systems such as the Cad Cam system were developed.  Marotta was one of the fist labs ever to deliver the first three Cad Cam milled titanium Nobel Biocare frames as well as produce the first Procera milled abutments and crowns. Write-ups in journals about the precise frame and esthetic restorations appeared across the industry.  All-ceramic systems became commonplace. Custom-shade cosmetic dentistry grew in the lab from being an add-on service to the standard.  “Where Dentistry is Art” became the slogan of the lab.

In this time period the number of technicians in the country began to dwindle. Many of the schools closed up and went out of business and the need for quality technicians increased.  An apprentice program needed to be developed that would ensure quality technicians for the new century.  Many technicians joined the Marotta team and worked their way up the ranks.  For example, one technician went from an assistant in the plaster department to an implant specialist, and a denture technician was trained to be a ceramist.  Ceramists have become master ceramists, and technicians have grown into artists.  Many of the technicians came from other countries to work for the lab, and some were even sponsored to do so. The diversity of the lab is celebrated by the display of a flag for the home nation of each technician.

Steve earned his CDT in crown and bridge in 1997 while Lenny continued his pursuit for new technology and advancement in the dental field.  Cranial Facial Engineering became a part of the lab’s services when Lenny applied the same standards, principles and techniques to medical implants that he did with dental implants. 

By the turn of the century Cad Cam technology became a regular part of life. New systems came into the lab with modern methodology and machinery required. The team at Marotta easily took on these systems.  Esthetics became a major part of the lab with a specialized team of ceramists who work together as comrades rather than rivals and create innovative new ceramist procedures. Steriolithography and biomodels are part of the new direction Marotta has embarked on.

Joshua Marotta, Lenny’s son, began working at Marotta Dental Studio in 2004.  Like his father, he is training in all facets of the industry from the bottom up.  In January of 2005, Marotta Dental Studio made its final move to its own building. Joshua was instrumental in designing and overseeing the building of the lab himself, ensuring that it perfectly fit the needs of the technicians. The departments flow with precision and the design easily accommodates a wide range of new technologies. A highlight is the Conference Center/Media Room that can seat 60 for seminars. A mini-museum display of antique dental devices and machines is also proudly displayed.