Lab notes
Practical guidance for dental teams on materials, shade, case submission and implant work, from the technicians who fabricate your cases.
2026
Zirconia vs. E.max Crowns: How to Choose the Right Material
A practical guide for dentists on when to prescribe zirconia or e.max (lithium disilicate), from strength and esthetics to reduction and cementation.
Sending Digital Scans to a Dental Lab: A Checklist for Clean Cases
A scan-and-Rx checklist that helps your lab start fabrication right away, with fewer phone calls, fewer adjustments and fewer remakes.
Patient Care Talking Points for New Crowns, Veneers and Implants
Simple talking points dentists can share with patients after a new crown, veneer or implant crown, from what is normal to hygiene and when to call the office.
Cementing E.max and Zirconia Crowns: A Lab's Perspective
General cementation and bonding basics for e.max and zirconia crowns, including surface treatment, try-in and why the lab asks how you plan to cement.
Digital vs. Conventional Impressions: Where Each Works Well
A neutral guide for dentists on digital scans and conventional impressions, covering margins, retraction, long spans, implants, comfort and how labs use each.
Local Dental Lab vs. Overseas Lab: What to Weigh
A balanced look at working with a local dental lab or sending work far away, covering turnaround, communication, shade appointments, remakes and consistency.
Reducing Crown Remakes: Common Causes and a Shared Checklist
Why crowns come back for remakes, from margins and shade to occlusion, plus a shared checklist and how to report an issue so it gets resolved quickly.
Contacts and Occlusion: What to Specify on the Rx
How to communicate contact strength and occlusal preferences on your lab Rx, including implant requests, and why consistent preferences save chair time.
Matching a Single Central Incisor: Material, Shade and Expectations
Why a single central incisor crown is the hardest match in dentistry, and how material choice, stump shade, photos and try-ins help you get it right.
2025
Implant Scan Bodies and Digital Implant Impressions
How to seat and verify scan bodies, scan around them cleanly, and send the implant details your lab needs to avoid misfits on digital implant cases.
Veneer Case Planning: Working With the Lab From the Start
A practical guide to planning veneer cases with your lab, from patient goals and photos to wax-ups, mock-ups, provisionals and shade communication.
Bite Registration Tips for Accurate Crowns
How common bite record problems affect crown fit and occlusion, plus practical tips for digital bite capture and when to send opposing or full-arch records.
How to Write a Clear Dental Lab Prescription
What to include on a dental lab prescription, from materials and shade to contacts, occlusion, implant details, due dates and attachments.
Night Guard Design Options: What to Consider
An overview of night guard and occlusal guard designs, including hard, soft and dual-laminate options, arch choice, and what the lab needs to make one.
When PFM Crowns Are Still the Right Choice
Why porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns still have a place, how dentists think about noble, high noble and base metal alloys, and what to put on the Rx.
Dental Photography That Helps the Lab Match Your Case
The photos that help a dental lab most: essential views, shade tabs in plane, lighting, white balance, cross-polarized images and a consistent setup.
Why Stump Shade Matters for Translucent Ceramic Crowns
How the color of the prepared tooth or core affects the final shade of e.max and other translucent ceramics, and how to record and send stump shade to the lab.
Why Crowns Don't Seat, and How to Prevent It
Common reasons crowns do not seat or need adjustment, from unclear margins to tight contacts and shifting teeth, and how dentists and labs prevent them.
Layered vs. Monolithic Zirconia: Choosing by Tooth and Patient
How layered and monolithic zirconia crowns compare on strength, esthetics and chipping risk, and how to choose by tooth position and patient.
Preparing Teeth for Zirconia Crowns: What the Lab Looks For
Prep considerations for zirconia crowns from the lab bench, from even reduction and smooth margins to clear scans and what to do when space is limited.
2024
What Is a Custom Abutment, and When Is It Worth It?
How custom implant abutments differ from stock abutments, from emergence profile and margin placement to angulation, cement cleanup and what to send the lab.
Screw-Retained vs. Cement-Retained Implant Crowns: How to Decide
A lab's guide to screw retained vs cement retained implant crowns, covering retrievability, excess cement, access holes, angulation and what to put on the Rx.