How to Know a Dental Lab Is Right for Your Practice
Your dental practice is only as successful as the dental lab with which you align yourself. Without satisfactory output from a qualified lab, your ability to perform effective dental restorations and cosmetic dentistry will be compromised – and your reputation will be affected too. It isn’t difficult to form the right partnership with a dental lab if you keep several important factors in mind.
They use the materials you prefer.
You need to know what materials your dental lab uses to produce each restoration, whether you’re ordering porcelain crowns, veneers, dental implants, dental bridges, or otherwise. Specifically, you want them to use ADA-approved materials and genuine manufacturer parts and hardware.
The many possible formulations of a porcelain crown, for example, affects the total cost for you and your patient. A porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) crown is going to be a different price than a full porcelain crown. You have preferences, so does your patient, and so does your lab. The three things must gel, so everyone is satisfied. There’s nothing wrong with asking for proof of authenticity.
They offer the rates you want.
You want rates from your dental lab that aren’t too high, too low, or too good to be true. After all, there is a difference between reduced rates and low fees. If you choose a lab based on a deeply discounted price for a typically high-priced item, that’s a red flag. There’s a pretty good chance that what they’re offering is not the real thing.
They may be using less expensive copies of manufacturer parts or passing off a part as genuine when it’s really an imitation. It’s your job to know where the truth lies and what you’re willing to accept – sometimes it’s the unusual rates that alert you to everything you need to know.
They have great communication.
You should be able to contact your dental lab anytime and get excellent customer service. You don’t want to make a phone call that no one picks up or send an email that never gets answered. That’s not how business is done. You want to know people by name, know who handles your account, and be aware if you’re speaking with a salesperson, technician, customer service representative, or otherwise.
Your account is the only one that matters to you and your dental lab’s level of communication should reinforce that reality. The right lab lets you know up front how critical communication and consistency are to them too and that they will always deliver on behalf of your practice.
Your DSO has vetted them already.
When you trust your DSO, you can trust the labs the recommend. Your dental partnership organization knows which labs are authorized, genuine, and operating at the highest level. They have already vetted them, done site visits, and spoken with owners and managers about how things are run.
At Independence Dental DSO, we know what our dentists need from their dental labs: quality control, consistency, good communication, predictable results, fast turnaround times, and excellent rates. It is our job to help you align with a compatible lab for the specific needs of your practice. Contact us today to learn more about the Independence Dental family and how we can work together.
