Printer Friendly

Email Article

November 23, 2009
Web Exclusive

Bringing offshore onshore

In an interesting twist, large lab organizations are setting up shop in the U.S. and serving international customers, as well as delivering “made in America” restorations to meet local dentists’ demands.

by Stan Goff, Executive Editor

Photo: WORLD LAB U.S.A. President/CEO Koji Yamakawa addresses a training session in Japan.

As dental technology continues to evolve, grand opportunities for dental labs are surfacing and they’re coming without boundaries.

Thanks to global dental technologies, new business models are popping up in which large lab groups are putting up shop in the United States and then offering up lab services to the world. The businesses using this model are well aware that more than one-third of the crowns made worldwide are cases for American dentists, so they’re hoping to stake claim to some of this very attractive business.

For some time, dentists looking for the best prices on lab restorations may have been tempted to put their patriotic values aside and send cases offshore.

But this recent trend in the industry is seeing somewhat of a reversal; that is these large overseas companies are coming here to offer quality, affordable labwork onshore. Some of these large groups, like WORLD LAB U.S.A. and Optident USA, remain influential overseas but are now sharing some of their experience and technical know-how to try and meet some of the great demand for indirect dental restorations here in the U.S.

Not only are labs such as California-based WORLD LAB U.S.A. and Oregon-based Optident USA providing more options for dentists in terms of shopping around for quality lab work, but they’re taking advantage of technological advances and using digital imaging and electronic information sharing to help pull this all off. In the process, they may be teaching a business model lesson or two to other labs looking to expand their client base.

Randy Leininger, president of Optident USA, said UK-based parent company Optident Ltd., long known for distributing quality dental products, got into the lab industry about three years ago in the UK with Labline, a full-service laboratory operation capable of handling all restorative and cosmetic dentistry needs. The success with Labline convinced the company to open a lab in Eugene, Ore., and the new lab serves all of the U.S. as well as plenty of international customers.

Optident’s story
Leininger, who has also worked in marketing and sales for Ultradent, MicroDental and his own consulting company, lived and worked for Optident in the UK between 1998 and 2000.  It was while wearing his consultant’s hat that Optident asked for his help in expanding the lab model in the U.S. He then rejoined the Optident team in July and now serves as president.

“The reason that Optident decided to open the laboratory in the UK is because the company has focused, coming up on 25 years now, really on the top of the line kind of products. We distributed for EMS and Ultradent and Bisco and Sci-Can; it’s all been about bringing the best products, the best education and taking that to the dental market.”

With that in mind, the company felt the need to deliver high-quality lab work, the education that comes along with it, and the customer support. “Optident had such a nice model and such a presence in the market that it was kind of the next natural step of service to our customers,” Leininger said.

Optident partnered up with a successful lab owner, put a business plan together and the end result was Labline. The company now has three labs—one each in the UK, the States and China.

Depending on the type of restoration, the cases can be completed at any of the three locations. For example, the UK branch specializes in implant cases, while the highly esthetic smile design cases tend to get handled in the U.S.

“We have different product lines. We have what’s called our Labline Signature, which is our highly esthetic smile design cases, and we actually do a lot of work in the U.S. lab even for doctors in the UK who want our American Smile Design,” he said. “The three labs work together and we all have some different specialties that we do. So in the UK they’re excellent at the large implant cases, while in the US we are excellent at the smile design cases. In Asia they’re really excellent at the 1- to 3-unit jobs; a lot of posterior stuff and frameworks.”

Optident asks practices to work with it to find the best lab product that meets their needs, then “we manage that work and get it done to a high level for you,” said Leininger, who states that Optident receives accounts from Europe and all across the U.S.

“What we’ve built around is we’ve got some of the best ceramists that we can find and their reputation has really brought work to us and a lot of the work that we get are from opinion leaders and influential dentists,” he said.

Optident employs eight technicians at its Oregon location and works with implants – either with support from the UK or from companies in the States – but does outsource its milled frameworks, using both milling centers stateside and in Asia, with the customers having the option to choose if they so desire. About 40 employees are at Optident’s lab in China. 

For the time being, Optident USA does not send digital files back and forth, rather Leininger said the company prefers the handiwork of its technicians.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

1 of 3