§1What this business is
A dental laboratory casts models from the dentist's impression, waxes and casts metal frames in an induction caster, layers and fires porcelain, cures acrylic and flexible dentures, and finishes and polishes each piece before delivery to the clinic. The report's unit also presses acrylic teeth sets and runs a small clinic with a dental chair and X-ray.
Capacity: Monthly output in the sales sheet includes 300 sets of 28 teeth, 1,000 student teeth sets, 50 removable partial dentures, 20 complete dentures, 110 crowns and bridges and 100 dowel pins.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A trained dental technician or dentist with clinic contacts.
Who it is not for
Someone without dental-technology training.
Advantages
- Dentists outsource most lab work
- Each piece is made to order — little unsold stock
- Skilled work earns good value per piece
- Dental clinics keep growing in towns
Drawbacks
- Needs trained dental technicians, who are scarce
- Porcelain and casting equipment are costly
- Remakes and fit problems eat profit
- Large labs with digital CAD/CAM compete on price
Skills you need
- Casting and porcelain work
- Acrylic and flexible denture processing
- Shade matching
- Dealing with dentists
Why difficulty 4/5: Needs scarce technical skill and costly precision equipment.
§3Market
Who buys
- Dental clinics and dentists
- Dental colleges (student teeth sets)
- Hospital dental departments
How it sells
- Direct pickup and delivery with clinics
- Supply contracts with dental colleges
Good to know
- The report says India has over 5,000 dental laboratories and a shortage of dental technicians.
- It also notes that a large share of dental products is imported.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Porcelain furnace | 1 | ₹3,50,000 |
| Flexible denture machine | 1 | ₹2,05,000 |
| R.V.G. (radio-visiography) unit | 1 | ₹95,000 |
| 3-D Master shade kit | 1 | ₹90,000 |
| Induction casting machine | 1 | ₹85,000 |
| Dental chair with accessories | 1 | ₹45,000 |
| Laser welding | 1 | ₹30,500 |
| Sand blaster | 1 | ₹30,000 |
| Spot welding, autoclave, X-ray unit, apex locator, electro-polisher, duplicating flask, micro motors and hand pieces, compressor and other items | 32 types, 45 pieces in all | ₹12,37,700 for all production machines |
| Tooling and accessories | 466 pieces of 48 types | ₹3,66,600 |
From: PMEGP sample project report — Artificial Dentures and Allied Items (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- Acrylic heat-cure and cold-cure powder and liquid (white and pink)₹87,000 a month in the report
- Dental stone, die stone, plaster of Paris, wax sheet, alginate₹39,000 a month
- Wironium metal, porcelain metal, cast partial denture metal₹25,000, ₹15,000 and ₹35,000 per kg
- Silica-bonded investment material₹2,400 per kg
- LPG, oxygen, casting wax and coalfuel for casting and furnaces
From: PMEGP sample project report — Artificial Dentures and Allied Items (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam
- GST
- Check with the state drug controller whether your products need registration under the Medical Devices Rules, 2017
- AERB registration for the dental X-ray unit
- Biomedical waste authorisation if you run a clinic
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
Made for PMEGP; CGTMSE covers the collateral-free loan.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: plant & machinery ₹16.68 L (production machines ₹12.38 L, electrification ₹0.62 L, tooling ₹3.67 L, hand tools ₹0.02 L), furniture ₹0.50 L, pre-operative ₹0.05 L, margin for working capital ₹3.90 L = ₹21.13 L; premises rented.
Working capital: Monthly running cost about ₹3.9 L (wages ₹0.90 L, materials ₹2.13 L, utilities ₹0.635 L, other ₹0.235 L); ₹3.90 L working-capital margin in the project cost.
Year not printed on the report; its wage rates (₹110–150 a day) are old — check current machinery prices and wages.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
- HS codes are from the WCO HS 2022 list; confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker.
- You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Technician turnover
- Precious-metal and material price rises
- Remake costs
- Late payment by clinics
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working dental laboratory (dentures, crowns and bridges) unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam, GST), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Dental Laboratory (Dentures, Crowns and Bridges)?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.