The landscape of dentistry is ever-changing: shifting demographics, transitioning business models, technological evolutions and an ongoing pandemic are transforming the industry as a whole. LMT examines how these developments are influencing your client base and, ultimately,
the laboratory community.
TREND: Group practices increasing, ownership decreasing.
Gone are the days of the “average” dentist being a solo practitioner who owns his practice. Consider these stats from the ADA’s Health Policy Institute (HPI):
- In 2021, the percentage of private practice dentists in solo practice dropped below the halfway mark for the first time, to 46.2%.
- Following a trend we’ve already seen among physicians, dental practice ownership has fallen from 85% to 73% since 2005.
These trends are fueled to a large degree by the growth of corporate dentistry and Dental Support Organizations (DSOs). They will likely...
