Choosing a Dental Lab for Your Practice: What to Look For
Your lab is an extension of your practice. Good lab work makes you look good and keeps patients happy; inconsistent work costs you chair time and trust. If you’re weighing up a new lab, here’s what’s worth looking for beyond price.
Accreditation and registration
Look for a DAMAS-accredited lab with GDC-registered technicians. DAMAS (the Dental Appliance Manufacturers Audit Scheme) means there’s a documented quality system behind the work, and GDC registration means qualified people are making and checking it. Together they’re your assurance of consistency and traceability.
Consistency, not just quality
Anyone can produce one good unit. What you actually need is the same good result every time, so you can prescribe without second-guessing. Longevity is a useful signal here — a lab that’s been doing this for decades has ironed out the variables.
Turnaround you can plan around
Fast is good; predictable is better. You want realistic turnaround times you can book patients around, plus an express option for the cases that can’t wait.
Communication
When a case is tricky, can you actually talk to the technician who’ll make it — not a call centre? Being able to pick up the phone and discuss a margin or a shade saves remakes and headaches.
Flexibility on how you send cases
A good lab meets you where you are: digital scans from any major scanner and traditional impressions, with free collection if you’d rather not post.
The little extras that add up
Free 3D-printed models with each order, marketing materials to help you show patients their options, and a genuine relationship rather than a transaction. These are the things that make a lab a partner.
A quick word on switching
Changing labs feels like a hassle, but it’s usually as simple as opening an account and sending your next case. Ask for a price list, send one case, and see how it comes back.
We’ve been doing exactly this for practices across the UK since 1978. Request our price list or send us a case to give us a try.