I was a young implant dentist, working in a sketchy part of town on the wrong side of the tracks. I wanted to get my feet wet with implant dentistry, but my patients couldn’t afford my dental implant offerings. I decided to try and make things as inexpensive as possible. To do so, I really needed to cut my costs. I found the most inexpensive implant I could that was made in the USA, I ordered the implant in a package with their stock abutment. I would place the implant and wait for 4 months. Then I would prep the stock abutment, and then pick it up in a crown and bridge style PVS impression and send it to a lab that would charge me their base crown fee to make a monolithic restoration that would fit. This was pre-digital days, with no scanners around other than a very finicky CEREC. I would get the case back from the lab, torque in the stock abutment, and then carefully cement with a resin modified glass ionomer to mitigate the risk of cement sepsis. This went on for a while, and all seemed good until it wasn’t. You see, despite my best intentions with creating a value option for my patients, I hadn’t thought the process through beyond delivering the restoration. More unfortunately, I had also talked to a lab owner with years more experience than I had, who had advised against doing it this way, but I thought he was too expensive for my patients and my fees. Over the next little while, I learned what expensive really means. Cutting off cemented crowns with loose abutments and redoing them at no cost to the patient is expensive. Expensive lab bill, expensive chair time, expensive to the relationship with a patient who has put their trust in your hands. We started our dental lab with the intention of filling a void in the space of implant dentistry restorations, which is another story for another time. But along the way, I’ve thought a lot about what goes into choosing a dental lab that is more of a partner than a commodity:
- Quality of work: Ensure that the lab has a reputation for producing high-quality, reliable, and long-lasting implants and restorations. Ask for references, look at the examples of work they share online, or look for a recommendation from an existing client to get a sense of their reputation. Unfortunately for us dental lab owners, a bad outcome gets way more press than a lot of successes, but it’s just how things work. Fortunately for you as the dentist, a bad reputation should be very easy to spot by speaking to your colleagues.
- Communication: Look for a lab that has a strong communication system in place to ensure a smooth, efficient process. Good communication is critical for ensuring that your specifications and preferences are followed and for troubleshooting any issues that may arise. Here at Element Dental lab, we know that creating a long term relationship requires great communication. We prefer to work with our dentists directly to their own cell phone if they are open to it. This allows us to video chat with our clients and show them exactly what we are working on or any concerns we have encountered along the way. Especially when we’re doing full arch restorations or all-on-x prosthetic design, doctor feedback is important to us to give you exactly the outcome you’re after.
- Digital dentistry capabilities: Is the lab you’re working with able to accept and use digital scans from all systems and for all types of lab work? Digital workflows will improve outcomes and reduce overhead in the dental office when used correctly. Digital technologies allow for easy sharing of information and images between you and us, improving the collaboration and coordination of care. Additionally, digital processes often produce less waste than traditional methods, reducing environmental impact and improving sustainability. As pioneers in digital dentistry, especially full arch workflows, we understand the process from start to finish and can help you navigate your way through it.
- Technical expertise: At Element Dental Lab, we have the experience of a practicing dentist with a practice limited to dental implant surgery and restorations. I shared part of my experience above. I’ve admittedly made a lot of mistakes along the way, which gives us experience as a lab to hopefully help you avoid some of the same pitfalls. We try to be collaborative in this process while respecting your title as the treating doctor. We will advise but ultimately respect your wishes as the treating clinician. In addition, we have a team of highly skilled technicians who have specialized training and experience in implant dentistry. At Element Dental Lab, with combined decades of experience in clinical dental implants, dental lab restorations, and CAD/CAM operations, we are qualified and experienced to help you through the process. You want to ensure that the lab you choose has the technical expertise to produce the highest-quality results.
- Equipment and technology: Ensure that the lab has access to state-of-the-art equipment and technology, such as digital CAD/CAM systems, to produce precise and accurate implant restorations. We have invested heavily in digital technologies and equipment. With a large form in house titanium mill and various ceramic and polymer CAD/CAM mills, as well as multiple digital scanners, we are prepared to handle your work entirely in-house in Beaverton, Oregon. Additionally, we have various 3D printers suited to models, dentures and partials, and full arch all-on-x restorations. Our current equipment includes 3 Roland zirconia mills, two with automatic disc changers and one dedicated full arch all-on-x mill with a C-clamp and expanded degrees of freedom in milling strategy. Additionally, we use a Zirkon Zahn M-4 for titanium milling of full arch bars, custom abutments, and PMMA arches. Our 3D printers are constantly being updated as this is currently an area of rapid growth in dental manufacturing. We have a Juell 3D, various Form labs, a SprintRay 55Pro, an Asiga Max, an Asiga Pro 4K, and a Desktop Health Einstein. Each of these printers allows us to accomplish unique tasks, from model creation, soft tissue implant masks, integrated articulators, occlusal guards, surgical guides including stackable guides, digital smile design mockups, full arch all-on-x provisional restorations, shell temps for digital smile workflows, dentures and partials. The applications are constantly expanding as materials improve.
- Turnaround time: Consider the lab’s turnaround time for completing cases. You want to ensure that you have access to prompt and efficient service, so you can provide your patients with timely care. By investing heavily in digital technology, we are able to improve predictability and shorten turnaround times. For a turn around time sheet with our specifics for each item, give us a call at 503-616-9301 or send us an email: elementdentallab@gmail.com
- Cost: Consider the cost of the lab’s services, but don’t make price your only consideration. The lowest-priced option may not be the best choice, especially if it comes at the expense of quality or efficiency. We leverage our in-house workflows to reduce cost while still using best in class technology and materials.
- A commitment to no-offshoring: We stand behind a product that is made in-house in our facility in Beaverton, OR. Made in the USA is what we want for ourselves and our own patients, and we know you wouldn’t want anything less.
Ultimately, the right dental implant lab should be a partner in your success. Choose a lab that has a strong track record of producing quality work, is easy to work with, and is committed to being your partner over the long haul. While we hope you’ll choose us at Element Dental Lab, there are lots of good options out there.