Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Traditionally, dental labs and practices have operated as separate businesses—although they have a working relationship. But Elias Sara has flipped that model. His lab in Camden, NSW, has recently added a wide range of dental services. By Kathy Graham
There are always exceptions to a rule, and Aesthetic Dental & Denture Clinic is one of them. The 340-square-metre facility in Sydney’s south-west houses not just a clinic offering the full range of dentistry and denture services but also a laboratory “where we manufacture crowns, bridges, veneers, dentures, mouthguards, implants and more meaning all the oral health needs of patients are met under one roof”, explains owner and director technician Elias Sara.
“So dental and denture, and the manufacturing services are here in Camden. We don’t manufacture for anyone else outside of our own facility. We really love the fact of keeping the communication all in-house and fabricating for ourselves. So it’s controlled. We purely hone our services directly for the people that walk into our dental surgery.
“And we’re growing really quickly,” he adds, “because people can see the value in the services that we’re providing.”
Yet not so long ago, Sara was running his first dental lab out of his parents’ garage, focusing solely on dental ceramics. “And then I had an opportunity to have some space in the city,” he explains. “So I was in Martin Place for about four years, and then I looked to move my family to the outskirts of Sydney. So we found a spot out here at Camden, and I moved my laboratory.”
During this period Sara also undertook further studies to become a prosthetist and then as he puts it, he slowly “started to build a reputation of providing denture services out here in the community”. After 10 years, he says he had built up enough of a client base that he felt compelled to take the next step. “I was self-sufficient in manufacturing direct to patient. So I engaged a dentist. And one dentist turned into two, turned into three, turned into four…”
Coming from a lab background, Sara says he could clearly see a gap between what patients needed and what traditional service models provided. His patients would often have to move between multiple providers to get an outcome. “They’d go to a dentist here, an implant surgeon there, the laboratory to get measured up for this or that. And at the end of the day, it became confusing and time-consuming for them. It almost became overwhelming for patients.
“So we brought everyone under the one roof. And this integration gave patients a smoother experience. It reduced delays in treatment; we can do same day turnaround if need be. It gave us better quality control. And it allows us to keep our prices affordable because we’re not outsourcing to different laboratories.”
Five years on, Sara’s Camden facility–“the mothership” as he calls it—employs 12 staff, nine general and specialist dentists in the clinic treating patients, and three in the lab: “one in the plaster room pouring up models, retainers, mouthguards, and two others in the actual design and fabricating of all the prosthetics.”
The lab itself comprises the latest in dental lab tech: everything from axis milling machines and 3D printers to scanners. Sara prides himself on only using Australian suppliers of the “best type of material”, generally from Northern Europe. “The best zirconia for full mouth restoration. The best lithium disilicate ceramic for veneers. The best titanium for implant bars. The best teeth for dentures. You combine all those little ‘bests’, and it gives you an incredible product that you can actually back and warrant with confidence.”
We don’t manufacture for anyone else outside of our own facility. We really love the fact of keeping the communication all in-house and fabricating for ourselves. So it’s controlled. We purely hone our services directly for the people that walk into our dental surgery.
Elias Sara, owner, Aesthetic Dental & Denture Clinic
The business also extends to two denture clinics in Tamworth and Goulburn, plus nursing home and mobility visits, enabling Sara and his team to provide a truly comprehensive scope of care. “Ultimately, this is about giving patients choice and confidence that they don’t have to go anywhere else to manage their dental health because we’ve got the clinicians on standby and all their products are fabricated and repaired here.”
Some patients will even join him on a tour of the lab. “And depending on their treatment plan, we run them through the systems. We show them the computer. We show them a case that’s being half designed. And the next steps that would be similar to theirs in order to achieve their product. And that gives the patient confidence; they know what they’re getting from us.”
Not surprisingly, moving from a lab-only operation into a full clinical service wasn’t cheap. Sara hired a first-class medical fit-out company and invested in high-spec equipment and sterilisation. “You’re talking to designers. You’re talking about meeting rules and regulations, making sure that the facility is first class. You have to budget for a minimum of $5000 a square metre. And that’s only the build, not equipment. Then you’ve got the second tier. You’ve got all the latest technology you need; the chairs, intra oral cameras, handpieces.”
Then there was the job of recruiting the right professionals and staff. “Hiring staff, you want the best dentists. They want the best equipment. So you make sure that your environment is aligned with the professionals that you’re hiring and vice-versa. Because the team that we’ve built is very intentional. They’re highly skilled and we all share the same vision.”
With the hiring of clinical staff, Sara also needed to create HR and accounts departments—”external departments that typically didn’t play a role when we were just a laboratory”—and think about things like staff CPD and marketing.
Sara makes it sound relatively easy but he admits, “You have to dedicate your life. Dental laboratories don’t make much. It’s very hard. They’re under very tight margins. Very, very tight margins. And to take the step [of offering dental and denture services too], you’re putting everything on the line. And you’re hoping that you can pull it off. Because not only will it give you an advantage business wise, but it’ll also provide a huge advantage for the patient.”
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