Dental Laboratories

The 4,566 Dental labs in the US design and fabricate custom dental prosthetic appliances, such as dentures, crowns, and bridges, for dentist offices and practices. Primary products include fixed and removable prosthetic devices, cosmetic devices, and orthodontic devices. Other products include sports guards and anti-snoring devices.

Foreign Competition

Domestic dental labs compete with foreign labs in China, Mexico, and India, which have specialized in offering low-priced partial frames and traditional crowns, especially zirconia-based restorations.

Competition from In-Office Technology

Advances in technology allow dentists to produce certain dental appliances in-office, replacing services from dental labs with their internal operations.

Jul 2, 2026 - US Adults' Ability to Afford Healthcare at a Five-Year Low

• Fewer than half of Americans (49%) can consistently afford the care and medications they need, according to the latest West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index. Dental laboratories may be negatively impacted by decreasing health care affordability. The share of adults who are “cost secure” has decreased from a 2022 peak of 61%, and an estimated 2.8 million more people fell out of that category between 2024 and 2025 alone. Cost insecurity now reaches groups long considered insulated: just 61% of adults 65 and older are cost secure, down from 73% in 2021.
• The spot price of gold retreated has retreated from an all-time high set in January 2026 but remained significantly above the historical trend in early July. The spot price of gold has increased from about $1,800 per ounce in October 2023 to over $4,500 in early March 2026, a 150% increase. The pricing and availability of raw materials for dental labs can vary and affect operations and profitability. Prices for precious metals that are components of many dental alloys, including gold, platinum, palladium, can be volatile and driven by global market conditions. "Trump's election win has provided one of the most favorable scenarios for gold due to the likelihood of elevated US fiscal spending and increased geopolitical uncertainty," says Michael Haigh, head of commodities research at French bank Société Générale.
• New networked technology allows dental laboratories to expand their reach directly into dental practices, according to additive manufacturing technology firm Desktop Metal. Networked scanners, for example, allow dentists to scan patients and use the digital data to directly order restoration services from a dental laboratory, or print-ready digital files from laboratories can be sent from a laboratory to the practice, where products can be printed chairside in the dental practice on networked 3D printers. Dentists can order a full range of simple to complex restorations, removables, and appliances including bite guards, crowns, veneers, dentures, and more.
• Dental laboratory industry employment and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first five months of 2026, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dental lab industry sales are forecast to grow at a 3.05% compounded annual rate from 2026 to 2030, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.

Industry size & Structure

The average dental lab operates out of single location, employs 10 workers, and generates about $1.4 million annually.

• The dental lab industry consists of about 4,566 firms that employ 43,400 workers and generates about $6.3 billion annually.

• The industry is somewhat concentrated, as the top 50 companies account for over 46% of industry revenue.

• Large firms include Glidewell Laboratories, Modern Dental Labs, Dental Services Group, and National Dentex.