As a dentist or dental technician, you know the importance of having reliable and high-quality dental equipment and you want to make sure you’re getting the best quality products available.
When it comes to finding the best suppliers of dental equipment in the London area, and indeed the UK, there are many options to choose from and it’s important to do your research before taking the plunge.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss some important factors to consider when choosing a dental equipment supplier.
So, whether you’re looking for new equipment or just want to explore your options, read on for some helpful tips!
First Impressions Count
Where to start?
Many dental professionals will start with a search of potential suppliers’ websites. You’ll get an immediate feel for the supplier and perhaps even start to filter down your equipment choices based on the information on the website.
If you decide to fill in a contact form for a callback or to arrange a demo from the website, the response time for you to hear back from the supplier is often a good indicator of their levels of customer service and responsiveness.
Alternatively, you may have had a potential supplier recommended to you via a colleague and decide to make your first contact by phone. Again, you’ll get an immediate impression of the company, how knowledgeable and friendly its customer service team is and their ability to meet your requirements, all from that initial point of contact.
Do they represent top dental brands?
Which suppliers offer the top dental brands? You may well have a favoured brand in mind. One that you’ve used before or heard great things about, so this may help you with your search.
The most recognised and reputed dental brands across the world get the top picks of the best distributors and will have stringent requirements in place when awarding distributorships. After all, their own reputations are at stake here too.
So, our advice is to look at what brands a dental equipment supplier offers in their product portfolio. The top global dental equipment companies will only do business with distributors whose sales & customer service teams are properly trained on their products and whose service engineers carrying out routine or unplanned maintenance are factory trained.
And offer the latest product ranges?
This goes hand in hand with the branding section above. If you’re looking for some new kit, the chances are you’d like something sleek and modern from the latest ranges, whether you’re talking about a new dental chair or imaging unit for your dental practice or upgraded equipment for your dental lab.
Again, you’ll soon get the idea of who is offering cutting edge kit by having a browse on their website or making a quick call into the office.
Finding the Dream Team
So, you’ve got your eye on a couple of pieces of new, shiny equipment and it may well be available from more than one supplier. We know that. That’s life, but who are you going to put your faith in?
Sure, pricing is important and we’ll cover that later, but so is the relationship with the supplier.
In most cases a piece of equipment for your dental surgery or laboratory will last 7-10 years, so picking a team who you can work with, who offer industry-leading customer service and who are going to be around to support you over the lifetime of your equipment is really important. You don’t want to be left high and dry after a couple of years with a supplier who no longer exists!
Choose a well established, long standing supplier with a professional and experienced team and, hey we’d say, if you can find a bunch of people who love the dental business and are great to work with, well that’s just an added bonus too!
After sales service must be second to none too
We’ll cover the importance of high quality after sales service in a separate blog, but suffice to say it’s really important. All kit needs maintaining to keep it in tip top working order, enabling you to keep a healthy flow of patients coming through your surgery.
Location & Response Time
Also consider where the supplier is located themselves. This is particularly important for dental practices in the London area, where travel time for the supplier to get to you may be extended if they are based outside of the area.
Their ability to support you will be impacted by the distance they need to travel to support you. And in the London area, we all know that even covering the shortest of distances can take a long time, so choosing a supplier with a local office and service support engineers will rapidly improve their response times to you.
Competitive Prices
You want the best deal, right? Of course you do!
But remember, there is always an element of ‘you get what you pay for’.
Seek out a supplier whose pricing for your project is fair, clear and, yes, competitive. It may not be the cheapest, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the best deal for you overall. Look at what the pricing does include and, perhaps more importantly, what it doesn’t, before committing your hard earned surgery cash to a project.
Ready to choose? Why not consider Blueprint Dental?
At Blueprint Dental, we’re pretty sure we can tick all the boxes we mention above.
Blueprint Dental is different and we’re proud of that fact.
Located in south west London, we are dedicated to providing our customers with the best possible and a deeply personal service, whether you’re a dentist or dental technician.
We pride ourselves on being the most recommended and trusted source of dental equipment and service in the London area, indeed in the UK as a whole. We carry only top-of-the-line products from leading global brands, so you can rest assured knowing that you’re getting the best possible value for your money. Plus, our team of experienced professionals is always on hand to help you find exactly what you need, no matter what your needs may be.
Make us your first port of call and contact us today to learn more about our products and services can help you and your patients.