Why Our In-House Ceramics Lab Sets a New Standard for Dental Care in Wagga
By Dr Tom Shumack, BSci (Syd. Uni), BDent (Hons) (Syd. Uni) Grad Dip Clin Dent (Oral Implants) (Syd. Uni) MRACDS(PDS)
At Shumack Dental & Implants, we’re proud to do things a little differently.
One of the most exciting—and unique—aspects of our clinic is our fully equipped, in-house ceramics laboratory. This isn’t just a convenience feature. It’s a deliberate investment in quality, precision, and patient care. And while “ceramics lab” might sound like a behind-the-scenes technicality, it actually has a big impact on your experience as a patient.
So, what does this really mean for you? Let’s take a closer look.
A Personal Touch: We Craft Every Crown Ourselves
Unlike most dental practices that outsource their crowns and veneers to offsite laboratories, we do all our ceramic work ourselves—right here in the practice. Every restoration is carefully designed, milled, stained, and glazed by one of our dentists. That means the same person who prepares your tooth and understands your bite, your smile, and your expectations is also the one creating the final result.
This allows for a level of personalisation that simply isn’t possible when things are sent away.
You’re not just a number in a lab queue—you’re our patient, and we take real pride in crafting something that’s both functional and beautiful.
Technology You’d Expect in a Specialist Lab—Now in Wagga
We’ve equipped our ceramics lab with the kind of technology typically found in top-tier dental laboratories in major cities. Our setup includes:
Two separate Roland milling units – one for wet-milling ceramics and another for dry-milling zirconia and PMMA. This means we can use the most appropriate material and process for each clinical situation without compromise.
High-end digital design software – not the “consumer” versions you find in most chairside systems, but full-featured CAD software that offers superior control and design flexibility.
Dual sintering and ceramic furnaces, including a top-of-the-line Ivoclar CS6 vacuum furnace for precision crystallisation, staining, and glazing.
This level of digital integration allows us to work with extraordinary accuracy—from the initial scan to the final fit. The result? Restorations that don’t just look natural—they behave like real teeth too.
We’re Not About Speed—We’re About Precision
You might have seen ads for “same-day crowns” or “while-you-wait veneers.” And yes, with the equipment we have, we can offer same-day dentistry when it’s clinically appropriate. But we’ve also learned something important over the years:
Quality takes time—and it’s worth the wait.
Unlike systems designed for speed and convenience (like Cerec), our equipment is chosen for its laboratory-grade precision, not how fast it can push out a crown. This means we can take the time needed to get the fit, function, and aesthetics just right—especially for complex implant cases or highly visible front teeth.
Typically, your final restoration will be ready in a couple of days. That short wait often makes the difference between “that’s fine” and “that’s perfect.”
What This Means for You, the Patient
1. Truly Customised Results
Because we control the entire process, every restoration is 100% tailored to you. We can adjust colour, shape, and fit down to the finest detail—something you won’t get from mass-produced, offsite work.
2. Seamless Communication
There’s no back-and-forth with an external technician trying to interpret instructions or photos. Everything happens under one roof, with complete collaboration between design, fabrication, and clinical execution.
3. Fewer Surprises
Because we design and make the restorations ourselves, we know exactly how they’ll seat, how they’ll look, and how they’ll function. That means fewer adjustments, fewer remakes, and no guesswork.
4. Exceptional Aesthetics
Whether it’s a single front tooth or a full smile makeover, we can replicate natural translucency, surface texture, and shade with a high degree of accuracy—right down to tiny customisations like hairline fissures or subtle staining that make restorations look indistinguishable from natural enamel.
Implants, Bridges, and Complex Cases—Handled In-House
For implant dentistry, having an in-house ceramics lab is a game changer.
We can:
Create custom healing abutments to shape the gums around implants
Design and mill screw-retained crowns and bridges for perfect access and hygiene
Produce temporaries and prototypes to test smile aesthetics before finalising treatment
Mill a full-arch temporary prosthesis on the same day as implant surgery. That means you can walk in with a full denture and, in many cases—where bone quality and surgical conditions allow—walk out with a beautiful, fixed restoration. It’s transformative dentistry, completed in one day, without compromising on precision or design control.
We Genuinely Enjoy This Work
Perhaps most importantly, we love this part of dentistry. Designing a crown that looks indistinguishable from a natural tooth, adjusting a glaze to match your smile in real-time, or milling a zirconia bridge with sub-millimetre precision—this is where art meets science, and it’s incredibly rewarding for us as clinicians.
There’s a sense of pride in handing over a finished result that we’ve crafted ourselves from start to finish—and in seeing a patient’s reaction when they first look in the mirror.
Keeping Excellence Local
By offering this level of care right here in Wagga, we’re giving our community access to dental treatment that would typically require travel to a capital city or specialist clinic. Whether it’s a simple crown or a complex implant reconstruction, you can feel confident knowing your dental work is:
Designed and made by your dentist
Completed using world-class equipment
Delivered with the time and attention it truly deserves
Ready to Experience the Difference?
If you’ve ever had a crown that felt too bulky, didn’t look quite right, or just didn’t last the way you’d hoped—this is a different experience altogether.
We’d love to show you what’s possible when dentistry and craftsmanship come together.
📞 Call us on (02) 6921 2333
🌐 Visit www.shumackdental.com.au to book online
At Shumack Dental & Implants, your dental care isn’t just delivered—it’s handcrafted.