Travel in Packs

Big game hunter Peter H. Capstick once wrote a book called Death in the Long Grass, in which he tells incredible stories about not just hunting lions, but about being hunted by them. Getting a taste for human blood, these lions would sneak into camp very late in at night, stepping over several men without waking them, in order to choose their prey and drag them off into the night. One large cat was said to have stalked and killed over 100 men.

Since a charging lion can cover over 100 yards in just three seconds, Capstick told how he would always keep his ears open when he slept; always ready to deal with the impending danger.

But what can we do? How can we possibly defend ourselves from a silent enemy that can pounce upon us when we are most vulnerable?

For one thing, become a member of your trade association, at a state and national level. The National Association of Dental Laboratories helps me sleep better at night, knowing I have someone who is helping to keep his or her eyes and ears open, for anything that may affect my business. Whether is was acting on our behalf in having the associations legal counsel interpret the HIPPA legislation, and working on our behalf in dealing with the American Dental Association, or in making the DAMAS program available to help laboratory owners establish Good Manufacturing Practices as mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The NADL also provides educational programs especially relevant to dental laboratory owners and managers, and networking opportunities like the recent Vision 21 meeting in Las Vegas, Nev.

Another powerful resource and early warning system for dental laboratories is the Internet. Electronic Webzines like JDT Unbound, and others from the medical device manufacturing and regulatory affairs publications can help you keep abreast of events, and possible legislative issues that might be important.

As dental laboratories move from a largely unnoticed cottage industry to one where we are bona fide, medical device manufacturers competing in a global market place and facing threats from in office CAD/CAM technologies to offshore labs, it becomes more and more important that we as business owners be constantly aware of the changes taking place around us, and always keeping in touch with the ever changing landscape in which we live.

Peter Capstick wrote riveting tales of suspense on the Dark Continent, but there are plenty of perils in owning a small business, and a dental laboratory in particular. It helps to travel in packs.