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Corporate Profile: Dental Services Group

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Left: Richard Harrell and Jim Boshoven lead DSG's Automation and Technology Team.
Right: DSG's sales and customer care team is more than 30 people strong. Some of the members are pictured here.

In 1989, a group of dental labs collaborated to form Dental Services Group (DSG) in order to leverage resources and offer improved service to their customers. Since then, DSG has acquired or created more labs as a means to expand its services and network reach to its dental customers. Today, the DSG network of dental laboratories has 26 facilities across North America, including labs in the United States, Canada and Mexico. DSG's team of qualified and experienced technicians, sales representatives, national account managers and customer service specialists seek to lead the industry in convenient service, innovation and technical skills. Its clients include general practitioners and specialists in prosthodontics, cosmetics, implants and reconstructive oral surgery, orthodontics, pedodontics, sleep disorders and TMJ, as well as dental schools, government and military practices, and many dental laboratory colleagues. Dentaltown Magazine recently spoke with DSG's management team to learn more about its dental lab network and its goal to be a world-class organization committed to its customers.

Dental Services Group's Mission
Please explain DSG's current business philosophy.
Buddy Pickle, CEO: Our goal is simple. We aim to be a full-service lab partner to our oral health care customers so, they in turn, can provide the best quality restorations for their patients. This follows our shared mission with our customers to achieve the highest degree of patient satisfaction and practice success. To accomplish this, we've formed DSG's One Network. It provides customers with the resources and services of an entire network of laboratories while remaining closely aligned with local customer requirements, enabling us to provide a broad range of high-quality lab services to meet every customer's needs. Like dentists who are moving toward specialization, we have specialized laboratories called DSG Centers of Excellence that focus on specific areas of strength. For example, DSG Yankee Dental Arts is known for implants and does most of the implant work for our network. Conversely, since denture services oftentimes require a more local presence, all of our laboratories offer those services. The key to our success is rooted in our commitment to quality and compliance, state-of-the-art technology leadership and best-in-class service.

Commitment to Quality and Compliance
Laura Sheppard CDT, Director of Quality and Compliance: The Quality and Compliance team is charged with ensuring DSG quality standards are met. This best-in-class process results in fewer defective products and delays, happier customers and healthier patients for our customers. We do this through a steadfast commitment to implementing best practices in production, operations and communications, as well as compliance with federal regulations including product inspections, process audits, material traceability and keeping track of customer satisfaction.

Our accreditation through Dental Appliance Manufacturers Audit Scheme (DAMAS) is an example of the measure of our commitment to ensuring patient safety and reliability in the oral products that we make. DAMAS is an internationally recognized Quality Assurance verification system designed to closely mirror the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Quality Systems Management and Good Manufacturing Practices. We are proud that 100 percent of our laboratories are DAMAS certified or in the process of obtaining certification. Other examples of DSG's quality and compliance programs in place include:
  • PTC TVS2000 training and certification in prosthetics at all of our labs.
  • 70 Certified Dental Technicians in the DSG network; more than half of whom have degrees from formal dental technology programs.
  • Advanced certifications from the Pankey Institute, the Dawson Academy, Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, American Academy for Cosmetic Dentistry and New York University's American Society of Master Dental Technologists programs.
  • Four DSG technicians who are the first in the country to achieve the new nationally recognized National Board for Certification Modular Certificates of Competency.
Commitment to Technological Leadership
Richard Harrell, Regional Vice President: A key focus area for DSG is to be an industry leader in technology. In order to offer consistently high-quality restorations with fast turn-around times to our customers, we embrace the latest technologies. To stay current, we have established an Automation and Technology team, a cross-functional group of professionals who focus on technology research and access-to-care issues while making recommendations about the assimilation of technology-driven systems and processes into the DSG network. They do this by looking for high-tech innovations to replace traditional methods of manufacturing and operations and seeking out system optimization technologies that augment and enhance our newly accelerated manufacturing facilities. Our CAD/CAM capabilities, for example, are selected based on quality and versatility, enabling the fabrication of products like Lava™, IPS e.max® and custom abutments, all new technologies that meet the ever-changing needs of our customers.

Commitment to Best-in-class Service
Kevin Connolly, Sr. VP of Sales and Business Development: Providing unparalleled convenience, service and product guidance to our customers is also a primary focus for DSG. For example, One Network provides the benefits of a local laboratory presence in many areas of the country with local pick-up and delivery, and shade-taking services. We also are able to do this through committed service teams. Our teams include:
  • Technicians who are always available by phone to speak with customers, answer their questions and help them with technical design and case planning.
  • A Customer Care Team which assists customers with general questions or concerns.
  • A technically trained, Professional Sales Team offering education and support to customers who practice near our laboratories
  • A National Accounts Team servicing larger group and institutional clients nationwide, offering full dental consultative services and business reviews to help them maximize their business opportunities.
DSG offers several unique services to our clients. In addition to our service teams, we offer an Affiliates Program, a special offering for other dental laboratories that wish to partner with DSG and leverage our purchasing power and other management and operational services. For our loyal customers we offer our DentaPoints customer rewards program that allows them to earn points towards account credits, cash and merchandise. Finally, DSG's continuing education (CE) programs are second to none. We provide CE credit for our doctors and their staff by offering hundreds of lunch and learns throughout the year and many advanced seminars presented by nationally and internationally renowned lecturers.

