Elegant Dental Laboratory Blog
Articles on digital dentistry, clinical tips, case planning, and dental lab workflow.
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...
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...
The American Dental Lab, Then and Now: From Back Rooms to Digital Workflows
Part 5 of our Then and Now series: how the US dental lab business changed, from 1,800 commercial labs in...
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...
Dentures in America, Then and Now: From Hippopotamus Ivory to Digital Dentures
Part 4 of our Then and Now series: George Washington's dentures, porcelain teeth, vulcanite, acrylic, the McGill consensus on implant...
Then and Now: How Crowns Went From Hammered Gold to Zirconia
Part 3 of our Then and Now series: how crowns were made from the 1873 gold crown patent to PFM,...
Dental Insurance Then and Now: From a 1954 Union Plan to the $1,500 Maximum
Part 2 of our Then and Now series: how dental insurance began, why Medicare left dental out, how the $1,000...
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...
