Question from a wanna-be lab tech

[CoolHandLuke]

Everybody wants to play lab tech...good luck!!! If you want to do custom stains or most repairs that's totally understandable. Anything else an your plssing upwind in my opinion. You'll never have the equipment or know-how to do what a commercial lab does. By chance you do, that's when you realize your a dental tech instead of a Dentist. Chairside is where you make your loot, not playing bench monkey.

to be fair he is in a very remote location, outsourcing would be difficult.

 

[TheLabGuy]

to be fair he is in a very remote location, outsourcing would be difficult.

That's fair...but like I said other than a porcelain oven to do custom stains and a heated pressure pot to cold cure acrylic, I'd purchase a intra oral scanner and let his big brothers do the heavy lifting. When my young Docs come to the lab they are blown away at our equipment...no way he will accumalate a million dollars worth of equipment to do it the right way. For instance, one of my clients was a dental tech at UofM dental school for over 20 years....they came to him because it was time to retire. He said, but I'm not ready to retire and asked if he could go to dental school. They accepted him into dental school...this guy has probably forgot more than I will ever know. However he doesn't do any of his lab work after coming to our lab...the proof is in the pudding. P.s. probably one of the best Dentists I've worked with, does circles around my Prosth Docs.

 

[JMN]

The black box effect.
If you only know what to do with the connections, you better do everything else perfect or a perfect conncection to a perfect black box won't save you.

 

[charles007]

What's the most practical way to do your own lab work in 2020 when you have free time on your hands and only doing 10 cases per month. Forget about practical and decide the $ amount you want to spend while thinking about the future of new technology in the digital age !

If I were in your shoes coming from a tech who bought my first scanner around 2011. I see 2 choices and both cost about the same which is buying IOS or lab scanner.
Another cost going forward are yearly software update cost of scanners. IOS scanner updates cost varies from free I think to yearly fees/update support.
Lab scanners such as 3Shape owners must pay every year or scanner doesn't work. Scanner with Exocad software have a choice of paying for new Updates with support or continue using scanner without updates and losing all software support !
IOS scanner or Lab scanner ?

1. IOS scanner... and consider the Medit IOS.
Using IOS, impression free, send files to Argen for multiple materials or other labs, go model free crowns or have models printed to do you own layered porcelain work or monolithic stain and glaze. Argen also offers milled alloys, gold, cast, printed and SLM, zirconia, LD,

2. Lab scanner...(Do your research before buying and test drive) 2 choices, scanners with Exocad software or 3Shape. Scan your poured models or your impressions, send to Argen/other labs and wait 3 days for frames to stack porcelain or monolithic stain/glaze.
As you probably know most labs are using monolithic zirconia for most posteriors and many anteriors. MiYO liquid ceramic is very popular for staining anteriors and Jensen sells this material. Micro layering porcelain is another technique labs are using. Fully layered ceramics is not the norm now in the digital age.
Beyond the IOS or lab scanner, you still need a porcelain oven, sandblaster, etc. aprox 9 to 15k depending on how elaborate your lab setup.
Once you have your little one man lab up and running and run into trouble needing help from your friendly lab owner, who do you call ? Last doctor that stopped sending me his bread and butter cases and only sent difficult cases and anteriors, my prices automatically went up, and no more rush cases..
Last word of advice, keep a relationship with a lab you trust, even if only sending work on a small level.

 

[model guy]

I recently stayed at a Holiday Inn...

 

[Flipperlady]

Hey everyone,

New to the network, love what you guys have got here. I'm a dentist from Canada that has a solo practice in a small town of 1500 and I love dentistry. I have decided that I want to start making my own fixed lab work for a variety of reasons; lower cost to patient, increase speed of delivery, quality control, and I also just love the craftsmanship aspect of it.

I am looking for ideas and opinions on what would be the most practical and economical way to do everything in-house. I'm not looking to go super high tech.

My idea so far is to get a porcelain furnace and feldspathic porcelain starter kit and just start layering and firing crowns and bridges.

Is all-porcelain crown and bridgework a viable option? If not, what is going to be the most practical way to make a metal or zirconium frame in my humble office? If it is a viable option to start out, does anyone have advice on which products to look at (brand and type of porcelain, furnace, and any auxillary tools and materials required).

