How to Analyze Pricing and Profit: PFZ vs. FCZ

It’s fair to say that layered porcelain has been replaced to a large degree by milled full contour zirconia (FCZ). Many of the small- and medium-sized laboratory owners I talk to are disenchanted with the fee structure of FCZ restorations; they feel forced into the FCZ price wars, are struggling with reduced demand for porcelain-fused-to-zirconia (PFZ) restorations and feel they’ve lost the unique signature they once had with layered ceramics. 

If that sounds like you, let me suggest another possible strategy: reducing your PFZ fee for your current accounts—or for doctors you may have lost due to price—to be more in line with your FCZ fee. This would allow you to do more layered ceramics, while maintaining the same profit level as you would with FCZ and fabricating fewer units. 

Reducing fees is not something I’d normally suggest—and it’s not necessarily the right strategy for everyone—but hear me out. A lower PFZ...