A FLOURISHING dental laboratory in the Borders has been crowned king of the implants at a major awards ceremony.

Vision Dental Laboratory was named Best Implant Laboratory at the UK Laboratory Awards in London.

And the Kelso laboratory’s technical director, Wayne Flack, was also named as runner-up in the Best Dental Technician category.

The Laboratory Awards – an annual event aimed at recognising technical excellence in the dental world – draws entries from top dental laboratories across the UK.

Owners Wayne Flack and Richard Snook were all smiles following the ceremony.

Mr Flack told us: “We entered the Best Dental Implant category because dental implant work is right at the very top in terms of technical complexity in the dental technology world.

"Getting the technical aspects right, while also producing an end result for the patient, which looks just like natural teeth, is hugely challenging.

"We knew that doing well in this category would reflect positively on our laboratory as a whole, because successful implant work demands great team work and requires expertise and precision in all aspects of dental technology.

"We knew we were up against the best dental laboratories in the UK but we had no idea how we, as a small specialised laboratory in the Scottish Borders, would do.

"Needless to say, we are delighted to have won!”

Vision Dental Laboratory was established in Hawick a decade ago with a staff of just three.

In 2016 the laboratory relocated to larger premises in Kelso.

And staff numbers have now grown to 12.

The laboratory also has clients in England, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Commercial director Richard Snook added: “We are really thankful to the highly skilled dentists and specialist clinicians who trust us with their laboratory work, are prepared to go the extra mile and communicate with us to the extent needed to produce great outcomes for each patient.

"We have invested in state-of-the-art digital technology over the past few years, which enables us to do the most advanced technical dental work in-house.

"More importantly, we have an amazing team of talented, enthusiastic and dedicated staff in the laboratory.

"Our success is a great tribute to each one of them."