A case study on cast partial dentures courtesy of Michael Arnold from Bellarine Dental Castings.
Andy Lukic is the owner of Castodent, one of Perth’s most highly regarded dental labs. In this case study, we trace the development of Andy’s career, the Castodent lab business and the long-term relationship with Dentaurum.
Advancing and learning, step by step
Castodent and Andy Lukic both enjoy an excellent reputation among their clinical and Government clients. It’s a reputation well-earned over several decades. Castodent specialises in prosthetics and metal cast dentures.
Andy’s career as a dental technician began straight out of school. He started an apprenticeship and spent the first six years working with one of Perth’s most experienced lab technicians. It was a time of learning the ropes and developing his passion for the craft he retains today.
At just 21 years of age, Andy was asked to run another pre-existing lab business. This became a second period of continued learning as a technician. But also allowed Andy to develop an understanding of the business skills required to look after customers, provide leadership to staff and make progress as a business.
In 1986, while still only 25 years old, Andy realised his ambition to start his own lab business when an opportunity arose to rent a room at the back of a dental clinic. A disciplined approach to saving saw him accumulate enough money to pay cash for the casting machines and other equipment at start-up.
Once again, learning was at the centre of Andy’s approach. “Operating the businesses from a clinical practice provided first-hand knowledge of the clinician’s work and patient care. I could fully understand the need for perfect fit, comfort and aesthetics”, said Andy.
Some clients followed Andy to his new business. Then, as Castodent’s reputation grew, the momentum of recommendations grew further, and the business thrived.
Over time, Castodent expanded to become a full-service dental lab. A significant contract with the WA Government provided scale and the capacity for further investment in new premises.
Today, Castodent employs eight people. Andy and his wife, Bronwyn, run the business. It’s a winning combination that covers the business's technical, client service and administration functions. Andy is also eager to laud all his people, especially Castodent’s senior technician, Roman: “An absolute gem who’s been with us for 23 years”, says Andy.
Quality philosophy
Andy is a straightforward person who brings an uncomplicated approach to business. First and foremost is ensuring the best possible client experience. “That means ensuring quality in everything we do and removing problems for our clients”, says Andy.
“Quality means precise fit, natural aesthetics, patient comfort, and durability. Our clinical clients must be able to rely on what we do without question all the time. Putting quality first makes problems scarce. But if there is a problem, we fix it without question.
“Quality also means consistency. Our clients need to know what to expect from our appliances and the service level we provide, with no surprises.
“Sticking to these principles continues to work for us”.
Underneath the calm drive for quality is an enormous passion for his craft. “I love creating the product - I have a passion for it. Every job and every patient are unique. We can never forget that what we do is for patients' dental health. At the end of the day, it’s all about the patient.
“So, what we do to help clinicians to provide patient care is important work. The positive feedback we get from them from time to time is very satisfying. It’s nice to be recognised in that way”.
Dentaurum helps every day
When asked about Castodent’s relationship with Dentaurum, Andy is immediately enthusiastic. “Dentaurum is fantastic to deal with. The service is the best, everything gets addressed, and there’s never a problem. Nothing gets missed. If we order before midday, we receive our delivery the next day, which is remarkable given the distance from Sydney to Perth”.
“The whole team is so professional and goes out of their way to ensure we get whatever we need, be that information or products.
The stock of what we need is almost always available. Even during COVID, when supply chains broke down, Dentaurum took extra care to ensure that stock limitations were carefully managed.
“I first came across Dentaurum over 20 years ago when one of our suppliers could not deliver a product we relied on. We found Dentaurum had a suitable product, and we’ve never gone back. The whole system provides faultless quality and consistency.
“When working with cast partial dentures, you often work with a combination of materials that behave differently during manufacturing – different rates of expansion or retraction, for example. What I’ve always found with Dentaurum is that the workability is entirely predictable. The performance is consistent and flawless as long as I stay within the window of conditions recommended in the technical information. Batch to batch, year to year. It’s an extraordinary level of quality that supports what we aim to provide our clients."
“We work in a labour-intensive industry where the cost of failure or rectification is far greater than any cost saving that can be made by cutting corners. So, we don’t cut corners, and we know using Dentaurum is part of that consistently repeatable approach”.
Future vision
While being calm and considered, Andy isn’t one to sit still. His idea is to create a virtual full-service lab with other like-minded technicians situated within his single Bentley, Perth-based facility. To bring together specialists across all dental lab disciplines to provide a best-in-class one-stop shop for clinic clients. Sharing a location will bring efficiencies to all businesses.
“Collaboration is something we can make more of. There will be benefits for our clients and the participants", says Andy.
