Don't put all your eggs in one basket?


I usually employ four laboratories for my patient's lab work. Two crown and bridge labs, a denture lab and an orthodontic lab for night guards. I prefer small to medium size labs because I need the  type continuity of care that I get from having the same technicians perform my work. I prefer to collaborate with my labs and that means I must be able to effectively communicate what I need from them in terms of my restorations. Effectively I am teaching them my particular preferences. When speaking with them, they often tell me about what most dentists want. I usually respond that " It not that important what they want and I want it this way, because...." I find that if I add my justification it helps them understand my motivation and helps them remember my particular request.

Lately I have expanded my choices of labs to 6 due to the increasing digitalization of dentistry and my patients expectations for state of the art, highly esthetic restorations. I have added an "esthetic lab" and another that is a state of the art  "high end (high priced) digital lab. All of them are located in NYC and most are close enough that I can communicate face to face when needed. Interestingly, because I am using more labs, I find I am on the phone with them more often to discuss the way I want my cases done and I find that the flow of information goes two ways; Yes I am instructing and guiding them and they are able to add to my knowledge base as well. There are many choices in materials available and my technicians seem to enjoy sharing their knowledge with me as well.

Truth be told,  my interactions with the various labs provides me with information  and allows me to become more knowledgeable. It  reinforces my conviction  that there is always room to learn new things in our profession and that's part of what makes coming to work seem exciting and worthwhile, even as I approach my fortieth year in dental practice!

from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2019/12/dont-put-all-your-eggs-in-one-basket.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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