Dandy, Glidewell or a Local Lab: How National Dental Labs Compare

Dandy, Glidewell and a local lab are three different business models, not three grades of quality: Dandy sells a scan-first digital system built around its own scanner, Glidewell sells scale and its own brand-name materials, with cases shipped to California, and a local lab sells proximity, meaning drivers, short transit and a technician you can reach. The right choice depends on how you take impressions, how far you are from the lab and how much of your work is esthetic.

Everything below about Dandy and Glidewell comes from their own public web pages, read on November 6, 2026, and is reported as their claims. We do not rate them, quote their prices or repeat reviews. Both are large, established companies, and many good practices use them.

Side by Side: What Each One Says It Offers

Read the table as a list of what each company chooses to emphasize, not as a scorecard. Two rows deserve a second look before any switch: the scanner terms and the stated time.

Three Business Models, Not Three Grades of Lab

Dandy: the system comes first

Dandy's pitch starts in the operatory, not at the bench. Its home page calls it the first lab to fully integrate scanning, design and in-house manufacturing. Its crown page says the scan is checked while the patient is still in the chair, so an unclear margin is flagged before anything is milled, and that you can see a 3D preview of the case and request changes. Dentists can chat with technicians and join video calls. The scanner is part of the deal: Dandy places its Vision scanner in the practice at no cost, but its own footnote says the offer is "subject to Dandy's standard Practice Agreement terms, including minimum lab spend requirements," and that Dandy keeps legal title to the hardware. In plain terms, the scanner is tied to a relationship with one lab.

Glidewell: scale and its own materials

Glidewell is the long-established national name, and it builds much of its offer around its own products: BruxZir zirconia, its own implant line and appliances. It takes both impressions and scans, says BruxZir cases need only three days in the lab whatever the impression method, and backs BruxZir restorations with a warranty for the life of the patient. Cases are shipped to Irvine, California; customers can schedule a pickup, ship overnight with FedEx for a fee, or use free USPS Priority labels, which Glidewell says typically take 2 to 4 business days each way. For offices that want to mill their own crowns, Glidewell sells the glidewell.io in-office system.

A local lab: distance is the product

A local lab cannot match a national brand's marketing budget, so it competes on what distance makes possible: a driver instead of a shipping box, fewer transit days on either end, a shade appointment the patient can drive to, and a technician who picks up the phone and knows your preferences. Whether a particular local lab delivers on that is something to check, not assume; the questions in how to choose a dental lab are a good test.

Choose Dandy When

• You are ready to scan everything. The whole offer assumes a digital workflow, and the chairside scan review only helps if you scan.
• You want a scanner without buying one, and the terms fit. Read the Practice Agreement first: the minimum lab spend, the term, and what happens to the scanner if you leave or want to send some cases elsewhere.
• Real-time feedback matters to you. If a scan check before the patient leaves would save you return visits, that is the feature Dandy leads with.
• You run several offices. Dandy markets the same system to group practices and DSOs; our look at independent practice versus DSO covers how lab choice works inside a group.

Choose Glidewell When

• You want one brand for most of your work. If you like BruxZir and Glidewell's other products, ordering them from their maker is simple.
• You still send impressions. Glidewell takes physical cases and scans alike.
• Distance does not matter for the case. For a posterior zirconia crown with a clear prep and a stock shade, a few days of shipping may cost you nothing clinically.
• You want to mill in house. The glidewell.io system is aimed at offices that want same-visit crowns.

Choose a Local Lab When

• The case is esthetic. A single central incisor, a dark stump or a patient with firm opinions about shade is where a shade visit at the lab, a stump shade and good photos pay off; our guide to shade photos and stump shade shows what to send.
• You mix impressions and scans. A driver can carry an unpoured alginate or a bite registration to the lab, and nothing sits in a mailbox.
• You want to keep your own scanner. A lab that accepts every major scanner lets you choose the scanner on its merits; if you are still deciding, see whether an intraoral scanner is worth it.
• Complex cases need conversation. Full-arch, implant and multi-unit esthetic work goes better when you can talk to the technician who designs it, before milling rather than after.
• You want to know where the work is made. With a lab across town you can see the bench yourself; our article on where your crown was made explains why that question matters.

Read the Fine Print Before You Switch

Marketing pages are written to win the first case. The documents that decide the next hundred are the agreement, the warranty and the remake policy. A few things to check with any lab, national or local:

• Scanner placement terms. Who owns the scanner, what minimum monthly spend applies, how long the term runs, and what leaving costs. A "free" scanner is paid for through lab work.
• Warranty wording. "Up to" a number of years, "lifetime" and "for the life of the patient" each come with conditions. Glidewell's warranty, for example, requires the return of the failed device, and its lifetime BruxZir warranty applies to treating clinicians who buy directly. Read which products are covered and for how long.
• Remake rules. Is a remake free for any reason, or only for a lab error? Does a remake reset the warranty? Our guide to crown remakes covers the usual causes on both sides.
• How time is counted. Business days or calendar days, from the day the case is shipped or the day after it arrives, and whether transit is included.
• Materials by name. Ask that the invoice names the material by brand, so you know what is in the patient's mouth.
• Who answers the phone. A customer service line, a case coordinator or the technician on your case.

Nothing stops you from using more than one lab. Many practices send routine posterior zirconia one way and esthetic or implant cases another. If you do, keep a preference card at each lab so your contacts, occlusion and margins come back the way you like them, and fill out every Rx fully; our Rx guide lists what to include.

The Questions Behind the Choice

If you strip away the brands, the decision comes down to four questions. Do you scan every case, or do impressions still come through your door? How far is your office from the lab, counted in days, not miles? How much of your work is esthetic, where a technician's eye and a shade visit change the result? And do you want your scanner and your lab tied together in one contract, or chosen separately? A practice that scans everything, does mostly posterior work and likes a single integrated system will find a lot to like in the national model. A practice with esthetic cases, mixed impressions and patients who can come to the lab will usually get more out of a lab nearby. Most practices sit somewhere in between, which is why mixing labs is common.

For the bigger picture of how the lab industry has consolidated while the large labs grew, see U.S. dental labs by the numbers.

FAQ

Is Dandy a dental lab or a scanner company?

Both, by its own description. Dandy calls itself a dental lab, says its crowns are milled and finished in its US-based lab, and places its own Vision scanner in practices under its Practice Agreement.

Does Glidewell accept digital scans?

Yes. Glidewell takes digital and physical cases, and says BruxZir cases need three days in the lab regardless of the impression method.

Can I keep my own scanner if I work with a national lab?

Glidewell accepts scans, and for any lab you should ask which scanners connect directly. A scanner placed by a lab is usually tied to that lab's agreement, so read the terms before you accept one.

Can I send some cases to a national lab and others to a local one?

Yes, and many practices do. Keep a preference card at each lab and send a complete Rx with every case so the results stay consistent.

Reviewed by Gary Fingerman, founder and CEO of Elegant Dental Laboratory, Brooklyn, New York (founded 2007). Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.