should i start my own lab?

[desertfox384]

Glad to hear that as well! Being the captain of your own ship is quite a feeling.
Your low overhead is imperative in the beginning of your business - My suggestion is take a VERY hard look at the numbers before you jump into a scanner. You don't want to ruin your low overhead with a scanner payment if it doesn't more than pay for itself every month.

 

[Kristopher Devers]

hey everyone,
new to the site. Have been recently thinking of starting my own dental lab. I have only been in the business for about 4 years so I know what your all thinking. I was working for my employer for about 3 years when he opened a satalite lab about 300 miles away. I now have been running that satalite lab for about one year. The docs that I work for are all very happy with my work so I've been thinking of going on my own. I get paid well now but I work very very long hours, with no paid overtime doing about 20,000 to 25,000 a month with a little help from a retired tech. Should I make the jump or should I stick it out longer. I forgot to mention it is a crown and bridge lab.

I am not big on reading books but I highly recommended reading "The E-Myth" to anyone in business for themselves or thinking about making the plunge. A few years back I was working with some very good consultants and this was the first book they had me read. Helped me out tremendously then and now.

 

[Komprezzor]

Im very glad to hear your success history, I myself been saving up and working my A off to be able to learn the business , untimately my goal is to open my own C&B lab, I have been around Dentist my entire life and worked as A clinical coordinator for close to 20 yrs now, done thousands of Cerec cases including bridges, screw retained crowns complex full mouth restorative cases etc, it wasnt until a few months back that I quit my job and got a job as a cad designer/scanner since I felt I had hit a wall on my coordinator position, there is plenty more to learn but nowdays it seems that digital dentistry is the hot item and there seems to be a good market, defently hearing succesful situations like yours gives me a good feeling and makes me want to learn and focus to make it happen asap, congrats man!!

 

[K M]

Im very glad to hear your success history, I myself been saving up and working my A off to be able to learn the business , untimately my goal is to open my own C&B lab, I have been around Dentist my entire life and worked as A clinical coordinator for close to 20 yrs now, done thousands of Cerec cases including bridges, screw retained crowns complex full mouth restorative cases etc, it wasnt until a few months back that I quit my job and got a job as a cad designer/scanner since I felt I had hit a wall on my coordinator position, there is plenty more to learn but nowdays it seems that digital dentistry is the hot item and there seems to be a good market, defently hearing succesful situations like yours gives me a good feeling and makes me want to learn and focus to make it happen asap, congrats man!!

If you don't want to start a lab... I Live in Asheville NC, have a small lab that is digital, with young (under 40 year old customer base) grossing 120+ a year. I'm getting ready to retire in a few years, if your interested in living here you could take over mine. I have a 3shape scanner and design software, and specialize in Pressed ceramics, Implants, and full contour zirconia, also some milled gold restorations. Let me know if your interested. I'll stay for a while to help in the transition Teach you everything I know been doing this 40+years.

 

[Komprezzor]

If you don't want to start a lab... I Live in Asheville NC, have a small lab that is digital, with young (under 40 year old customer base) grossing 120+ a year. I'm getting ready to retire in a few years, if your interested in living here you could take over mine. I have a 3shape scanner and design software, and specialize in Pressed ceramics, Implants, and full contour zirconia, also some milled gold restorations. Let me know if your interested. I'll stay for a while to help in the transition Teach you everything I know been doing this 40+years.

Thank you for the amazing offer, For as sweet as the offer seem to be, Its going to take some serious convincing, my wife has deep roots where we live if anything changes I will be sending a message asap, again thank you very much for the amazing reply and offer

 

[Affinity]

Id love to live in Asheville, almost made a move there a decade ago. Its changed a lot, couldnt believe it when I was there a couple years ago, its a hillbilly metropolis.

 

[K M]

Been here 22 years- Change it has- seems everyone that wanted to vacation here is now retiring and wants to live where they vacationed! But it's still small compared to San Diego, Cleveland, and Washington DC (my other haunts). Great music, art, and young scene. If you like beer- doesn't get much better and farm to table- off the charts Florida in the winters though for me in the future- Allegiant Air out of AVL makes that happen but kids and grandkids get my wife and I back in the Kayak season.

 

[Skywalker]

While nobody can a answer that question without asking you 10-15 first. I recommend you put together a list of everything you'll need to purchase to get started. Once you've priced that out see if that influences your decision.

 

[K M]

While nobody can a answer that question without asking you 10-15 first. I recommend you put together a list of everything you'll need to purchase to get started. Once you've priced that out see if that influences your decision.

Then if you are good at what you do- strongly recommend looking for someone established in your area and consider taking your skill and build on what someone else has started and add to it! Much better I think than trying in this current lab environment to start from scratch (account base),you'll have all the things you have purchased and the skills, but the Docs you need that pays for it all are trying to pay for the Sirona equipment in the office. So that being said, look at 3shape for trios customers and Sirona Connect for that customer base, and then specialize in anteriors and implant work.

