Lab and practice communication
All guides
Dental lab turnaround is quoted in in-lab working days, and it varies by lab and by product. Here is how to read a schedule and book the seat appointment.
Feedback helps a dental lab when it is specific, prompt and tied to a case. Here is what to say after a seat, when to say it, and how to raise a problem.
An STL file holds the shape of a scan and nothing else. A PLY file can hold colour as well. Here is what each gives a dental lab, and which to send.
Scans go missing when the files and the Rx travel separately. Here are the four ways to send intraoral scans to a dental lab, and a check for each case.
A paper lab slip and a digital Rx ask for the same details. Here is what changes for the practice and the lab when the Rx goes digital, and what does not.
Phone tag between a dental practice and its lab costs staff time on both sides and days on the case. Here is how to count it, and how to cut it.
Dental lab cases rarely get lost in transit. They go missing at the handoffs between the practice and the lab. Here is where, and how to stop it.
A shade code alone rarely gives a dental lab enough. Here is what a technician needs to match a tooth, from photos and stump shades to a shade map.
A crown Rx needs no phone call when it names the tooth, the material, the shade, the margin, the bite and the date. Here is what to write for each one.
A dental lab prescription has to name the patient, the teeth, the restoration, the material, the shade and the date. This checklist covers every case type.