Here are seven statistics showing how the dental practice landscape is evolving:
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 ADA.
3. About 25% of dentists have dropped out of insurance networks so far this year, while 5.9% have joined networks.
4. At least 175 dental practice locations were sold to DSOs, private equity groups and other buyers in the first half of the year, according to a July report from TUSK Practice Sales.
5. The next generation of dentists is moving away from private practice ownership for a number of reasons, including the high cost of building a new practice and student loan debt upon graduation, according to an Aug. 19 report from TUSK Practice Sales.
6. Building a new, competitive dental practice now costs between $900,000 and $1.7 million.
7. New patient acquisition is the top driver of dental practice growth, according to a July analysis of more than 8,500 dental practices.
