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"A nice crown, please" is not an instruction — it’s a problem. Lack of precision generates corrections and chaos that costs labs and practices thousands.
New patient. You prepare the tooth. You send a scan and a note to the lab: "Please make a beautiful crown for the upper right central incisor. Patient wants it natural-looking. Thank you."
The lab receives the scan and note. Immediately 10 questions arise:
— Which material? e.max? Zirconia? HT?
— What height? Large or small?
— What shade? Light like 1M or more intense?
— Is this an abutment for a larger project or a single restoration?
— Does the patient have wear facets, parafunctional habits?
— Is it implant-supported or natural tooth?
The lab doesn't want to take risks. They call the dentist. They wait for an answer. Meanwhile, other cases proceed. Yours waits.
When they finally get answers — sometimes they are unclear. The lab does what they think is correct. The result doesn't fit. The restoration comes back. Correction. It waits again.
This "A nice crown, please" costs you weeks, corrections, and chaos.
It's an estimate, not a specification. It's an emotion, not data. It's asking the lab to guess.
When guessing, the chance of getting it right is ~50%. The other half involves discussion, modification, and returns.
Approximately, every unclear instruction (without specific parameters) doubles the turnaround time for a case.
Cases that typically take 3–4 days, when instructions are unclear, take 6–8 days. This leads to patient delays, schedule destabilization, and additional corrections.
Not: a nice crown
Yes: e.max CAD crown, minimally invasive preparation (depth 0.5mm), patient in the aesthetic zone, upper anterior
The lab immediately knows: lithium disilicate is needed, high translucency, precise fit. A different production pathway than for zirconia.
Not: normal preparation
Yes: Tapered preparation 6-8 degrees, depth 1.2-1.5mm, 45-degree emergence profile on buccal, 30-degree on lingual
Parameters are visible on the digital scan (if the scan is precise), but the dentist should confirm what the lab sees. Lack of confirmation = the lab has to guess.
Not: natural-looking
Yes: Shade: 2M Vita (bright, with a slight yellowish tint). Height: 11-12 mm (so that 2-3 mm of the tooth are visible above the gingival margin when smiling). Form: slightly angled towards laterals (patient prefers slightly angled, not square). Translucency: medium – patient prefers a less translucent crown, more opaque covering the underlying structure).
Specific numbers, specific parameters. The lab knows exactly what to do.
Not: implant try-in (but the lab doesn't know the implant type or abutment)
Yes: Zimmer Biomet implant, Tapered Screw-Vent, 6-degree angled titanium abutment. Implant position depth: 1mm sub-gingival. Required funnel-type emergence profile for optimal aesthetics and cleanability.
The lab knows what to do. No waiting for clarifications.
Not: omission of information
Yes: Patient previously had an e.max crown in this area, which fractured due to bruxism. Patient uses a nightguard, but sometimes forgets. Recommendation: monolithic zirconia instead of e.max for greater strength
The lab has context. They don't just do what you ask – they do what is WISE.
Unclear instructions = the lab automatically calls you.
What happens:
Thursday, 10:00 AM. The lab reviews your case. Instructions are unclear. They call. The assistant is unavailable (working with a patient). The lab waits. Or the assistant interrupts her work. 5 minutes of assistant's time.
Thursday, 10:30 AM (over half an hour later). The lab gets an answer. But the answer is incomplete – the assistant didn't have access to documents or didn't understand the parameters. The lab has to wait for a second call.
Friday morning. The lab starts work, but they are already one day behind. Deadlines shift. A case that could have been ready on Tuesday will be ready on Thursday.
Cost of one unclear instruction:
— Assistant's time on the phone: 10 minutes × 0.83 PLN/min = 8.3 PLN.
— Case delay: 1–3 days (what does this cost the practice? see article on delays) = 100–500 PLN.
— Higher risk of corrections (because the lab worked with unclear specifications) = +15% risk of corrections = cost of 100–150 PLN for an additional correction.
Total: one unclear instruction costs the practice 200–700 PLN in associated delays and future corrections.
If you send 5–10 unclear instructions per week (which is common in practices without standardization) — that's 1000–7000 PLN in losses per week = 48,000–336,000 PLN annually.
deltalabs. uses an instruction form — 5-7 questions that the dentist completes BEFORE sending the case to the lab.
The form includes fields for:
1. Material: [e.max CAD / e.max Press / Zirconia Y-TZP / Zirconia HT / Hybrid-Abutment] — radio buttons.
2. Type of Restoration: [Single unit / Bridge abutment / Bridge / Implant / Wax-up try-in] — radio buttons.
3. Location: [Upper anterior (1-3) / Upper intermediate (4-5) / Upper posterior (6-8) / Lower anterior (8-6) / etc.] — radio buttons.
4. Shade (Vita Scale): [1M / 2M / 3M / etc.] — dropdown.
5. Special notes: [text field for specific parameters: height, shape, translucency, clinical context] — max 200 characters.
Completion takes 3-5 minutes. The lab doesn't have to call. They start work immediately. Turnaround time decreases. Risk of corrections drops.
Savings: elimination of calls = 10 minutes/case × 0.83 PLN/min = 8.3 PLN/case. For 200 cases annually = 1660 PLN saved on calls. Additionally: reduced delays = saving 50-200 PLN/case on reduced turnaround time costs. Reduced corrections = saving 100-150 PLN/case on fewer corrections.
Total: 200 cases × (8.3 + 75 + 125) = 200 × 208.3 = 41,660 PLN annually just by standardizing instructions.
LABORATORY PERSPECTIVE
The lab needs 5 specific pieces of information, not suggestions. Precise instructions shorten the work cycle from 7–10 days to 3–4 days.
Lack of guidelines, phone as the sole channel, and skipping the mock-up. These 3 mistakes cost your practice 8,000–14,000 PLN per month.
If your assistant calls the lab 3-4 times a day for 10 minutes each, that can amount to 15 hours a month – it's worth calculating the true cost.
An additional prosthodontic appointment costs ~970 PLN (doctor's time + lost slot + indirect costs). With 10 such appointments a month—116,000 PLN annually.
Get in touch — we'll discuss your case and find the optimal solution.
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