NATIONAL TV CAMPAIGN

[department19972]

Why??? Greed of course. Getting the biggest bang for the smallest buck. Of course China is an enemy of ours. The China exploiter here cannot see it due to all the greenbacks he's counting for being a shipping/receiving department. He provides cheap crowns at a cheap price and he seems happy doing it. Good for him to have found such a well respected and coveted position in life. A real legacy to pass on to the little ones. "what did you do I this life grandpa? Well, I made a lot of money selling products made by one my own country's true enemies to enrich myself. Furthermore, I helped reduce the need for my own profession in the place I call home. Now, pat me on the back for a job well done."

What does it for me, and I rarely hear it mentioned, is china is a COMMUNIST country! Some of the worst human rights in the world! Hacking into our government computers, redirecting Internet traffic through their servers, working out deals with our enemy's to have our wartime technology transported to them etc etc etc?!? Why in the hell would I want to help fund their military?!?! It's not about me being insecure about my job? There are a lot of extremely talented technicians in other places. If it went to them, I would hate it, but understand. But communist, soon to surpass us as a super power China?!? Why would anybody willingly support them?!

 

[Rex Kramer]

If any one missed it, this was a recent headline:
Union Names Chinese Premier 'Best Friend of American Worker' hahahaha

Anyway heres a novel idea, make it mandatory for dentist to disclose restorations from China + all front house labs shipping to China must disclosure as well, make it a law.

Heres how you make it happen, put the trail lawyers on it, get them to push the legislation...gives them one more malpractice arrow in their f'n slimy arse quiver... lol

rex
------

 

[NicelyMKV]

Awesome department!

Tom, fabricating crowns in a garage is totally different than the things I mentioned. If work went to India, Germany, Italy, whomever! It's totally different than China.... Of course I would try to compete with these other countries fort job, but not with the same reasoning and feelings as China. That's all I'm saying. I'll never feel bad for wanting to keep jobs in my country and having a little pride in Americans, who are all different ethnicities nowadays as well

You would have been a phenomenal lawyer Tom! lol

 

[Noah Levine]

Getting back to the topic that started this debate, how to inform the general public about what dental labs do…I just published an article in DLP about one technician's grassroots idea of using T-Shirts and the like to spark conversations with the general public, and thus inform them of the work dental technicians and labs are doing. It's no nationwide TV ad campaign, but the goal of an informed public demanding better quality and more disclosure seems to be the same. The article is here: Starting the conversation | Dental Lab Products

 

[Rex Kramer]

Is there a master list of US based "front" labs selling restorations produced in China? Would make a great link for lab website "for patients" link..... "does your dentist use one of these labs"

rex
---

 

[Macron Dental Lab]

Back to the subject: Try the local news. They always need shocking stories to warn their viewers about. "Tonight at 10: you won't believe what could be in your mouth RIGHT NOW." Our local news ran a story about it, featuring us because we use only American made materials and don't outsource to China. We didn't even have to suggest it. They came to us. Then we put the video up on our website for even more free advertising.

I like it, sounds great, we need at least 2 or 3 lab in different states to make this go BIG...

 

[department19972]

That shouldn't be too hard, considering there are still stand-alone unaffiliated labs attempting to keep all the work in the US. I know a few that would jump at this immediately. Maybe Bill Oreilly or the like would run with this story too, especially during a slow news cycle like now before the elections...

Tom - question for you - what keeps your accounts from sending direct to China? If the work is so wonderful and the dentist doesn't have to adjust much, and they KNOW it's coming from China, why wouldn't they go direct? You probably upsell the unit for what $40.00 per for your shipping/receiving service, right? I'm just really curious why the dentist would need you at all? What are YOU actually producing?

Thanks,
Don

 

[Tom Moore]

Nothing keeps them from sending direct. If they can put twenty units in a box and register with the FDA they can send direct. We can't except less than twenty in a box at the China lab and remain profitable because we pay for the return ride from China. Don't worry about Tom, I will still get paid.

My lab costumers are expected to send direct ASAP. They save the days its coming to me and going back to them. I also have had no problem with some of my large multi dentist accounts sending direct if they have the volume. They save money and time and I don't touch their cases. Win/Win

It's not as easy to offshore legally as most would guess but I have a lot of experience and I will and have helped many customers send direct.

The people on the line building Toyota's are not selling them, thats not there job.

Most techs have narrowed their vision to a make it and sell it deal and that was a good way and I did it for 35 years. I will not go back to a bench tech and would not push anyone else to do it. It just not the job it was and I don't see it getting better for enough in the field to take the chance.

 

[Macron Dental Lab]

ouch........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSRKyUlhsO0&feature=player_embedded#!

