Own lab... am I crazy? (please tell me I am)

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I had my lab in Switzerland for 2 years.. and yes it is tough to get a job in the EU with a Swiss visa..

Sweden would be more the latitude Im at now near the canadian border..

It shouldnt be too hard to find someone, in the end it all comes down to money and talent. How much are you willing to pay for.. and how much freedom to make mistakes are you going to give a younger inexperienced tech.. The older techs that know how to do everything analog.. wont know what to do in a digital world, and the younger techs that know design.. cant run a full lab.. in other words they need (your) direction..

just my two kronen..
 
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Xydorf

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I had my lab in Switzerland for 2 years.. and yes it is tough to get a job in the EU with a Swiss visa..

Sweden would be more the latitude Im at now near the canadian border..

It shouldnt be too hard to find someone, in the end it all comes down to money and talent. How much are you willing to pay for.. and how much freedom to make mistakes are you going to give a younger inexperienced tech.. The older techs that know how to do everything analog.. wont know what to do in a digital world, and the younger techs that know design.. cant run a full lab.. in other words they need (your) direction..

just my two kronen..

Yes, you are probably right. I Will have to find a younger one, that still has a couple of years of experience, and a lot of Will to learn and serve... Will see If I find him / her.
 
Jack_the_dentureman

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Wish my brother had 10 dentists employees ! so i could work with only one practice, saving time and money with no delivery
My lab is in the same building, but there is only 2 dentists.

It is just about digital impression (inter-oral scans) or you will buy a inEos scaner ?
Going digital and have a in mouth scaner will give you a really quick turnaround and possibility to plan with you a final restoration.
I think you need whole concept for it. Did you think about what equipment and methods will be used in lab ?
Younger tech may have a problem with "know how" about full workflow/equipment/methods

So own lab ? ....You are not crazy, but it will cost You a lot of work

Wish You best with that idea !
 
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Wish my brother had 10 dentists employees ! so i could work with only one practice, saving time and money with no delivery
My lab is in the same building, but there is only 2 dentists.

It is just about digital impression (inter-oral scans) or you will buy a inEos scaner ?
Going digital and have a in mouth scaner will give you a really quick turnaround and possibility to plan with you a final restoration.
I think you need whole concept for it. Did you think about what equipment and methods will be used in lab ?
Younger tech may have a problem with "know how" about full workflow/equipment/methods

So own lab ? ....You are not crazy, but it will cost You a lot of work

Wish You best with that idea !

We are not 10 dentist employees, but 10 employees total. We are 3.5 dentists. We did 200 units last month.

We already have the sirona omnicam, and I was thinking of buying a complete sirona inlab system, including scanner, 2 milling machines, sintering oven etc. I was thinking doing as much full anatomical work as possible, like emax cad and full contour zirconia. I dont know how expensive it is but I would guess around 200.000 euros including vat.

I was thinking that one tech handles the small cases with one milling machine (1-3 units with inlab mc xl),and the other one the big mill inlab mc x5 ) for the big cases.

Thank you. I am not sure if I am crazy or not, but I hope that I am not. It would be a dream come true. Imagine having a crown 24 hrs later... so cool.

//John
 
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Hello! I own a dental office with about 10 employees total here in Sweden. We have a lot to do, did about 200 units last month (including implants, not including the around 30 dentures).

We currently use a German lab, one of Europes biggest, that sends to China, but has German quality control. They do most things right, but many times I feel mistakes are done, many times on simple issues. Also it takes about two weeks minimum in delivery time. The price is great/fantastic.

I have a sirona omnicam scanner that I love (and many other sirona things that are absolutely great).

I am thinking of renting a small office space about 1km from the clinic and setting up my own lab, with all sirona lab stuff to handle the digital impressions. I was thinking two employees. The main reason is that I want faster turnaround for my cases, someone to assist me in treatment planning with the prosthodontist that I plan cases with, and quality control.

Am I being totally nuts even considering this?

Thank you very much in advance.

//John, Lidingö, Sweden



I would say be careful of putting too many eggs in one basket. Labor wise.
Replacing the resources of a major lab for 2 employes in a small office space is an idea... but i wouldn't break ties with the lab.
The employee thing may work out. But you need to also envision your situation if it doesn't.
 
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I would say be careful of putting too many eggs in one basket. Labor wise.
Replacing the resources of a major lab for 2 employes in a small office space is an idea... but i wouldn't break ties with the lab.
The employee thing may work out. But you need to also envision your situation if it doesn't.

You are right that I need a backup option.

Thank you

//John
 
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Im being strong, but do you think you will only need 1 techo for 200 units a month plus all the adjustments etc??I think you will need 3-4 and then you will understand the real cost of making toothy pegs especially in Sweden where you will have to pay correct wages, in China the techos get around if they are good 5-10 $ US a day and they live on site how many EURO's does your average Swede get payed a day?.
 
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Im being strong, but do you think you will only need 1 techo for 200 units a month plus all the adjustments etc??I think you will need 3-4 and then you will understand the real cost of making toothy pegs especially in Sweden where you will have to pay correct wages, in China the techos get around if they are good 5-10 $ US a day and they live on site how many EURO's does your average Swede get payed a day?.

