Dentists Are Less Busy. Remakes Now Cost More
The ADA's Q3 2026 data: 38% of US dentists say they could treat more patients, up from 26% in Q2. Why that makes every remake costlier, and how to test a lab on one case.
Key takeaways
- In the ADA Health Policy Institute's Q3 2026 survey, 38% of US dentists said they were not busy enough and could have treated more patients. In Q2 it was 26%.
- Consumer spending on dental care was down 2.4% for the year to August 2026, and new patients now wait 12 days on average for an appointment, a new low.
- With fewer patients in the book, a remake, a slipped seat date or a wrong shade costs more chair time and more patient trust than a year ago.
- The low-risk way to test a new lab is one case.
What the ADA found
On October 6, 2026 the ADA Health Policy Institute published The State of the U.S. Dental Economy, 3rd Quarter 2026. Its quarterly panel (750 dentists answered the survey sent on September 14) shows a clear turn:
- 38% of dentists were "not busy enough, could have treated more patients", up from 26% in Q2 2026.
- Only 8% were too busy to treat everyone who asked for care, the lowest share in the series.
- The average wait for a new-patient appointment fell to 12 days, from 14.3 days in Q3 2024.
- Consumer dental spending in August 2026 was down 2.4% year to date.
The ADA's own reading: fewer patients going to the dentist, fewer patients accepting treatment plans, and lower reimbursement.
Why a remake costs more in a slow quarter
When the schedule was full, a remake was an annoyance. Now each new patient is harder to find, and the elective case, a set of veneers or a full arch, is exactly the one a patient can still postpone. A second seat appointment, a delivery that slips past the booked date, a shade the patient does not like: each one is unbilled chair time and a patient who may say no to the next treatment plan.
Full-arch work is the sharpest example. One All-on-X case can be a large share of a practice's quarter, and a remake there costs hours in the chair. That is why dentists are least willing to hand a full arch to a lab they have never tested.
Closer to home: UCSF opens a dental practice in San Mateo
On October 21 UCSF Health Dentistry opened its first location beyond the School of Dentistry's main clinical campus, in San Mateo, sharing a building with UCSF Health primary and specialty care (UCSF News). It offers preventive, restorative, cosmetic, implant and specialty care, with cone beam CT, intraoral scanning and in-office CAD/CAM that lets many patients receive restorations in a single visit. Care is provided by licensed UCSF dentists, not students.
Our reading: for private practices on the Peninsula, that is a well-known name competing for the same patients, with same-day single crowns. Where an independent practice still stands apart is the work a chairside mill does not do well: anterior esthetics and full-arch cases, planned with a lab you can talk to.
What to ask your lab this quarter
- What turnaround can I book the seat appointment around, and when does the clock start?
- If the fit or the shade is not right, what happens, and how fast?
- Will I see the case before it ships?
- Who do I talk to while the case is in the lab?
How we work at Grin Dental Lab
- Crowns, implant crowns, veneers and bridges in 5–7 business days; full-arch cases in 10–14 business days. Days count from an accepted scan or impression.
- We confirm receipt with an exact delivery date, so you can book the seat appointment the day you send the case.
- A free remake within 48 hours if the error is ours.
- Photos for your approval before the case ships.
- Scans from iTero, 3Shape and Medit, or any STL file.
More on how we work: the veneer package and All-on-X full-arch cases. Planning an implant crown? Read our guide to screw-retained vs cement-retained implant crowns. Finished work is on our cases page.
Test us on one case
In a slow quarter, the cheapest way to judge a lab is one case. Send us a single unit, a crown or a veneer, as a free trial case, and talk it through with our lab directly. Call or message us at +1 (415) 425-9175.
- Free trial case: one crown or veneer
- 5–7 business days
- iTero, 3Shape, Medit or STL
- Free remake within 48 hours on a lab error
Sources
About the author
Dentist and CDT · 17 years at the bench · founder of Grin Dental Lab
Vasyl Hryn is a dentist and a Certified Dental Technician (CDT) with 17 years at the bench. He founded Grin Dental Lab at 500 Sutter Street in San Francisco, where we make implant crowns, e.max veneers and All-on-X full-arch zirconia, for dentists only.
