Dentists are facing financial difficulties this year amid rising operating costs, inflation and stagnant reimbursement rates.
Here are seven statistics showing the dental industry’s new economic reality:
1. The cost of dental equipment and supplies increased by 23% since January 2021, while hourly earnings for dental office staff also increased by 23%. Overall inflation during this period has been 27%.
2. Dentists’ confidence in their dental practice dropped in the third quarter, with about half of dentists reporting being “somewhat” or “very” confident in the economic performance of their own practice to the American Dental Association.
3. Building a new, competitive dental practice now costs between $900,000 and $1.7 million.
4. Dental payer reimbursement rates continue to lag behind inflation, according to the ADA. The reimbursement rate index, averaged across all payer types, has increased by 19% since January 2021. Inflation, however, was 27% over the same time period. When looking at the first six months of this year specifically, the reimbursement rate index increased by 1.1%, while inflation was at 1.8%.
5. DSOs have seen price increases ranging between 9% and 20% across a variety of product categories over the last several years, according to Dentira’s Dental Spend Index.
6. The average net income for general practice dentists has decreased nearly $60,000 over the past 16 years when adjusted for inflation, according to the ADA.
7. The average amount of dental school debt has increased by 587% since 1996, according to data from the Education Data Initiative.