I was thinking two, not one.

And yes, I think it is more than reasonable. Especially since the digital impressions really eliminate a lot of occlusion problems with the lab work.

I think the average salary for someone a bit junior is about 3000 euros per month, but I am not sure. Somewhere around there...
 
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Sorry i meant to wright 1-2 techos also .Adjustments are reshades changes to easthetics in general etc not just occlusion and contacts also please except that i have actually helped some surgery's set up their own labs in the past they have all ended up employing more techos than they originally thought they needed .Also what if one is sick, holidays maternity leave etc you are back to 1 very stressed employee who will not be able to do what you want.Remember most modern labs are far more experienced with digital dentistry than the dentist, digital doesn't solve every thing.I wish it did.
 
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Im being strong, but do you think you will only need 1 techo for 200 units a month plus all the adjustments etc??I think you will need 3-4 and then you will understand the real cost of making toothy pegs especially in Sweden where you will have to pay correct wages, in China the techos get around if they are good 5-10 $ US a day and they live on site how many EURO's does your average Swede get payed a day?.
200 a month is about my average, and Im just an ordinary average guy.Dontknow
 
Jack_the_dentureman

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200 a month is about my average, and Im just an ordinary average guy.Dontknow

200 units a month average....but what kind of units ? I hope its PFM`s modeled in wax and cast, then advanced layered ;)
 
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200 units a month average....but what kind of units ? I hope its PFM`s modeled in wax and cast, then advanced layered ;)
No pfms. Yuk. Thats only 6 to 7 crowns a day....but I work every day.
 
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remember this guy is talking junior techo not a guy working for himself for many years.Most guys that have worked for themselves and then go and work for a dentist, their reason is that they dont want work so hard.The type of dentist that goes down this path will expect a lot more once its in house which will eat time like you will not believe.It can be very rewarding but most burn out before that.
 
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remember this guy is talking junior techo not a guy working for himself for many years.Most guys that have worked for themselves and then go and work for a dentist, their reason is that they dont want work so hard.The type of dentist that goes down this path will expect a lot more once its in house which will eat time like you will not believe.It can be very rewarding but most burn out before that.

I hope you are wrong :)

But I am suffering from like huge confirmation bias now, so I Will have to crunch some numbers before making a decision.
 
Jack_the_dentureman

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Once read an article in which a dentist from London described why he open a own lab.
He noticed it is all about quality and understanding of case, which leads to patient satisfaction. He also pointed he had to limit the cases from other dental practices (where lab make money) because quality drop, when lab was too busy making many then great works.
I'm sorry I could not find this article, but i hope this give You to think about this
Its sound like there is some truth what grantoz say.


But in my experience, i know a lot techos , these young are able to do 80-120 advanced layered PFMs or PFZs
In digital world, when you go for full contour if they work before it should be 120 minimum from start to end,
So if you employ 2 techos, you can do 240 units.... without a lot of stress, there will be time to do other things like keep lab clean or just have a break for lunch.

You need a whole concept for own lab. Do not put techos only against expectations.


PS Xydorf
Did you received my private message? I'm not sure if I can send them
 
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Once read an article in which a dentist from London described why he open a own lab.
He noticed it is all about quality and understanding of case, which leads to patient satisfaction. He also pointed he had to limit the cases from other dental practices (where lab make money) because quality drop, when lab was too busy making many then great works.
I'm sorry I could not find this article, but i hope this give You to think about this
Its sound like there is some truth what grantoz say.


But in my experience, i know a lot techos , these young are able to do 80-120 advanced layered PFMs or PFZs
In digital world, when you go for full contour if they work before it should be 120 minimum from start to end,
So if you employ 2 techos, you can do 240 units.... without a lot of stress, there will be time to do other things like keep lab clean or just have a break for lunch.

You need a whole concept for own lab. Do not put techos only against expectations.


PS Xydorf
Did you received my private message? I'm not sure if I can send them

I got the message.

I have posted an in Sweden, we will see what happens now.
 
wwcanoer

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My 2 cents worth as an in-house cdt for 35 years

Having your lab down the road may become an issue when you get to the point of having your techs interacting with you, taking shades, stainings case planning, or a question regarding a current case. If you're a high end clinic this will really come to head quickly. Having to "get in the car and drive there" eats up time. Does you clinic have a patients with dentures, partials?? They break, will your lab be doing simple repairs too?

And as what happened with me, with time I became more integrated into the work of the office beyond doing "just crowns". It expanded to denture repairs, essex appliances, immediate implant crowns, diagnostic wax-ups, and on and on)and both the Dr and myself really like having that type of access to each other.

I know little regarding digital dentistry regarding case load time management, but, if your techs start doing the "little" stuff, 2 employees won't be enough to handle the work load you've mentioned.
 
wwcanoer

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it's all about lots of paid vacation the bosses wife worked for the schools, so need i say moreFive
& M-TH - 9.5 hr work days sure dose help.
 
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