FREE PRACTICE TOOL

Should you buy that printer, mill, or complete in-office system?

Fill in your numbers — your case mix, your fees, your staff cost — and the math will tell you whether the equipment pays for itself before it's obsolete.

If the math says outsourcing is still cheaper than buying — that's important to know. There's no shame in not buying the $20,000-$100,000+ box. Then there is always the question: Is the quality you will fabricate in-office acceptable to you and your patients? That sometimes is the more important question to ask oneself.

There's also a third path most equipment reps won't mention: design the mockups yourself in free software, print them on an inexpensive desktop printer, and skip both the subscription and the lab fee. That's what Digital Dental Sculptor Suite was built to do.

A Practice Affordability Worksheet · Vol. I

Should you buy that printer, mill, or scanner?

An honest, dentist-built calculator that pits in-office digital fabrication against your actual lab spend. Fill in your numbers — your case mix, your fees, your staff cost — and the math will tell you whether the equipment pays for itself before it's obsolete.

by Christopher Pescatore, D.M.D.

Download the Full 10-Page Guide
Equipment & Capital
§ A
$
%
$
$
Monthly Production
§ B
Crowns & Restorations
Per-Unit Costs
§ C
Material — your in-office cost
$
$
$
Lab fee — what you currently pay
$
$
$
Staff time
min
$
Outsourced CAD design use if you send designs to a remote service instead of designing in-house
%
$

Examples: independent CAD studios $5–18/unit (iDentCAD, FullContour, Alien Milling). Reduces staff time but adds per-unit cost. If 0%, every case is designed in-house and only staff time applies.

Other consumables — annual
$
%
Bottom Line
—
Enter your numbers on the left.
Annual lab spend (current)If you keep outsourcing
—
Annual in-house cost (projected)Materials + staff + service + financing
—
Annual savings (or excess cost)
—
Payback periodMonths to recover capital
—
5-year net positionCumulative savings minus equipment
—
Cost per restoration (in-house)
—

Annual Cost Breakdown — In-House

ComponentAnnual%
Total annual cost—100%
How payback is computed: Annual savings = (lab fees you'd have paid) − (in-house material + staff time + service contract + software + financing payment + supplies, with remakes added). Payback = total equipment cost ÷ annual savings, in months. The 5-year net position assumes consistent volume and includes the full capital outlay rather than just financed payments.