 

[rkm rdt]

Geeze,

I outsource to a foreign country...the USA

at $ 109us you guys are the cheap foreigners!!!!

 

[adamb4321]

Back to my question! do the dentists pass any of the 50% savings to the patients? Surely they should get some of the benefit! Remember the patient should be the only concern to the dentist! In France they have to put the price of the job as well as the country of manufacture by law! Same in the uk but no price is required!

Whilst UK labs have to provide by law a "Patient Statement" detailing what was made and the location of manufacture if outside of the EU the dentist doesn't have to give it to the patient unless the patient requests it. The big problem is the patients don't know this document even exists so they can't ask for it and the Dentist is free to chuck it in the bin.

Compare this to buying an electrical item, lets say a toaster or whatever this, by law comes with a "Statement of Conformity" surely a medical device is as important as an electric toaster?

 

[araucaria]

Whilst UK labs have to provide by law a "Patient Statement" detailing what was made and the location of manufacture if outside of the EU the dentist doesn't have to give it to the patient unless the patient requests it. The big problem is the patients don't know this document even exists so they can't ask for it and the Dentist is free to chuck it in the bin.
Compare this to buying an electrical item, lets say a toaster or whatever this, by law comes with a "Statement of Conformity" surely a medical device is as important as an electric toaster?

The dentist has an obligation to ensure the information is passed to the patient, and the patient has the choice to accept the statement or not at that point. The statement must be retained for provision at any future date. Or be available from the manufacturer and recorded on the record that this is the preferred plan. I think the info below is reasonably clear on this issue.

Extracted from GDC website - ;

" Statement of Manufacture.
Patients must be made aware that they can request a statement of manufacture and registrants have a responsibility to ensure that it is made available if it is requested. Not doing so is punishable as a criminal offence.

Any registrant providing a patient with a dental appliance is responsible for ensuring that they are offered a copy of the statement and provided with a copy if it is requested. A record should be kept of whether or not the patient chooses to accept a copy of the statement. If the patient doesn’t accept a copy, the registrant will need to keep the statement for the lifetime of the appliance.

If a dentist or other dental care professional decides to sub-contract the manufacture of a dental appliance outside of the UK, they will be held professionally accountable for the safety and quality of the appliance. This will include ensuring that the statement of manufacture - or if outside of the EU, the name and address of the manufacturer - are disclosed to the registrant who prescribed the appliance as well as to the patient."

 

[adamb4321]

The GDC has obviously tightened up on this recently, however, the GDC and the MHRA don't see it as their job to police this policy though making it useless.

Lots of UK surgeons are still claiming ignorance over the patient statement, and I would imagine a fair few labs aren't sending them out anyway.

 

[Tom Moore]

Is the patient or the dentist considered the end user of a custom dental devices in the UK?

In the US the dentist is the end user and the lab made device is part of the treatment plan not THE treatment. The dentist deserves to know where it was manufactured and the patient should if they ask. If they ask before the dentist orders it they have the right to make a decision on not going forward with treatment if products come from a place they will not buy from.


There is a possibility that the crown is designed in a design center in China, milled in a Indonesian milling center and set green to a lab in the UK where they sinter and stain and glaze. What goes on the country of origin sticker?

 

[VTDave]

So who's going to pay for it?

Most people don't have a clue that you guys even exist.The Aflac duck has more name recognition than Glidewell.

I know Glidwell. I try to find out where my work is done and how it is made but dentists are reluctent to tell me who the lab is. If I do find out and call the lab often tells me it is illegal to talk to patients.

Is the patient or the dentist considered the end user of a custom dental devices in the UK?

In the US the dentist is the end user and the lab made device is part of the treatment plan not THE treatment.

It shouldn't be that way. The patient should be considered the end user.

 

[Tom Moore]

Is there a master list of US based "front" labs selling restorations produced in China? Would make a great link for lab website "for patients" link..... "does your dentist use one of these labs"

rex
---

There is no master list of labs of any kind. Even here labs and techs use screen names and only general ideas of where they are. Again there is no list of labs just guesses of how many.

 

[jkivimaki]

I think that we all maybe forgetting that with digital dentistry the drs will take a scan and send it wherever the heck they want. That may be China but what if it was Iran? Egypt? Turkey? Korea? Japan? Brazil? Honduras? Do we still fell the same way? They are not "communist". But they have far worse human rights violations. What if China was not "communist"? What about Lab how send over-flow work offshore? What about Glidewell who make their stuff int he USA and gives out $79 zirconia and Emax. Why is Glidewell not as attacked as China?

 

[DentureDude]

its not about who is a commie and who is not.

its about family first.

 

[rkm rdt]

...does that include your Northern brothers?

 

[DentureDude]

lol.. yea your like the 3rd cousin