About Dental Services Group
Can you please give me a breakdown of how many labs you have per specialty?
Pickle: All of our DSG labs offer a full range of products and services. Each of our 26 sites is staffed with highly-skilled denture and partial technicians. Seven of our laboratories are full-service laboratories servicing our entire network and offering a full range of removable restoration and fixed cosmetic services. Within these labs we have Center of Excellence laboratories that specialize in orthodontics, implants, sleep devices, cosmetics and cast partials. We also have a U.S.-based facility that acts as a distribution and customer service center for our customers who choose to utilize our offshore manufacturing capabilities.

Does DSG want to grow its network? Do you want labs to join on or do you acquire labs that fit
within your philosophy?
Pickle: It is important that we stay true to our commitment to being a partner to our customers by providing the best quality restorations, without compromise. Consequently, we intend to grow our network strategically, acquiring labs that fit our philosophy and growth strategy. We strive to make acquisitions that enhance our product and service offering and help us to improve our bottom line. We also are growing our network by inviting other laboratories to join our Affiliates Program, which can save them thousands of dollars annually.

How do you approach training new lab technicians? Do you train on the job or do you hire for experience?
Sheppard: Keeping our technicians current with the latest clinical practices, emerging technologies and materials is one of the keys to our success. We have programs in place to keep expanding our technicians' education and technical skills, no matter their level of expertise. We are well-known for our uniquely developed comprehensive Technical Training Modules program. This system provides new apprentice technicians with a strong dental terminology and anatomy training curriculum followed by intense hand-on technical training before that individual can advance into the actual laboratory. This training protocol provides the basis for our operations and establishes guidelines for manufacturing and quality performance at each laboratory to ensure consistency across our network. We also offer training webinars on various topics to keep our technicians current on the latest technologies and techniques.

What sets DSG apart from large, competing dental labs that have everything under one roof?
Pickle: With DSG you get the convenience of having a lab just down the road as well as access to specialized services through our Centers of Excellence. DSG has the unique capability of offering our clients a broad range of products and services to meet their individual clinical needs. For example, many of our customers like having the availability of shade taking and adjustments services as well as case-planning services at a local lab. While others like access to advanced technologies like scanning capabilities and CAD/CAM milling through our Centers of Excellence. In either case, DSG offers competitive pricing and the ability to service accounts of all sizes.

What percentage of restorations are your labs producing via CAD/CAM? How do you see this technology transforming dental labs in the future?
Harrell: Approximately 25 percent of our fixed restorations utilize CAD/CAM. This technology is being adopted rapidly and is continually evolving. Ergonomically designed devices that provide digital 3D images sent electronically for milling printing or alternative fabrication techniques are available now and many doctors and laboratories have adopted them from around the world. Imaging devices will continue to get smaller, design software will be faster, more intuitive and easier to use. Advances in materials will also be the driving force in how restorations are to be fabricated. Our Automation and Technology Team is constantly examining the technology trends and partnering with the technology leaders so, as our customers move and adopt, we are ready to guide and support them.

How does a dentist connect to one of your labs?
Connolly: We try to make it easy for customers to find out about DSG. Clients can learn about DSG through many avenues, including referrals, visits from our professional sales team, trade shows, study clubs, advertising, DSG educational seminars and through our manufacturing partners or by visiting our website at www.dentalservices.net.

What sort of access does a dentist have with the technicians working on their restorations?
Connolly: Our customers rely on the expertise of our technicians for the health and well being of their patients and this is something we take very seriously. Network-wide, more than 30 percent of our incoming calls each day come from customers who seek advice and counsel from our technicians. Our lab staff ensures customers are connected with the right person to answer their questions. We highly encourage and support this open communication process.

With so many labs under DSG's belt, how does the network assure consistent quality across the board?
Sheppard: Our Center of Excellence approach allows us to develop consistent expertise across our labs. In addition, we have worked to standardize our materials and manufacturing processes while implementing quality systems that will improve both quality and consistency across our network. In addition, we have expert quality trainers that travel full-time within our labs to monitor and improve our fabrication techniques. Our Quality and Compliance team ensures that we are operating within the guidelines of DAMAS and the FDA's Good Manufacturing Practices while closely monitoring our customer feedback.

How do you gather feedback from your clients and what do you do with it?
Sheppard: Collecting and reacting to customer feedback is critical to our success. Our lab management, sales and customer service teams interact with our customers every day and provide us with informal feedback that we use to make improvements to our products and services. The DSG Quality and Compliance Team has implemented many new and innovative formal systems to increase and track customer feedback. We have begun to implement an annual customer survey to gauge customer satisfaction and identify areas where we can improve and we have new systems in place to closely scrutinize complaints and returns to be able to implement corrective and preventive actions. In addition, we collect feedback regularly through a program called Quality Opinions @ DSG. This digital feedback system allows our customers to go to our website and grade each product or service they receive. This invaluable data provides the basis for quality improvements in all areas of our operation.

What are the immediate and long-term benefits of dentists working with DSG?
Pickle: The key to our success is rooted in our commitment to quality and compliance, state-of-the-art technology leadership and best-in-class service. Through these commitments, it is our hope that our dentist customers achieve a high degree of patient satisfaction and practice success. Then, we know our customers are receiving both short- and long-term benefits from our partnership and we are fulfilling our mission.

For more information about DSG, call 888-531-0744 or visit www.dentalservices.net.
Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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