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Ask UsDental Lab Work Being Sent to China?
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Are an increasing number of labs sending implant and other dental work to China? A recent article by First Coast News claims that a growing number of labs are outsourcing labor to China unbeknownst to dentists and their patients.
According to the report, Chuck Dimaria has been making dental crowns in Missouri for 20 years. “There are laboratories sending implant work to China to be done. I believe that is happening. Do I have any record of it? No,” said Dimaria.
Dimaria says he has received offers to send his lab work to China. He’s resisting that fearing the Chinese dental work quality is too low and the crowns and implants may be tainted.
Faye Lewis is the first confirmed victim in the United States with lead contamination in imported dental crowns. She’s from Ohio but came to Florida to speak in Tallahassee to urge state lawmakers to enact protections for dental patients.
“The teeth that were cemented into my mouth were made in a Chinese Laboratory,” she said.
She also had a bridge in her mouth for 36 days. When she started having problems with it, the dentist took it out and sent it to a lab where it was discovered it had been made in China and was tainted.
Dimaria knows of another case where lab workers found that a Chinese implant was contaminated with fecal bacteria.
He says the Chinese prices are 80% of his and the U.S. labs using the Chinese goods aren’t cutting their prices, just increasing the profits and no one’s the wiser. “It’s the laboratories that are sending this stuff overseas. It’s the dentists that are sending it to the lab to get the work done and the labs are sending it overseas. The dentists don’t know it. I would say the majority don’t know,” said Dimaria.
There are no laws in place to force dental labs to disclose to dentists where a product was made and what materials were used but that could soon change in Florida. Representative Stan Jordan of Jacksonville is pushing to regulate Chinese dental products.
“It’s very easy for you today to get something made for your mouth that is made in Taiwan or India or the Philippines or wherever and we have no idea what’s in it,” said Jordan.
Both the House and Senate recently passed a measure which contains new consumer protections on dental products. It’s intended to avoid the use of foreign products that may be dangerous.
Source:
Deanna Fene, First Coast News (www.firstcoastnews.com)
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11 Responses to “ Dental Lab Work Being Sent to China? ”
All this pap about crowns from China being contaminated and implants with fecal matter is utterly false!The reality is that the chinese crowns are a better made crowns oftentimes.This Dimaria character needs to get it together and instead of whining like a girl, drop the price and improve the quality of the work.Turning to the state and the government to regulate the industry reeks of a loser non compete mentality.I personally believe it is time for these spoiled whiners to start creating a better crown for a better price and stop blaming China for their inability to adjust to the market!!!!!
This sounds ridiculous and sensationalist
Faecal matter and implants ..unless it was retreived after being swallowed and reused ..this is plain silly.
China is good enough for Walmart and more than 50% of US goods now because one guy feels threatened it gets unfair and dirty.
Its a global market
Learn to compete the Chinese know how
I am surprised at comments # 1 & 2. Contamination of medical devices by any manufacturer is possible and the charge should not be dismissed outright as “plain silly” or by a “whining girl”. The medical device industry is heavily self and governmentally regulated here in the US to prevent such happenings. China on the other hand is marginally monitored by US standards. Let us not be so quick to dismiss this issue on emotional grounds. We aren’t talking about toys here. It is a health concern.
Why the surprise?Why is the dentist who seated the so called contaminated crown not the problem?Oh,the lab lied to the dentist!!!How many other dentists had problems with the crowns this lab was giving them……….I’m waiting……….Hello……………….NONE.The article published was not entirely correct.The station breaking the story has been called for not being entirely truthfull(we real folk call it lying).There is lead in everything.As I said before,it is time for the whiners to pick up their panties and learn to compete.It is the American way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would like to say that I feel Dimaria is right on with his comments. the unfortunate part is tha the dental lab workers or owners that are knocking Dimaria are insecure peole that ar actually proud of under-cutting the whole industry. . IF you people with all the comments believe that China is not adding inferior elements to their crowns should get their heads examined. Just look at the toy industry and everything they have ever done to us. I know that the crap that they are sending id proven inferior wih lead and fecal contamination. You are all a disgrace to knock your fellow technician who is trying to keep his prices competitive. Roseann Coletti of NEWs 4 N.Y> did a story on MArch 6th.THis investigaton tried to find out why Dr’s are sending their crowns to China and Costa Rica and Indonesia. They couldn’t answer the questions and at the same time they were evading the fact that that were ripping off patients with high fees and paying 40.00 for the whole crown. doctors are chargeing 1,200.00 for a crown and we the technicians (eliminate me in that equation) are paying 23.00 to send it to China and then in turn charge the Dr’s around 40-45.00 is insane. GEt a lifeTechnicians!
there is a book on the market called ” Secrets of the Dental industry they don’t want you to know about”. written by a dentl technician.
I googled that title and can’t find the book to which you have refered. Do you have the authors name or publisher?
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One item being left out of this emotional discussion is industry standards. I operate a commercial laboratory in Kentucky and understand the economics of our industry. China is a problem. I do not outsource to China but I do outsource to Canada for an implant service I need and before Nobel Biocare built their plant in the US I sent work to Sweden. All this is said to remind you that these products met FDA approval to enter this country. The wicked Chinese crown in Ohio did not have to meet FDA standards but contrary to what everyone might want to believe it may have met ADA standards. According to news reports the crown contained 220 parts per million of lead and everyone screamed this was unacceptable, but if you check the ADA standards adopted in I believe in 1998 they say 300 ppm is an acceptable level. Who’s standard are being used.
China is a problem that US labs must deal with and it is not just labs creating the problem, dentist can send work directly. I am not whining, I have a successful lab that continues to grow but when I pay my employees more per hour than Chinese workers receive in a day quality is not the issue, economics is, and all the quality and speed in the world can not overcome those issues. I believe in free markets but we must have standards that are real and enforceable. Yes the time has come for Dental Laboratories to fall under FDA standards, standards that are reasonable and enforceable and help insure the integrity of the industry and the health and well being of the public. Not to protect the industry from competition but to protect us from ourselves.
Hell, in the USA, TEMPORARY INLAYS USED TO BE MADE OF SILVER SOLDER AKA LEAD.
LETS GET REAL……WHO REALLY CHECKS THIS STUFF.
We are insecure people who are proud of undercutting the whole industry?So China is to blame for your financial woes.I can only presume that you are one of the people who bought a house you could not possibly afford and now you expect the government to bail you out!
Look,I believe the blame lies with us.We need to fix the problem.China did not create our woes,we did.To turn around and blame the technicians who disagree with the whiny philosophy and then calling the Dentists thieves because they charge so much more and then telling technicians to get a life(not you of course).supply and demand my morally perfect friend.Also,this book “secrets they don’t want you to know about”,just concentrate on growing your business and stay away rom the grassy knoll conspiracy theories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
An overwhelming percentage of dentists nationwide are complaining that their practices are in decline. Their patients are not having recommended treatment done as they have in the past. These patients, for the most part, are the working middle class who are on the margin, just one serious event away from foreclosure or bankruptcy. The dental sector, like much of big business in this country, is looking overseas for labor pools to help maintain the profit margin. Dentists bemoan that their patients can’t or won’t pay the price and yet those same dentists are overwhelmingly in favor of “free trade” agreements, industry deregulation and in keeping the minimum wage low. In our shortsightedness, we are encouraging unemployment here at home for the sake of greed. When the workers of our country suffer we suffer, for they are our bread and butter.
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