Setup & Manage Laboratories in Dental4Windows

Setup & Manage Laboratories in Dental4Windows

Listed below are instructions on how to add a new laboratory, add new lab staff, setup lab fees and add or remove lab stages. 

​Add a New Laboratory Category of Work

Laboratory Categories of Work are the type of work a Lab completes. For example, Whitening Trays, Dentures and Crown and Bridges.
  1. Go to Location Setup > Location tab
  2. Record menu > Services...
    1. Select the relevant service (for lab)

    2. Click Categories of Work
      1. Click Add
      2. Enter new categories 
      3. Click OK

    3. Click OK

Add New Laboratory

Each Laboratory used - including in-house - must be entered to enable effective tracking of jobs. 
  1. Go to Laboratories > Laboratories tab
  2. Record menu > New Record / 
    1. Name: Type the name of the Laboratory. E.g. Crowns are Us
    2. In-House: Tick if this Lab is an in-house Lab
    3. Add contact details and other information known about this Lab
    4. Allowed Technical Work
      1. Tick Show all available options
        1. Tick the relevant Category of Work for this Lab
        2. Select the Lab Sheet form being sent

          1. Form "C&B": Crown and Bridge

          2. Form "D": Dentures

Add Laboratory Staff

Laboratory Staff can be entered - optional - to assign jobs to specific people. This is generally used for in-house laboratories, otherwise external labs assign jobs among their own team. Lab staff will show in some drop lists of Dental4Windows. 
  1. Go to Laboratories > Lab Staff tab
  2. If working in a multi-location environment, select the Location
  3. Select the Laboratory to add the employee to
  4. Operations menu > New Record / 
    1. Enter the Title, Surname and Firstname to save the employee file
    2. Fill in other known details of the employee (if any)

Setup Laboratory Related Items

The Lab module allows the association of jobs with specific items performed on patients. This means there is a relationship between lab jobs and the items performed (or planned in the Treatment Plan) on patients.

It is up to each practice to choose how to define that relationship. For example use an existing item, such as “615 – Full Crown Veneered” or add a new item "CROWNF". 

A dental laboratory might use a limited number of items for clinic billing purposes. For example the Crown and Bridge lab may have only five general items which they deal with, such as:

  1. Porcelain Fused to Metal
  2. Post and cores
  3. Full metal crowns
  4. Full porcelain crowns
  5. Implant crowns

Add Items for Laboratory Job Use

  1. Go to Location Setup > Items tab
  2. Select Lab Related Category
  3. Select the relevant SubCategory, or click SubCategory to add a new one
  4. Click Procedure
    1. Item Code: Enter the new item
    2. Description: Enter the description of the item
    3. Category of Work: Select from the drop list

Set Existing Items for Laboratory Use

  1. Go to Location Setup > Items tab
  2. Highlight the item to be set for laboratory use
    1. Category of Work: Select from the drop list

    Setup Laboratory Fees

    It is optional to add fees against laboratory item numbers. These fees will be automatically added to the lab job. Alternatively (recommended), do not setup lab fees and simply add the fee in Treatment tab once the laboratory invoice has been received and paid. 
    1. Go to Laboratories > Fees tab
    2. Select the Laboratory
      1. Initial Setup
        1. Enter the Fee Level in to new level
        2. Click OK

      2. Additional Setup
        1. Record menu > New Record
        2. Enter the name of the Fee Level
    3. Select the relevant Fee Level
    4. Click  to create a new period, enter new period start date

    5. Enter the fees against relevant items

    Add New Laboratory Stages

    Each lab job can have the stage of work added and updated along the way. Ensure all stages are entered to enable accurate tracking. 
    1. Go to Location Setup > System Tables tab
    2. System Tables Group: Laboratory Stages
      1. Click Add
      2. Enter the new stage(s)
      3. Place a tick in Active

    Remove Laboratory Stages

    Existing Laboratory Stages can be either made inactive or deleted. Deletion is only available if the stage has never been used. 
    1. Go to Location Setup > System Tables tab
    2. System Tables Group: Laboratory Stages
      1. Select the relevant stage
      2. Remove the tick from Active or click Delete

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