How to Vet a Dental Design Partner: A 10-Point Checklist
Choosing a design partner is a long-term decision. Use this checklist before you switch — or before you stay where you are.
The right design partner can transform a practice. The wrong one can drain it. Run any lab — including us — through this checklist before you commit.
The 10 questions to ask
1. Can I speak to my actual designer by phone or video?
2. What is your average turnaround on full-arch and on single-unit cases?
3. How are revisions handled — included or billed?
4. Do you finish the case or hand it off to another lab?
5. What software do you design in, and is it compatible with my scanner?
6. What happens if a case fails clinically — who absorbs the cost?
7. How do you handle immediate-load and rush work?
8. Can I see recent unedited final-delivery photos, not marketing renders?
9. Who is my point of contact when my designer is unavailable?
10. Will you tell me when a case will not work — before we commit chair time?
What good answers sound like
Specific, fast, and unhesitating. If a lab needs to check and get back to you on any of these, that is information. The partners worth working with have already answered these questions a thousand times.