What a buyer studies in a dental lab
| Client dentists | How many offices send cases, how much each sends, and how long they have used you. |
|---|---|
| Case mix | Crowns, bridges, dentures, implants and appliances, with the margin on each kind of case. |
| Digital workflow | Scanners, design software, mills and printers, and how many cases arrive as digital files. |
| Technicians | Who does what, how long they have been with you, and who handles the hardest cases. |
| Quality | Remake rates and turnaround times, tracked over time. |
Relationships Drive the Value
Dentists stay with a lab because they trust the work and the people. When the owner is the one every office calls, a buyer worries those offices will leave when the owner does.
Labs where technicians and a case manager already handle the daily calls are easier to sell. A transition period where you introduce the buyer to your biggest accounts helps too.
Concentration Among Practices
Dental groups and multi office practices are a growing share of the market. If one group sends a large share of your cases, expect questions. A group can change labs with one decision.
A long list of independent practices that have sent work for years reads as steady income.
Digital Has Changed the Work
Buyers want to know how much of your work arrives as digital scans and how much you mill or print in house. Labs that invested in digital equipment often have better margins and faster turnaround.
- Age and lease terms on mills, printers and scanners
- Software licenses and whether they transfer
- How much work you send out to other labs
Quality Records
Remakes eat margin. A lab that tracks remake rates and turnaround by case type can prove its quality. Buyers trust numbers over reputation.
Written procedures for disinfecting incoming cases, shade matching and final checks also help. They show a buyer the quality lives in the system, not only in one pair of hands.
If your lab is registered or certified with any industry group, note it and check whether a new owner keeps that status.
Pricing the Lab
Most labs of this size sell as asset sales priced on owner cash flow. Steady clients, good technicians and modern equipment push the price toward the top of the range. Our due diligence page lists what buyers will ask for.
Your technicians moving to a new employer brings a state notice you owe the buyer. See the UIA 1027 guide.
Want to know what your lab is worth? Send the short form or call (313) 555-0152.