 

[Komprezzor]

I wanted to drop by a small update on my journey so far, well as many of use know
Covid hit pretty hard for most of us, just when I had open the whole city got shutdown, I had a small panic attack as I had just signed a lease near by my house , how ever this whole
Covid ended up working on my favor, The building I was at ended up
Loosing many people and I managed to negotiate a super low price on the lease , as soon as the city renopened I dedicated my self to find new clients turns out the pandemic had taken out a few local labs and sadly a few great techs with it as well, so far I have about 20 accounts one of them being a small Corporate group growing at a very rapid pace, my lease was up and price went waaaay up, during my journey of acquiring some second had equipment I came across a beautiful place the owner was thinking about retirement, I asked if he would be willing to share a space he said yes, I will be taking over the facility before the end of the year, this guys is such blessing and he has over 40 years of exp he basically does all of my layered work as Im not as proficient in it, so in short I tend to push against resistance when some one tells me you will fail I tend to go above and beyond to make sure it doesn’t happen, I been lurking around the forum and accept that there are amazing willing to help and some other are are just set in their ways, I will try to contribute as much as possible and leave my feeling aside , thank you all and please be safe we are almost on the other side

 

[CoolHandLuke]

Kongratulations Komprezzor.

 

[Sda36]

I wanted to drop by a small update on my journey so far, well as many of use know
Covid hit pretty hard for most of us, just when I had open the whole city got shutdown, I had a small panic attack as I had just signed a lease near by my house , how ever this whole
Covid ended up working on my favor, The building I was at ended up
Loosing many people and I managed to negotiate a super low price on the lease , as soon as the city renopened I dedicated my self to find new clients turns out the pandemic had taken out a few local labs and sadly a few great techs with it as well, so far I have about 20 accounts one of them being a small Corporate group growing at a very rapid pace, my lease was up and price went waaaay up, during my journey of acquiring some second had equipment I came across a beautiful place the owner was thinking about retirement, I asked if he would be willing to share a space he said yes, I will be taking over the facility before the end of the year, this guys is such blessing and he has over 40 years of exp he basically does all of my layered work as Im not as proficient in it, so in short I tend to push against resistance when some one tells me you will fail I tend to go above and beyond to make sure it doesn’t happen, I been lurking around the forum and accept that there are amazing willing to help and some other are are just set in their ways, I will try to contribute as much as possible and leave my feeling aside , thank you all and please be safe we are almost on the other side

Old threads read well

 

[Sda36]

Old threads read well

Just do your best, nothing more anyone can ask of you!

 

[Joon Hong]

Working smart AND hard is more my style and for me Cad is not a smart choice. I can wax copings faster than I can scan them without fit issues, and without spending 100k on equipment, training and burs etc.
Most of my docs want pfm and emax, about 5% of my work is FCZIR which I send to Parkway and they do a great job. I can't make the numbers work until the good equipment is much cheaper, and the point is that you don't have to go that route (at this point) if you don't want to. This guy wants to start up a lab and he can do it without CAD.

single coping? I definitely can compete with CAD
full arch case? when you have to remake? press issue? something went wrong?
with CAD, you simply remill
what if your doc purchase oral scanner and you are not ready?
I have 10yrs of waxer and 7yrs of CAD experience.
CAD will win at the end.
You may be able to hold for several more years, but be ready for what's coming.

 

[doug]

Our work just about flipped over the past couple of years. Seems when you provide a good looking, well fitting Zirconia crown they catch-on with the docs. Now my goal is to never press an all ceramic crown ever. If I can mill it, then that's the way I'm going.

 

[Komprezzor]

single coping? I definitely can compete with CAD
full arch case? when you have to remake? press issue? something went wrong?
with CAD, you simply remill
what if your doc purchase oral scanner and you are not ready?
I have 10yrs of waxer and 7yrs of CAD experience.
CAD will win at the end.
You may be able to hold for several more years, but be ready for what's

Our work just about flipped over the past couple of years. Seems when you provide a good looking, well fitting Zirconia crown they catch-on with the docs. Now my goal is to never press an all ceramic crown ever. If I can mill it, then that's the way

Our work just about flipped over the past couple of years. Seems when you provide a good looking, well fitting Zirconia crown they catch-on with the docs. Now my goal is to never press an all ceramic crown ever. If I can mill it, then that's the way I'm goi

I'm

 

[Komprezzor]

Our work just about flipped over the past couple of years. Seems when you provide a good looking, well fitting Zirconia crown they catch-on with the docs. Now my goal is to never press an all ceramic crown ever. If I can mill it, then that's the way I'm going.

And I seem to be walking backwards lol, Im about to buy a pressing furnace just because I can stand the results of LD milled, Using a mcxl with 3shape designed stl’s , I think I need to get a different mill I just cant get the drill Comp dialed to the right setting

 

[CoolHandLuke]

sell that mcxl and get literally anything else.

 

[Komprezzor]

sell that mcxl and get literally anything else.

Any takers lol

 

[K M]

And I seem to be walking backwards lol, Im about to buy a pressing furnace just because I can stand the results of LD milled, Using a mcxl with 3shape designed stl’s , I think I need to get a different mill I just cant get the drill Comp dialed to the right setting

Retiring in a few months and selling my EP5000 pressing furnace with several LD sleeves if you're interested.