Opening your own orthodontic office? Congratulations! What an exciting time for you. Starting an office takes a lot of hard work, and your head is probably spinning with all the things you have to do -- from ordering computers to hiring your very first employees. You have a lot of big decisions to make.

One of the most important?  Whether or not you should manufacture appliances in your office.

Of course there are both benefits and drawbacks to manufacturing your own appliances. On the one hand, you’ll be able to keep a closer eye on the manufacturing process. You’ll (hopefully) improve appliance delivery time and satisfaction. On the other hand, you will likely have to hire a specialist to oversee the lab…and cover the cost for all the materials and equipment. You’ll also need to find an office with sufficient space for accommodating a dental appliance lab.

As a new orthodontist, creating your own orthodontic dental lab can add a lot of extra costs to your operation. Bottom Line: it may take you while to build up a big enough patient pool to justify the cost. Instead, it may be more cost-efficient, simpler, and convenient to work with a third-party orthodontic dental lab that is known for quality output and strong customer service -- like SML.