Why 2026 Is The Right Time For U.S. Dental Labs To Outsource

In 2026, rising costs, stagnant fees, commoditization, and patient behavior shifts converge. Discover why outsourcing is now mission-critical for U.S. dental labs.

XDENT LAB

Dec 09, 2025

7 mins to read

Why 2026 Is The Right Time For U.S. Dental Labs To Outsource

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Key Points
Introduction
The Pricing Constraint: Why Labs Can’t Raise Fees
Rising Material Costs (10–25%) vs. Flat Restoration Fees
The Commoditization Effect: Why the Market No Longer Rewards Higher Fees
How XDENT LAB Fits Into This Landscape

Key Points

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. dental labs say economic pressure has restricted their ability to raise prices; half have delayed fee adjustments entirely and 32% have raised prices less often or by smaller margins.
Since 2021, U.S. dental labs have faced 10–25% increases in material and component costs, while restoration fees have remained largely flat.
Dentists are increasingly price-sensitive, with even small, targeted fee changes in one category sometimes prompting labs to lose entire accounts.
As digital workflows, automation, milling, 3D printing and AI design make standard restorations look and perform more alike, commoditization is flattening differentiation and capping what labs can charge.
With costs rising, fees constrained, and commoditization accelerating, outsourcing dental labs is becoming a strategic necessity for U.S. labs heading into 2026, rather than an optional backup for overflow.

Introduction

The dental laboratory industry in the U.S. is stepping into 2025 with unmistakable financial pressures. According to LMT’s latest Fee Survey, nearly ⅔ of laboratories say the economy has directly influenced their pricing strategy. Within this group:

50% have delayed fee increases
32% are raising fees less frequently or by smaller margins

At the same time, labs are facing 10–25% increases in material and component costs since 2021, while struggling to raise fees without losing clients.

In this environment, maintaining profitability without sacrificing quality has become increasingly difficult. And this is exactly why more U.S. labs are turning to outsourcing partners like XDENT LAB to stabilize costs, preserve margins, and stay competitive.

The Pricing Constraint: Why Labs Can’t Raise Fees

The most significant problem for U.S. labs today isn’t just cost inflation, it’s the inability to raise prices in response. When nearly two-thirds of labs report that the economy restricts their fee adjustments, this signals a systemic issue: the market is no longer tolerating price increases, even when costs demand it.

Why?

Dentists are dealing with their own economic pressures.
Insurance reimbursements remain stagnant.
Patients are opting for lower-cost treatments.
Competition among labs has intensified.

Even when a lab raises fees by a small amount, just enough to offset rising material costs, clients can react strongly, sometimes disproportionately.

A clear example comes from Cheryl Malcamp, owner of Malcamp Dental Ceramics in Niwot, Colorado. After holding her fees steady from 2020 to 2022, she introduced very modest increases and implemented a specific fee for single anterior crowns to account for the extra labor and communication involved. One client told her she could no longer afford to use the lab for insurance patients needing a single anterior crown, but then went further and stopped sending all work, even posterior zirconia cases that weren’t directly affected by the new fee.
This episode illustrates a new and much harsher sensitivity to cost changes: A minor, targeted fee adjustment in one category can put an entire account at risk.

Rising Material Costs (10–25%) vs. Flat Restoration Fees

While U.S. dental labs are struggling to adjust their fee schedules, the cost side of the equation is moving decisively in the opposite direction. As Rynhard Venter, President of Archworks Dental Laboratory in West Linn, Oregon, notes: “Our fees have not increased since 2021, but we’ve seen a 10 to 25% increase on materials and components over the last couple of years.”

This is not a theoretical forecast, it is a real operational reality inside a working U.S. lab. A 10–25% increase in materials and components means:

Every zirconia disc, implant component, alloy batch, or consumable now costs significantly more.
The cost to produce each unit (crown, bridge, denture, framework) quietly creeps upward, even if the sticker price to the dentist does not change.
Over hundreds or thousands of monthly units, this translates into substantial margin erosion, even when revenue appears stable on paper.

