Dental Lab Website vs Case Management Portal: What Should Own What?

Overview

A modern dental lab needs a public website and a production system for different reasons.

The website answers:

The lab platform answers:

Those worlds should connect, not collapse.

• Why should a dentist choose this lab?
• What products and materials are offered?
• Which scanners work?
• What is the normal workflow?
• What is the typical turnaround?
• How does pickup or shipping work?
• Who can help before the first case?
• Which practice?
• Which patient/case?
• What prescription?
• Which files?
• Which product?
• Which technician/stage?
• What due date?
• What status?
• What invoice/shipment?

What OneStudio can own

Current OneStudio features fit the public relationship layer:

• website;
• service pages;
• portfolio/media;
• contact forms and enquiries;
• ordinary practice/client records;
• reminders;
• analytics.

What lab-management software should own

Current platforms such as KronaLab and edonto are designed around:

That is the clinical-production layer.

• case intake;
• prescription data;
• clinical files;
• production stages;
• technician workflow;
• dentist portals;
• pricing/billing;
• status;
• shipping.

Keep the dentist relationship separate from the patient case

One dental practice can send hundreds or thousands of cases.

The ordinary commercial relationship belongs to the practice/contact.

Clinical cases belong to the secure lab system.

Do not model one patient case as a CRM interaction note.

Keep the new-account enquiry separate from the first case

Dentist:

We use TRIOS, mostly implants and zirconia, and want to discuss nationwide shipping.

That is a partnership enquiry.

Later:

Patient case 48271, tooth 9, digital Rx and STL.

That is clinical production data.

Use different systems.

Keep scan files in the lab workflow

Digital cases can include:

Specialist platforms are built for large clinical file handling and versioning.

Do not move these through general website media storage.

• STL;
• PLY;
• DCM;
• photos;
• design files.

Keep prescriptions controlled

A prescription can contain:

That is not marketing data.

• patient/case identifiers;
• requested restoration;
• shade;
• tooth numbers;
• dentist instructions;
• signature.

Keep production status specialist

Dentists may need to know:

DDS Lab, for example, offers a dedicated portal/app for real-time case tracking.

If the public site later links to or embeds a secure portal, the status should still come from the lab system.

• received;
• design;
• production;
• QC;
• shipped;
• due date.

Keep shipping tied to the case

A case may need:

The production/shipping system should own it.

• pickup;
• incoming label;
• outgoing shipment;
• tracking;
• delivery date.

Keep production billing specialist

Laboratory case billing can depend on:

Do not create a second billing truth in the marketing CRM.

• product;
• material;
• units;
• add-ons;
• remake;
• shipping;
• practice contract.

Use one explicit handoff

Choose:

Dentist partner approved for secure lab case workflow

Before handoff:

After handoff:

• public website;
• partnership enquiry;
• ordinary practice/contact;
• acquisition source.
• secure practice account;
• case submission;
• files;
• prescription;
• production;
• shipment;
• billing.

Source-of-truth matrix

A 22-point buyer test

1. Website and lab platform have explicit roles.
2. Practice and patient/case are separate.
3. New-account enquiry and case submission are separate.
4. Handoff has one explicit trigger.
5. Practice production account has one owner.
6. Patient/case has one owner.
7. Prescription has one owner.
8. Scan file has one owner.
9. File version has one owner.
10. Production stage has one owner.
11. Due date has one owner.
12. Technician workflow has one owner.
13. Case communication has one owner.
14. Shipment has one owner.
15. Case invoice has one owner.
16. Public CRM excludes patient data.
17. Public media excludes clinical files.
18. Marketing form excludes clinical prescriptions.
19. Website status never overrides lab-system status.
20. Website can survive lab-software changes.
21. Public analytics exclude clinical case activity.
22. Staff can explain the boundary in one sentence.

Give the website the dentist relationship and the lab system the case

That boundary keeps marketing simple and clinical production controlled.

Explore OneStudio features, compare plans, or review the turnkey website service.

Questions businesses ask