Dental Lab Articles for Dentists

Practical guides from our Brooklyn lab on crowns and materials, implants, scanners, dentures and appliances, plus our own research on US dental labs.

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Lab team member on the phone in the dental laboratory
Alternate Benefits and Downgrades: Why Insurance Pays for a Different Crown Than You Placed

What alternate benefit (LEAT) clauses are, how payers apply them to posterior ceramic crowns, composites, implants and partials, how they...

Dental team reviewing a case together
Independent Practice vs. DSO in 2026: What the Data Say

ADA Health Policy Institute data on DSO affiliation, practice ownership, income, hours and clinical autonomy, and what each practice model...

Calendar showing December 30 and 31 marked with an orange highlighter
Year-End Dental Benefits: How to Phase Treatment Around the Annual Maximum

How annual maximums, deductibles, frequency limits and benefit years work, which date payers count for crowns, bridges and dentures, how...

Dental professional treating a patient in the chair
The Dental Hygienist Shortage Is Not Temporary: What the Data Say in 2026

ADA HPI, BLS and CODA data on the hygienist shortage: how hard hiring is now, how it compares with 2019...

Empty dental chair in a bright treatment room
The Dental Practice Squeeze: What the Numbers Say About 2026

Reimbursement up 19% against 27% inflation, real income down since 2010, hygienists hard to hire and patients skipping care: the...

Dental technician working on a model at the bench
US Dental Labs by the Numbers, 2014 to 2025: 27% Fewer Labs

Our analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data: how many dental labs the US and New York have, how fast...