You have your license, your practice is set up and the first appointments are in the calendar. Then one thing remains: filling your cabinets. Which consumables do you need to get started, and how much? This checklist is a starting point for a general practice. Adapt it to the treatments you do and the brands you want to work with.
Hygiene and protection
- Examination gloves in your team's sizes
- Face masks
- Safety glasses or face shields
- Hand sanitizer and hand soap
- Disinfectant and wipes for surfaces
- Sterilization pouches and indicator tape
In every treatment room
- Saliva ejectors and suction tips
- Cups
- Bibs (patient napkins)
- Cotton rolls and gauze
- Barrier covers for the chair, the light and the handles
Examination
- Mirrors, probes and tweezers, in enough sets to sterilize between patients
- Instrument cassettes to store your sets
Anesthesia
- Anesthetic cartridges
- Needles in the lengths you use
- Topical anesthetic
Restorative work
- Composite in the shades you use most
- Bonding agent and etching gel
- Matrix bands and wedges
- Diamond and carbide burs
- Polishing materials
- Articulating paper
Endodontics
- Hand files and a rotary file system
- Irrigation solution and syringes
- Paper points and gutta-percha
- Sealer
Impressions and prevention
- Impression material, such as alginate and A-silicone, and impression trays
- Prophy paste
- Fluoride
How much do you order the first time?
The temptation to stock up generously at the start is big. Don't. You don't know yet how much you use, and a full cabinet of products you rarely use is money sitting still and material that can expire.
- Order for the first few weeks, not for the first six months.
- Buy cheap consumables, like cups and gloves, in larger quantities. Order expensive products in small numbers.
- Keep track of what you use during the first month. After that you can calculate a minimum stock level per product.
Who do you buy from?
Open an account with more than one supplier. Prices and availability vary a lot, and with two or three suppliers you always have an alternative when something runs out. Read what to look for in our article on choosing dental suppliers.
With Swyp you order from all those suppliers from one cart and compare their prices per product. If you put your first orders in a list, you can reorder in a few clicks next time. Still setting up your practice? Then also read our guide to starting your own dental practice in Belgium.