Thanks everyone and looking forward to my dental lab tech journey and sharing cases with you guys,

Tanner

Welcome, you will need a separate business plan for an in house lab. Will you generate enough work to justify the cost, will you do the work in you spare time (calculate how much that is worth),will you have enough work to pay a full time tech and all the related costs that go along with that, and are you willing to stay late to pitch in when said tech is sick or the front desk didn't handle the schedule well? There is a lot to think about.

 

[grantoz]

200k to save 20k makes sense to me.and by they the line so you can charge the patient less xxxx off.

 

[FASTFNGR]

When things matter, like plumbing, electrical, roof over my head, livestock to eat, refining fuel for my ride...
I hire it done because it matters.
Get a scanner if you must, and get it done by pros that know how to do it. We all like to tinker, but in a patients mouth isnt the place to do it. Like @CoolHandLuke said, out source.
Would you want some guy to install a new knee in you with the lowest cost hinge just so he could say he did it all himself?
Have fun with hobbies, but take your profession serious.

You wouldnt want any of us practicing Dentistry on the side. Give us more respect please.

It is so funny and sad at the same time how some of us wanted to be a dentist and did not have the opportunity and others that are dentists want to be techs. They say CDT’s her educated to be denturist or other positions, where some places we know more than dentists. Just saying.

 

[JMN]

It is so funny and sad at the same time how some of us wanted to be a dentist and did not have the opportunity and others that are dentists want to be techs. They say CDT’s her educated to be denturist or other positions, where some places we know more than dentists. Just saying.

I'd generally agree we know more about some things. The line is usually somewhere between materials science and biological science.

 

[user name]

If I only...Oh the things that Id be thinkin.

 

[CatamountRob]

I like what I do, I’ve never had any interest in being a dentist. Hell, I don’t even like people.

 

[JMN]

I like what I do, I’ve never had any interest in being a dentist. Hell, I don’t even like people.

I don't know how many times I've said this would he a great job except for the dentists.

 

[Doris A]

I don't know how many times I've said this would he a great job except for the dentists.

Don't forget the know it all assistants who were just hired off the street last week.

 

[John in Canada]

Bench monkey? Really? I really don’t care to be relegated to the bench monkey position. I think it’s pretty disgusting, disturbing actually that you’d degrade dental technician to a lowly bench monkey. Most won’t be driving Bmers, but we’re far from stupid. I’d say that since I worked at a university that graduated dentists, we’re a lot more resourceful bunch, than 95% of who I saw graduated. Most can’t even take a good impression but we’ll call them dentist because they graduated from a university with a dental degree. Sadly, a lot of them come from wealth and feel entitled. I’d rather earn what I want and I have than just follow in daddy’s footsteps because he donates large sums of money to the U.

 

[John in Canada]

I don’t get the criticism. The guy lives in the middle of BF no where, not married, no kids and just wants to eat breathe and sleep all things Dental. Sounds a lot like me when I was 18-25 years old. Probably a lot of you too!
Remember the criticism you cast next time you’re doing your own Reno’s and not hiring the trades, or doing your own automotive work. You do it because you can or want and will buy the appropriate tools to do the job even if you never use those tools again.

 

[TheLabGuy]

Bench monkey? Really? I really don’t care to be relegated to the bench monkey position. I think it’s pretty disgusting, disturbing actually that you’d degrade dental technician to a lowly bench monkey. Most won’t be driving Bmers, but we’re far from stupid. I’d say that since I worked at a university that graduated dentists, we’re a lot more resourceful bunch, than 95% of who I saw graduated. Most can’t even take a good impression but we’ll call them dentist because they graduated from a university with a dental degree. Sadly, a lot of them come from wealth and feel entitled. I’d rather earn what I want and I have than just follow in daddy’s footsteps because he donates large sums of money to the U.

Hey John, if you can't take some satire in your life...you're not going to last long here. BTW, I did graduate from University but I didn't consider your comments disgusting...see how that works pal?

 

[rkm rdt]

♥❤

 

[John in Canada]

I don’t have a problem with satire, just don’t think it’s appropriate, and I don’t appreciate when lab techs are referred to as bench monkey, lab rats, etc. I know where I am in my professional career as a dental tech, and it’s far from the bottom. Perhaps it’s a respect thing. (Thanks USN)
Maybe I wasn’t clear with my point about the University grads. I was referring to those that graduate as dentists- not anyone else who has graduated from a university. Only referring to what I have personally witnessed.