Remakes and repairs industry Standards

[Bella]

I'm looking for the statistcal average on remakes and the average on repairs. Remakes being defined as a unit that comes back and you have to start over completely. A repair is a simple alteration or addition to the existing restoration. What is available in published research or what averages do you find in your labs?

In our regular， if the reason of re-make is due to us, then we will re-make it for free, but if it is due to the dentist's design, they know it is not OK, but still persist to make it, we will charge it about 60%-80% of the working. I cant sure if mine information can help you.

 

[pingvin]

Guess you don't do implants. 97% success rate according to the ICOI, and that's POST RESTORATIVE.

I'm sure there are a bunch of miracle working technicians here who don't have overly picky patients, and never make mistakes.

I check my pride and ego at the door.

Please don't be upset. We are just talking. Last year I had problems with 4 patients, 2 of them had removable total prosthesis (they were blood related and it seems both had mental problems, we relined, redid and again relined on remake, but they still couldn't accept it, we didn't charge).

One small bridge whose height was to short (1 mm missing?!?) (metal oclusal, remake).
2 small bridges for a patient where I screwed the color (couldn't get tetracycline 4D Ivoclar with Gradia, I told doctor in advance it will not work out, he insisted as patient demanded non-porcelain, then remake and porcelain EX3 mainly cervical CV3 and translucent T2 on top, perfect outcome)

About implants, we have about 1 patient per 3 months approximately. First patient was about 4 years ago. No known issues.

I did remake 2 bridges on implants that some other dental lab did (for the same person. Actually, whatever you put in that person's mouth it broke in 6-11 months). That was 2,5 years ago. Magic I guess

 

[droberts]

Dan, I love you, but I have to call BS on this.

Just the simple fact that we have variables in impression materials, bad models, bad temporaries, poorly chosen shades, patients who arbitrarily don't like something for no practical reason, materials exposed to evironmental conditions such as heat and cold during shipping, errors during infection control, or impressions that are poured too soon or too late, temporaries that fall off, bad bites, people who bleach their teeth during the time the crown is being made, teeth that move, pulps that erupt after prepping, buildups or preps that crumble or fail requiring RCT, material failures such as chipping or fractures......it goes on and on.

The only way a lab has .025% remakes, is when a dentist will seat ANYTHING that rolls in the door. Statistically it's impossible.

Oh Mark, how I love you too

I dont have the tracking method you do Mark, but I do know what I have to remake if need be. I have remade one ( 1) case in the last 7 years. I am very picky with impressions and my lab work. You are going to find that many 1 man ( removeable) labs do not have a high remake factor if they know how to control issues as such. The cases here get handled by one, me. I do not work with clients that will seat anything that comes through the door, nor do they accept anything that could have been fabricated elsewhere for less. Consistency pays off.

 

[Travis]

Travis,

We are mostly C&B so I really wanted the answeres to be weighted that way. C&B remake percentages could be higher than removable. That being said it would be best to seperate the two. Now that you've placed this in removable I won't get the answers I was looking for with C&B.

Steve Killian

Sorry Steve, didnt understand from the post what part you were looking for.

You did have it in the forum feedback. I will put it in the fixed.

 

[JDL Ceramics]

There are many ways to look at this which ones are right know one knows I remember once doing a 6 unit bridge cuspid to cuspid and no matter what i did the patient did not like it she kept complaining about the length one time too long one time too short this went on for 6 try-ins then i tried not doing anything at all she wanted the length shorter i did nothing sent it back and she said they were too short i told the Dr. what i did i no longer have him oh well. The other thing that happened was a dentist i had every case was a remake found out through someone i new that he would keep the original as a back up we no longer do business funny business were in you can't please everyone to stay sane get rid of your trouble makers

 

[Jo Chen]

So, once you decide to push an account out the door how do you do it without antagonizing him/her just to keep him from badmouthing you to his/her peers out of spite?

 

[NicelyMKV]

So, once you decide to push an account out the door how do you do it without antagonizing him/her just to keep him from badmouthing you to his/her peers out of spite?

Jo, awesome question. I am on that situation right now. I need to let an account go but not sure how to without causing potential damage down the road.

 

[Mark Jackson]

So, once you decide to push an account out the door how do you do it without antagonizing him/her just to keep him from badmouthing you to his/her peers out of spite?

You don't worry about it. Be known for your actions, and always do the right thing, and the work will come. The other doctors know who the schlocky ones are, and ultimately they do more damage to themselves than the other way around.

I had a local specialist dissing us. I finally worked my way out of the situation, and focused on doing good work for the other guys. Now his restoring doctors (the good ones anyway) are all bailing on him.

Character prevails every time.

 

[BusinessCoach]

Steve, welcome to DLN,
Working with different size laboratories, I have noticed that the smaller the operation, the lower the remake percentage. I can share with you that the remake factor for small labs (less than 10 technicians) is less than 2%, while medium size labs (between 11-26) is less than 4%, and larger laboratories (26+) is 5% and more.

 

[pingvin]

So, once you decide to push an account out the door how do you do it without antagonizing him/her just to keep him from badmouthing you to his/her peers out of spite?

I told them I can't compete with the prices other local labs provide to him. I attach the new price list and he is gone.

 

[Tom Moore]

I can't control what others say about me. I can just make the bad things a lie.

I usually send a note on a finished case letting the dentist know we are just not compatible and we we don't seem able to work out a way to fit that. We are sorry we could not accomplish a more amiable and profitable collaboration. They may be happier looking for a lab that can be more compatible.

Many times I get a call asking what they can do to help fix the problem. Even then the long term retention of these dentists is very small.

When I was a small lab I did not keep track of internal remakes. A miscast coping is a remake etc. The one person lab does a better job of remaking steps in the manufacturing process before they become a crown remake. Remakes are about lost production time and materials even internally and I just never saw that clearly when I was a one man lab.