The Hidden Cost of Dental Remakes

Every dental practice accepts that remakes happen.

Despite the best planning, excellent clinical skills and modern digital technology, there will always be occasions when a crown needs adjusting, a denture requires modifying, a bridge doesn't seat as expected or an implant restoration needs revisiting. Dentistry is a profession involving biology, people and precision, so perfection every single time simply isn't realistic.

However, there is a huge difference between the occasional unavoidable remake and a practice that quietly accepts remakes as "just part of dentistry."

At Bremadent Dental Laboratory, we've seen both.

One practice may experience only a handful of remakes throughout the year. Another may accept multiple remakes every week without ever stopping to calculate what they are really costing the business. The surprising truth is that the laboratory bill is usually the smallest cost.

The real expense lies everywhere else.

When People Think About Remakes, They Usually Think About the Crown
Ask someone what a remake costs and they'll often answer with the laboratory fee. If the crown costs £60, they assume the remake costs £60. Unfortunately, that's only looking at one small piece of a much bigger picture.
A remake doesn't simply replace a restoration. It repeats an entire clinical process. That process involves your reception team, nurses, clinicians, laboratory, administration, appointment book and, most importantly, your patient.
By the time everyone has played their part, the real cost can be several times higher than the original laboratory invoice.

The Appointment That Could Have Been
One of the biggest hidden costs is opportunity. Every remake appointment occupies clinical time that could have been used to provide productive treatment. Imagine a clinician spends forty-five minutes reviewing a crown that requires remaking. During that same appointment they could have completed: A routine examination. Several hygiene appointments.

• Composite restorations.
• Emergency treatment.
• A consultation for larger treatment.
• An additional crown preparation.
• The remake itself rarely generates new income.
• Instead, it replaces income that should already have been earned.
• The chair remains occupied.
• The team still gets paid.
• The overheads continue.
• The revenue often doesn't.

That is why practice owners frequently underestimate how expensive remakes become over the course of a year.

The Reception Team Pays the Price Too
Practice managers know something many clinicians never fully appreciate. Every remake creates administration.
The receptionist who booked the original appointment now has to:

• Call the patient.
• Rearrange diaries.
• Coordinate laboratory collections.
• Rebook clinicians.
• Answer patient questions.
• Update records.
• Monitor the replacement case.
• Sometimes this happens more than once
  
  

Multiply that by dozens of remakes every year and suddenly your front desk spends hours every month dealing with work that shouldn't exist.

Those hours could have been spent converting enquiries, following up treatment plans or improving the patient journey.
Instead, they're solving problems.

The Nurse Starts the Same Journey Again
Dental nurses don't simply appear when the patient sits down.

• Every appointment requires preparation.
• The surgery is prepared.
• Materials are organised.
• Equipment is sterilised.
• Clinical notes are reviewed.

Afterwards everything is cleaned, disinfected and reset. A remake repeats the entire cycle. Nothing changes except the reason the patient has returned. It is another hidden cost that rarely appears on any financial report.

Patients Remember Problems Longer Than Successes
Most patients don't know how many microns a crown margin should fit. They don't understand occlusal contacts or emergence profiles.

1. What they do understand is inconvenience.
2. Another appointment.
3. Another journey.
4. More time away from work.
5. Another childcare arrangement.
6. Another parking fee.

Even if the remake is handled professionally, the experience is no longer as smooth as it could have been. Fortunately, patients are often incredibly understanding when communication is honest and proactive.

Unfortunately, they are much less forgiving when communication is poor.

The quality of the patient journey often determines whether the remake becomes a minor inconvenience or a lasting negative memory.

The Hidden Cost to Your Reputation
Every practice spends time and money attracting new patients.

1. Websites.
2. Google Ads.
3. Social media.
4. Referral marketing.
5. Word of mouth.
6. Excellent reviews.
7. One unhappy experience can quietly undo a surprising amount of that effort.
8. Most patients won't complain publicly.
9. Many simply won't return.
10. Others tell family and friends.

Some leave online reviews mentioning delays, repeat appointments or treatment taking longer than expected. Interestingly, patients rarely distinguish between the dentist and the laboratory.

To them, it's simply their dental practice. That means every restoration reflects directly on your reputation, regardless of where it was manufactured.

Stress Doesn't Appear on a Profit and Loss Statement
One cost that accountants never measure is stress. Anyone working in dentistry understands the pressure of a busy surgery.

Adding unexpected remakes creates extra workload without creating extra time:

• Reception staff become frustrated.
• Dentists feel behind schedule.
• Nurses work harder.
• Managers juggle appointments.
• Patients become anxious.
• One remake may seem insignificant.
• Several every week begin affecting team morale.
• Reducing unnecessary remakes isn't only about profit.
  
  

It's about creating a calmer, more predictable place to work.

The Laboratory Pays Too
Many people assume remakes only affect the practice. They don't. A conscientious laboratory dislikes remakes just as much as you do.

Every remake means:

1. Additional technician time.
2. Additional quality control.
3. Additional materials.
4. Additional administration.
5. Additional delivery costs.
6. Additional scheduling.
   
   

A good laboratory doesn't celebrate remakes because they're "more work."
Quite the opposite.

Every remake reduces capacity that could have been used producing new work for clients. At Bremadent Dental Laboratory, we actively monitor remake trends because every remake represents an opportunity to improve our processes, communication or quality standards. Our aim isn't simply producing restorations. Our aim is producing restorations that fit first time whenever clinically possible.

