To find dental equipment that is truly great value for money, Justin Hind explains why you need to look further than the price tag
When making any large purchase, shopping around and doing your research before committing almost always pays off. Who doesn’t want to get the best value they possibly can for their money?
If the time has come to replace your equipment and you are feeling pressure to get the most out of your budget, it can be tempting to simply pick whichever has the lowest price tag – especially if you need new equipment in a hurry.
That’s a good plan on the surface, but consider how much that chair package may actually cost you in the long term?
Will it be robust and reliable enough to serve you well for 20 years? Could it cost you thousands of pounds more in costly repairs and downtime through the years?
When considering any large purchase of dental equipment, it is wise to contemplate not just the price tag. You should consider the approximate cost of operation and maintenance.
This will give you the ‘total cost of ownership’ of the equipment, or the ‘true cost’. It may take some additional research to work this out, but not being prepared can have a significant financial impact on your practice down the line.
Talking to the dealer
Initial discussions with dental equipment dealers tend to be predominantly about features and purchase price.
But you can save yourself time and money by asking your dealer about reliability, maintenance, downtime, parts availability and lead times. These are all important factors that contribute towards the cost of ownership.
Most dealers also have experience with multiple different brands.
They constantly see old chairs getting taken out and replaced with new ones. They hear a multitude of stories from dentists about their experiences along the way.
Use this knowledge to your advantage. Your dealer should be able to give you an idea of which models require the most upkeep. They will know which are prone to technical faults and breakdown the most often and which generally outlast the others.
Under scrutiny
If you do nothing else, make sure you ask your dealer these three questions before you commit to buy:
- How long will this equipment last me?
- How likely is it to breakdown?
- If it does break down, how readily available and costly are parts? This can become the difference between a sound investment and a costly one, especially after the warranty period is over.
A-dec tests all its chairs, delivery systems and lights to the point of failure.
The test labs run 150 tests per year on A-dec equipment across new products, product improvements, and new concepts. The A-dec 500 chair, for example, they subjected it to four times its guaranteed weight limit of 500lbs to ensure safety.
The chair was loaded with 2000lb spread across upper and lower sections.
Stress points were analysed and functionality scrutinised.
Every A-dec solution is rigorously tested to the extremes to ensure your equipment provides you with a smooth, trouble-free performance, day after day, year after year.
