Member Article

New laboratory built in Ashington as Waterside expands

Waterside Dental Laboratory has expanded its range of services after building a new laboratory at its Ashington base.

The company, which supplies dental prosthetics to over 100 dentists across the North East, has recruited a new team of technicians to make crowns and bridges so as to provide a comprehensive offer to its clients.

It is also investing in state of the art equipment. A Wieland milling unit linked to CAD/CAM 3D design software allows dentists to send a scan of the patient’s mouth direct to the laboratory, avoiding the need for casts and dramatically reducing the time taken to create and deliver a perfectly crafted prosthetic.

Paul set up Waterside Dental with his wife Ashley in 2010, initially with six members of staff. They now employ 19 people, mainly highly skilled dental technicians, and are aiming to recruit more.

Paul Laidlaw, owner of Waterside Dental, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer this new service to our clients. Dentists are impressed with our high quality products and short lead-times, supported by daily deliveries to many parts of the North East. Now they can enjoy our craftsmanship and rapid turnaround on an extended range of products.”

Ashley said: “The expansion project was a lot of hard work. But we now have excellent facilities and room to take on additional staff as the business grows.

“We received a grant and business support from Arch, the Northumberland Development Company’s Business Growth Programme which really helped.”