What should I check before buying a dental lab?

A dental lab is a maker that sells to other businesses. Its customers are dentists, not patients, and its value to a buyer sits in client relationships, skilled technicians and working equipment. That is different from a dental practice, where the chairs, the patient list and the associates drive the picture. Start by asking how work reaches the bench and who the owner talks to each day.

The dentists who send the work

Ask for a list of client dentists and how much work each sends. A lab that leans on a few offices is exposed if one changes labs. Ask whether those accounts are with the lab or with the owner personally, and whether any dentist has said anything about the sale. Look at how long accounts have been active and why any left.

Technicians and the bench

The people who make the work matter as much as the equipment. Ask who is skilled in which case types, how long each has been there and whether any of them hold the client relationships. A senior technician who leaves can take dentists with them. Ask what the owner does day to day, and how much of the work runs on the owner’s own bench time.

Equipment, materials and case records

Milling machines, scanners and 3D printers age quickly. Ask how old each unit is, who services it and whether software is licensed and transferable. Review case-flow records and remake logs to see how often work comes back and who absorbed the cost. Ask which suppliers provide materials, and whether any of them hold an exclusive arrangement with the lab. A BDC guide to equipment valuation explains how to look at used equipment. See also what a dental practice’s patient base adds for the practice side.