From Outside In
Inside Dental Technology delivers updates on digital workflows, materials, lab techniques, and innovation in dental technology through expert articles and videos.
October 1, 2014
Volume 5, Issue 10, October 2014
Page(s): p. 6
For those standing outside the industry, dentistry is an appealing investment that shows resiliency, high profit margins, and stronger than average growth. Consider two recent 2014 IbisWorld market reports1,2 on the economic health of the dental industry. On our side of the chair, the research summary describes this segment of the dental industry as one that is “in the growth state of its life cycle.” Pointing to two major factors—the burgeoning elderly population and growing awareness of the link between healthy teeth and general health—the report projects the $5 billion dental laboratory industry will contribute to the GDP at an annualized rate of 3.1% over the next decade. Citing the use of technologies and lower costs to handle and deliver the increased demand for restorative services, the report was bullish on the long-term market success of the dental technology industry.
With no single business in either segment of dentistry controlling a dominant market share, outsiders looking in on such a fragmented industry envision the opportunity for the formation of a larger, monolithic business structure on both sides of the equation. As the profession struggles with its own day-to-day economic realities, the question becomes, “Will dentistry succumb to these economic forces or write its own chapter in the history of healthcare?”
Pam Johnson
Editor-in-Chief
pjohnson@aegiscomm.com
