How to get more dentists to send cases to your lab
Dentists add a lab for a kind of work, on a recommendation or after a problem. Here is how a dental lab earns that first case, and the ones after it.
By the Tusko team
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A dentist seldom replaces a lab outright. They add one, for a kind of work, when a colleague recommends it or their current lab lets them down.
A lab earns that first case by being clear about what it does well, easy to try, and reliable on the trial.
This guide covers how dentists come to try a new lab, how to make the first case simple, and where new practices tend to come from.
How a dentist comes to try a new lab
Dentists seldom go looking for a lab on a quiet Tuesday. Something prompts it.
- A new kind of work. The practice starts placing implants, or offering dentures, and its lab does not do them.
- A change in how they send. A new scanner makes them ask which labs take its files.
- A run of small problems. Late cases, slow answers or a remake that went badly.
- A new dentist. An associate joins and prefers a lab they know.
- A recommendation. A colleague they trust mentions a lab by name.
Notice that only one of these is a complaint. The rest are openings that have nothing to do with the other lab.
Dr. Joel Gaudet, the dentist who founded Tusko, sends his own work to more than one lab, and says that is normal:
“Most dentists use two to three, maybe four labs.”
Dr. Joel Gaudet, Wave Dentistry
That is good news for a lab that wants to grow. It can win work without taking a practice from anyone, by being the right lab for one kind of work.
Be known for something
“We do everything” is hard to remember and hard to recommend. A dentist recommends a lab for a reason.
Choose the work your lab does best, and say so plainly. It might be a material, a type of case, a turnaround or a level of contact.
- Lead with it on your website and in every conversation
- Show three cases that prove it, with nothing that identifies a patient
- Name the people who do it, and their training
- Say what you do not do, so nobody finds out the hard way
A clear specialty gives a dentist a reason to send the first case. Other work follows a good one.
Make the first case easy
A dentist who is willing to try you should not have to work out how. Prepare a first-case kit and send it the moment someone asks.
- How to send a case, for scans and for impressions
- Which scanners you are connected to, and the file types you accept
- Your Rx form, or the list of what you need on theirs
- Your turnaround schedule, by product, in working days
- Your lab fee schedule
- Pickup and delivery days for their address
- One named person to call, with a direct line
Send it within the hour. A dentist who asks on Monday and hears back on Thursday has learned how you handle questions.
Answer the first enquiry well
The first conversation should be mostly questions. Three are enough.
- What kind of work do you send most?
- Which scanner do you use, or do you send impressions?
- What would you like to be different from how it goes now?
Then answer what they asked, and stop. A list of everything you offer buries the one thing they called about.
Offer to collect the first case yourself. It is a small thing, and it puts a face to the lab.
Our dental lab prescription checklist is free to hand to any practice along with your own form.
Where new practices come from
No single channel works for every lab. These are the ones worth your time, roughly in order of effort.
The practices you already have
Your current practices send work elsewhere too. Ask each one what, and why.
The answer is the cheapest growth available. A practice that already trusts you for crowns may not know you do implant work.
Recommendations
Dentists talk to each other at study clubs, courses and local society meetings. A lab that is recommended there starts ahead.
You cannot buy that. You can ask a happy practice if they would mention you, and thank them when they do.
New practices and new dentists
A practice that has just opened, or just hired, is choosing labs right now. Watch for both in your delivery area.
Introduce yourself with the first-case kit and a name. Keep it short, and follow up once.
A handwritten note with the kit stands out more than another email.
Scanner connections
A practice with a new scanner looks at which labs appear in its list. Make sure you are set up to receive from the systems common in your area.
Tell practices which ones those are. It removes a question before it is asked.
Your website
A dentist who has heard your name will look you up. The site has to answer five things quickly.
| What they look for | What to show |
|---|---|
| What you do | Your products, with the one you lead with first |
| How long it takes | The turnaround time for each |
| How to send a case | Steps for scans and for impressions |
| Who you are | The team, and who is a licensed dental technician |
| How to reach you | A phone number answered by a person |
Treat the first case as the pitch
Everything before the first case is a promise. The case is the proof.
The first case from a new practice, step by step
A flow of five steps for a new practice’s first case: confirm receipt the same day, ask one good question if there is one, ship when you said, put a note in the box, and call after the seat.
Confirm you received it, the same day
Say what arrived and when it will ship.
Ask one good question, if there is one
It shows someone read the Rx.
Ship when you said
A late first case is hard to recover from.
Put a note in the box
Who made it, and how to reach them.
Call after the seat
Ask how it went, and write down the answer.
That last call is where a trial becomes an account. How dental labs keep practices sending cases picks up from there.
What to avoid
Some tactics win a case and cost a reputation.
- Running down another lab. The dentist chose that lab, so you are criticizing their judgement.
- Winning on price alone. A practice that came for a discount leaves for a bigger one.
- Promising a turnaround you cannot hold. The first late case undoes the pitch.
- Calling during patient hours. Ask the front desk when the dentist takes calls.
- Taking work you do not do well. One poor case in an unfamiliar material is remembered.
- Going quiet after the first case. A new practice that hears nothing assumes you have moved on.
Grow at the pace your bench can keep. Ten new practices in a month help nobody if the old ones start getting late cases.
Make it easy to stay
Winning a practice and keeping it are the same job. What a dentist tries you for is what they will judge you on every week.
Status they can see and questions answered on the case are part of that. How dental labs can cut “where’s my case?” calls covers the first.
Tusko connects a lab with the practices it already works with. Each practice sees where its cases are, live, without phoning.
See how it works for labs, or put your own numbers into the lab calculator.
Should a lab offer a free first case?
A trial case can help a dentist say yes. Make it a real case with your normal process, so what they judge is what they will get. A discount that brings in the wrong kind of work helps nobody.
How long before a new practice sends regular work?
It varies with how many labs they already use and why they tried you. Expect a few cases of one type first. The pattern after that depends on how those cases went.
Is social media worth it for a dental lab?
It can show your work to dentists who already know your name. It rarely replaces a recommendation from a colleague. Put the effort into cases and service first, and post what you are proud of.
How does a small lab compete with a large one for new practices?
On access and attention. A dentist who can reach the person making their case, and get an answer the same day, has something a large lab finds hard to offer.
Related guides
Practices stay with the dental lab that is easy to work with. Here is what a dentist notices, the early signs a practice is drifting, and what to do.
A small dental lab wins on access, memory and the cases that need attention. Here is how to choose your ground, use digital on your own terms and show it.
A dental lab gets paid faster when each invoice can be matched to a patient at a glance. Here is what to put on invoices and statements, and when.