Howard Speaks: Why Your Lab Is Your Most Important Tech Partner by Dr. Howard Farran, DDS, MBA

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Howard Speaks: Why Your Lab Is Your Most Important Tech Partner

by Dr. Howard Farran, founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of Dentaltown magazine
Each Howard Speaks article is written by Dr. Howard Farran with the assistance of AI. Every piece is developed, reviewed, and refined under Dr. Farran’s direction to ensure it reflects his authentic voice, insights, and experience.
If you practice dentistry long enough, you learn a simple truth. The crown that seats in your operatory was not created by you alone. It is the product of a chain of decisions that starts with your prep and ends in a laboratory somewhere milling, printing, staining, and polishing.

For decades, the relationship between dentists and labs was fairly simple. You took an impression, mailed the box, waited two weeks, and hoped the crown fit. If it did not, the conversation usually started with the words that made technicians everywhere cringe: “Do your best.”

Today, that relationship looks very different. Choosing a dental lab is no longer just choosing a vendor. In many practices, it has quietly become one of the most important technology decisions you make.


The lab has moved into your workflow
In the analog era, the lab mainly reacted to whatever impression showed up in the mail. If the prep was clear and the margins were readable, the technician did their magic. If the impression was distorted or incomplete, everyone crossed their fingers.

Digital workflows changed that relationship entirely. A modern lab now touches nearly every part of the restorative process. They evaluate scan quality, interpret margins, design occlusion, select materials, manage CAD libraries, control milling tolerances, and flag problems before the restoration is manufactured. In other words, the lab has become an active node in your workflow instead of the final step.

Many laboratories have invested heavily in digital infrastructure. Industry data suggests the majority now accept digital impressions, and a growing number also incorporate automated design systems and AI-assisted tools into CAD workflows. These technologies standardize design steps and reduce variability, and allow the lab to detect missing scan data before the case ever reaches the milling stage.

The result is something dentistry has always wanted but rarely achieved: a tighter feedback loop between the chair and the lab.


Digital does not fix a bad prep
Before we get too excited about technology saving the day, let us address the elephant in the operatory: Digital workflows do not fix sloppy dentistry. A poor prep is still a poor prep, whether it arrives as a PVS impression or an STL file.

Many laboratories say that inadequate impressions remain one of their biggest frustrations. Historically, the problem was distorted material or poorly trimmed dies. Today it may be incomplete scans, saliva contamination, or unclear margins.

The lesson is simple: Technology can reduce friction, but it cannot replace clinical fundamentals. Good reduction, clean margins, proper isolation, and reliable bite records still determine most restorative outcomes. A bad scan sent instantly to a lab is just faster failure.


What the evidence actually says
Dentistry is full of hype cycles, and digital impressions are often marketed as a revolutionary leap forward. The evidence paints a more realistic picture.

For single crowns and short-span restorations, digital impressions are generally just as accurate as traditional impressions. Multiple systematic reviews show comparable marginal fit and internal adaptation between digital and conventional techniques.

Where digital workflows clearly shine is efficiency and patient experience. Scanning usually takes less time than conventional impressions; there is no tray, no impression material, and no gag reflex battle. Patients consistently report higher comfort with digital scanning. Dentists appreciate the ability to instantly review the scan and rescan missing areas instead of repeating the entire impression.

Some clinical studies also suggest that digital workflows can produce more predictable occlusal and interproximal contacts, likely because the design stage is standardized in CAD software before manufacturing.

However, the story becomes more nuanced for full-arch cases. Digital scanning stitches together many images across the arch, and that process can introduce cumulative errors in long spans. Conventional impressions may still perform better in certain full-arch situations.

The takeaway is not that digital replaces analog everywhere. The takeaway is that each method has strengths depending on the indication.


The hidden advantage patients care about
Dentists often focus on accuracy and turnaround time. Patients focus on comfort. Anyone who has watched a patient gag through a full-arch impression understands this instantly.

Digital impressions eliminate the tray, the material, and the feeling that someone is filling your throat with mint-flavored cement. Studies show patients overwhelmingly prefer digital scans. In some surveys, more than 80% choose scanning over conventional impressions after experiencing both.

This may sound like a minor benefit, but it matters. A more comfortable experience increases case acceptance and patient trust. A relaxed patient is also easier to work with clinically. Sometimes the most important innovation is simply making dentistry less miserable.


Why lab selection matters more than ever
Even if your prep is perfect, the restoration you seat depends heavily on what happens at the laboratory. The lab interprets your margins, sets design parameters, chooses milling strategies and sintering protocols, and determines whether the occlusal anatomy follows textbook morphology or looks like it was carved by a nervous squirrel.

Digital technology magnifies both strengths and weaknesses. A great lab produces faster, more predictable restorations. A mediocre lab produces faster problems. Many dentists underestimate how much their lab partner influences remake rates, seating adjustments, and overall workflow stress.

The smartest practices evaluate labs the same way they evaluate associates or equipment purchases.


Practical questions to ask your lab
Dentists often choose labs based on price lists or convenience. A better approach is to ask operational questions: What are your remake rates by indication? How quickly do you respond when a scan looks questionable? Which scanners integrate best with your workflow? Do you support modelless cases? How do you handle implant scan bodies and libraries? How do you communicate margin questions?

Most importantly, ask for a small test run. Send 20 or 30 cases and track seating adjustments, contact quality, turnaround time, and patient satisfaction. Data beats marketing every time.


The scanner question
According to survey data from the ADA Clinical Evaluators Panel (2021), about half of dentists currently use an intraoral scanner. That means dentistry is in the middle of a transition, not at the finish line. The biggest barrier remains cost, and many dentists question the return on investment. That skepticism is reasonable.

The scanner itself rarely creates profit. The profit comes from workflow improvements: faster turnaround, fewer remakes, better patient experiences, and stronger lab collaboration. If those things do not improve, the scanner becomes a very expensive camera.


The real secret of digital dentistry
Here is the part no sales brochure emphasizes. The biggest advantage of digital dentistry is not the scanner, the AI, or the milling machine. It is the workflow discipline that usually comes with them.

Practices that adopt digital workflows often standardize procedures, improve communication with labs, and pay closer attention to details. That culture change may produce more benefit than the technology itself. Technology helps. Process wins.


The bottom line
Digital dentistry is real. It improves efficiency, communication, and patient comfort in many restorative situations. But the most important variable is still the relationship between the dentist and the lab.

A great lab amplifies good dentistry. A poor lab magnifies frustration. In a digital world that effect becomes even stronger.

So the question is not simply whether dentistry should go digital. The real question is this: Are you choosing your lab like a vendor, or like a partner in every restoration you place?

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April 2026
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