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Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

• Fill with up to 4 mm bulk increments due to lvocerin, the patented light initiator • Sculpt and contour with ease as a result of the material’s smooth consistency • Then light-cure for ten seconds using the short, 10-mm Bluephase Style light probe … • … and the esthetic restoration is done! Watch the Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill & Bluephase Style animation at: www.ivoclarvivadent.com/bulkfill_en For even more efficient posterior restorations Tetric EvoCeram ® Bulk Fill & Bluephase ® StyleThe bulk-fill composite The curing light www.ivoclarvivadent.co.uk Ivoclar Vivadent Limited Ground Floor Compass Building | Feldspar Close | Warrens Business Park | Enderby | Leicester LE19 4SE | United Kingdom | Tel. +44 116 284 78 80 | Fax +44 116 284 78 81 TEC_BulkFill_BluephaseStyle_e_A4.indd 1 23.11.12 12:49 T his month, we will look at kittingoutthepracticewith essential assets and equip- ment. You will be purchasing/ leasing an empty shell and effec- tively will be starting with a “blank canvas”. You will therefore need to consider the layout of the surgery, planning design, equipment and stock, IT system and suppliers. Subject to any planning re- strictions etc, or any restrictions in your Lease (if applicable), you will have free reign to design the lay- outofthesurgeryasyouwish.Plan in advance and have a detailed idea of how you want the surgery to look. Depending upon your budget, you may want to engage a designer or architect to help. Every practice will need an efficient and suitable IT system. How will you know which one would suit your practice? You will need to consider what informa- tion it will need to hold, its ac- cessibility capabilities and user friendliness. To get significant benefits from IT, you need to be able to trust your IT systems. This means having confidence in the company supplying, managing and maintaining them. Choosing the right IT supplier is therefore an essential part of selecting an effective IT solution. Watch out however for the cost of mainte- nance contracts. You need proper maintenance but some costs can be high and some providers try and lock you into long terms. It is a good idea to shop around. You must purchase equipment that is suitable for your require- ments and needs. Dental equip- ment can be expensive and you should not rush in making your decision by purchasing the new- est, most expensive equipment. It is always worthwhile taking advice from colleagues and other dentists and at the same time, test- ing out equipment at exhibitions or conferences. Some companies may have showrooms where they demonstrate their equipment and this gives you a good opportunity to try out the equipment. Research all of the suppliers thoroughly to ensure that they provide qual- ity equipment as well as offering reasonable servicing and repair facilities. Purchasing, and therefore owning, equipment outright may notalwaysbeaviablefinancialop- tion for you. The high initial costs in purchasing equipment may not be feasible and, if so, you will need to consider hiring equipment or entering into a leasing arrange- ment. Be aware of the pros and cons of leasing/hiring equipment. The obvious advantage is that there will be a minimal initial ex- penditure, thereby saving costs in the short run and enabling funds to be directed to other areas of the business i.e. marketing/advertis- ing. However, whilst it will be a minimal initial expenditure, it is usuallythecasethatleasingequip- ment will be more expensive than buying in the long run. Addition- ally, you will have built up no eq- uity in the equipment as you will not have ownership (unless of course the equipment is obsolete at the end of the lease in which caseownershipwouldnotmatter). Choosing the right suppliers for your practice will involve a lot more than looking at the pricing. You will need to consider: • Value for money • Quality • Reliability • Accessibility How you decide on the im- portance of each of these factors will depend upon your businesses priorities and the overall business strategy. Next month: “Kitting Out” the Practice – Intangible Assets DT “Setting Up On Your Own” “Kitting Out” the Practice – Tangible Assets About the author Puja Patel is a member of the Commercial Team at Lockharts and works primarily in advising dentists, dental care profes- sionals and dental corporate bodies on the commercial aspects of dentistry. 23BusinessMarch 11-17, 2013United Kingdom Edition