At the same time, restoration fees themselves have remained largely flat, especially in the metal-free fixed arena. One of the clearest examples is the monolithic zirconia crown: according to industry data, the average 2025 price is around $155, only about $2 higher than it was nearly a decade ago.

In other words:

Input costs have risen sharply in just a few years (10–25% since 2021),
while output prices for key products like zirconia crowns have barely moved in almost ten years.

This widening gap between the cost of production and the price the market will bear is at the heart of the current margin crisis. Labs are effectively being asked to:

Absorb higher material and component costs,
Maintain or improve quality and turnaround expectations,
But not pass those higher costs on to dentists through fee increases.

As a result, labs find themselves caught between rising operational costs and a market that may not bear higher fees, especially as commoditization continues to reshape it. This is precisely the environment where outsourcing becomes less of an optional tactic and more of a structural solution to restore economic balance inside the lab.

The Commoditization Effect: Why the Market No Longer Rewards Higher Fees

The widening gap between rising operating costs and flat selling prices can be traced to one underlying force: commoditization. As digital dentistry has matured, restorations that once differed significantly between labs have begun to look and perform increasingly alike.

Jim Thacker, CEO of Utah Valley Dental Lab in Lindon, Utah, articulates this transformation clearly: “Automation, milled and printed materials, and AI design all contribute to the commoditization of some laboratory products. These factors will continue to push labs to create value in other ways.”

Commoditization means that:

AI-assisted CAD design produces more uniform anatomy.
Milling equipment delivers highly consistent results across labs.
3D printing enables mass standardization at predictable accuracy.
Digital workflows reduce technician-to-technician variability.

As a result, a zirconia crown from one lab is often viewed as functionally interchangeable with a zirconia crown from another. This is precisely what “pushes labs to create value in other ways.” For many U.S. labs, that now involves rethinking where and how their restorations are produced. Therefore, partnering with a high-skill outsourcing provider, such as a technically strong, esthetically focused team at XDENT LAB, creates an opportunity to differentiate on consistency, finish quality, and esthetic reliability, even within a commoditized product segment. In other words, outsourcing is not simply about lowering unit cost; when done with the right partner, it becomes a lever to regain control over both cost and perceived value in a market that no longer automatically rewards higher fees.

How XDENT LAB Fits Into This Landscape

In a market where costs are rising, fees are constrained, and commoditization is reshaping competitive dynamics, XDENT LAB is built to function not as an external vendor, but as a specialized extension of U.S. dental labs.

XDENT LAB is structured around priorities that speak directly to the pressures lab owners are facing:

Technical strength – A team trained in contemporary digital workflows (CAD/CAM, zirconia, implant-supported restorations) with a focus on precision, repeatability, and clinically predictable outcomes.
Esthetic focus – Attention to contour, texture, and shade that aligns with the expectations of demanding clinicians, not just “good enough for a commodity.”
Operational reliability – Consistent turnaround times, transparent communication, and quality control systems that reduce remakes and chairside adjustments.
Cost efficiency and stability – A structured outsourcing model designed to deliver meaningful cost savings 30%, paired with a three-year service-fee stability commitment, giving labs the confidence to plan growth without worrying about sudden price changes from their outsourcing partner.

For U.S. lab owners, this combination addresses both sides of the 2026 challenge:

It helps reset the cost base in product categories the market now treats as commoditized.
It preserves and even elevates clinical and esthetic standards, so the lab’s brand remains differentiated in the eyes of its dentists.

In that sense, XDENT LAB is not just an outsourcing option, it is a way to redesign how value is produced inside the lab at a time when the traditional, fully in-house model is under unprecedented economic pressure.

XDENT LAB is an expert in Lab-to-Lab Full Service from Vietnam, with the signature services of Removable & Implant, meeting U.S. market standards – approved by FDA & ISO. Founded in 2017, XDENT LAB has grown from local root to global reach, scaling with 2 factories and over 100 employees.. Our state-of-the-art technology, certified technicians, and commitment to compliance make us the trusted choice for dental practices looking to ensure quality and consistency in their products.