The dental lab as we know it today is changing.  Small local labs that have been around for decades are beginning to disappear.  This is not a result of a slow economy, but rather a competition with technology.  Soon we will see in-office digital resotrations handle most of the workload.  Without a new supply of skilled technicians, this will become the new standard of operations, although highly skilled technicians will always be in demand regardless of this change.  Many local dental practitioners try very hard to keep the local lab alive as best they can, but their efforts are unsustainable.  There will be consolidating and migration of skill to the biggest labs that cover wider areas.  However, I believe a shift in perspective will occur, revitalizing the local lab.

This is an issue I have spent 20yrs thinking about.  In bigger cities, where business is abundant, the limiting factor is marketing.  In smaller markets, the skill is spread so thin that without consolidating, a small dip in business can put great strain on each individual lab.  The cost of  hiring and training a new technician is a deterrant to expansion and growth.  By identifying the skill, local labs can "outsource" to other local labs - Localsource.  Utilizing the skill inside friendly local labs makes this the best solution to managing quality and cost, while preserving the best local skill.

Through collaboration and trust, clinical offices can have confidence that their patients are truly getting the best local work available.  Imagine an environment where local labs depend on the success of other local labs, rather than suffer from it.  The local labs are not getting bigger, they are getting better.