Not Every Remake Is the Laboratory's Fault
This is perhaps the most important conversation the profession should have. When something doesn't fit, the laboratory is often blamed first.

• Sometimes that's entirely appropriate.
• Sometimes it isn't.
• Successful restorative dentistry depends upon several stages working together.

These include:

• Accurate diagnosis.
• Excellent tooth preparation.
• Reliable impressions or digital scans.
• Clear prescriptions.
• Accurate bite registration.
• Correct shade information.
• Good communication.
• Precise laboratory manufacturing.
• Careful fitting.
  
  

A problem at any stage can affect the final restoration. The best laboratories don't simply ask, "Whose fault was it?"
They ask, "How can we stop this happening again?" That mindset benefits everyone.

Digital Dentistry Has Reduced Errors... But Not Eliminated Them
Digital workflows have transformed modern dentistry. Intraoral scanners have improved consistency.
CAD software has increased precision. 3D printing has enhanced manufacturing. Digital communication is faster than ever. Yet remakes still happen.

Why?

Because technology cannot compensate for incomplete information.

• An inaccurate bite remains inaccurate whether it's scanned or impressed.
• A preparation with inadequate clearance still lacks clearance.
• An incorrect implant library remains incorrect regardless of how expensive the scanner was.

Digital dentistry removes many variables. It doesn't remove every variable.

1. People still matter.
2. Experience still matters.
3. Communication still matters.
   
   

The Most Valuable Number Isn't the Laboratory Fee
Many practices monitor production.

1. Collection rates.
2. Average spend.
3. Cancellation rates.
4. Few monitor remake rates properly.
5. Perhaps they should.
   
   

A practice producing 1,500 restorations annually with a remake rate of just 2% will experience around 30 remakes.
If each remake occupies one hour of combined clinical and administrative time, that's approximately thirty hours spent repeating work. Bremadent's last DAMAS report showed our remake rate was 0.2% for 2025 - 26.

That's almost an entire working week. And that calculation doesn't include laboratory production, patient travel or lost treatment opportunities. Now imagine the remake rate rises to 5%. Small percentages quickly become expensive.
Monitoring remake rates by clinician, restoration type and cause often reveals useful trends that can improve quality across the whole practice.

Prevention Is Always Cheaper Than Correction
The most profitable remake is the one that never happens.
Many unnecessary remakes can be reduced through relatively simple improvements:

• Good quality photographs.
• Clear prescriptions.
• Well-recorded shades.
• Excellent bite registrations.
• Adequate tooth preparation.
• Verification of implant components.
• Open communication between practice and laboratory.

None of these are revolutionary. They're simply habits followed consistently. High-performing practices don't necessarily avoid every complication.

They build systems that reduce avoidable ones.

A Laboratory Should Be More Than a Supplier
The relationship between a practice and its laboratory should never feel transactional. The best partnerships involve collaboration.

A laboratory should feel comfortable telephoning when something doesn't look right. The dentist should feel comfortable asking questions.

The practice manager should know who to contact when deadlines change. The technician should understand the clinician's expectations.

The stronger the communication, the fewer surprises appear at fitting appointments.

At Bremadent, we'd much rather spend five minutes discussing a prescription before manufacturing begins than spend five days remaking a restoration afterwards. One phone call today is often worth several appointments next week.

Quality Is an Investment, Not an Expense
It can be tempting to compare laboratories solely on price. After all, every business has overheads to manage.
However, the cheapest invoice isn't always the lowest cost.

If a restoration saves £15 but creates another appointment, additional administration and an unhappy patient, did it really save money?

Probably not.

• Consistency has value.
• Reliable communication has value.
• Predictable turnaround has value.
• Clinical confidence has value.
• First-time fit has enormous value.
  
  

These benefits don't always appear on an invoice, but they appear every day inside a well-run dental practice.

Building a Culture That Reduces Remakes
The practices with the lowest remake rates rarely achieve that by accident.

They create a culture where quality comes before speed, communication comes before assumption and continuous improvement never stops.

That means reviewing cases together, discussing trends with the laboratory, learning from complications rather than assigning blame and encouraging everyone in the team to contribute to better outcomes.

• Receptionists notice patient frustrations.
• Nurses notice clinical workflow.
• Dentists notice fit and function.
• Technicians notice manufacturing patterns.
• Practice managers notice the bigger picture.
• When everyone shares information, everyone improves.
  
  

The goal isn't to eliminate every remake forever. Dentistry simply doesn't work like that. The goal is to ensure that every remake teaches us something that prevents the next one.

Remakes will always be part of dentistry. What matters is how frequently they happen, why they happen and what we learn from them.

The laboratory invoice is only one small part of the overall cost. The real expense is measured in lost chair time, additional administration, repeated clinical appointments, reduced productivity, increased stress, interrupted patient journeys and, ultimately, the reputation of the practice.

By working closely with a laboratory that values communication, consistency and continuous improvement, practices can significantly reduce unnecessary remakes while creating a smoother experience for patients and a more profitable workflow for the whole team.

In today's dental profession, success isn't simply about producing excellent restorations. It's about producing them predictably, efficiently and right the first time as often as clinically possible.

Because the cheapest remake will always be the one that never had to happen.

We provide a trusted laboratory service delivering consistent quality, saving chairside time, and supporting predictable patient outcomes.

Does your current laboratory produce a lot of remakes? Let's talk:

📞: 0208 520 8528 

 📧: [email protected] 

📍: 25A St James Street, London, E17 7PJ