Global dental industry trends, with dentist predictions for 2017. A look into the crystal ball to see what will take place in the dentist industry in 2017.

1. DENTAL INDUSTRY
TRENDS
2017 PREDICTIONS

2. 2
More than 1 million dentists practice
worldwide, according to the World Dental
Federation (FDI). Spending on dental
services varies from country to country.
In the US, dental services account for
4.5% of total health expenditures,
compared to 8% in Canada.
About 135,000 dentists' offices operate in
the US, generating annual revenue of
about $110 billion.
In contrast, in Australia there are around
13,525 dentists generating an annual
revenue of about $10 billion.

3. 3
Demand for dental services is driven
largely by population growth, especially
among children ages 5 to 19, who may
require prophylactic and orthodontic work,
and adults over 55, who may need more
specialized dental work.
Profitability depends on efficient
operations. Large practices have
advantages in marketing, purchasing, and
being able to offer a wider range of
services.
Small practices can compete successfully
by providing superior service or by
focusing on an underserved region.

4. 4
The US industry is highly fragmented: the
50 largest practices generate about 5% of
revenue.
The dental industry has benefited from
favorable demographic trends,
technological advances and mounting
awareness of oral hygiene over the past
five years.
Furthermore, private dental clinics are one
of the US most profitable industries.
Moreover, the industry is less dependent
on health insurer reimbursements than the
healthcare sector as a whole, due to

5. 5
patients largely paying for dental
treatments out of pocket, lowering
administrative costs.
Profit is expected to over the five years to
2016, due to many practices joining dental
practice management companies (DPMCs),
which are large companies that provide
services for multiple dental offices,
lowering operational costs.
Dentists perform a range of services that
typically fall under general or specialty
dentistry.
According to data from the Henry J. Kaiser
Family Foundation, accounting for about

6. 6
79.9% of dentists in the industry, general
dentists provide services such as
preventive care, diagnosis and treatment
planning, as well as procedures, such as
fillings, dentures and extractions.
Specialty dentistry, which includes
endodontics, oral surgery, orthodontics,
periodontics, prosthodontics and pediatric
dentistry, makes up an estimated 20.1%
of practicing dentists.
Compiled by ​Lentini Dental​ - ​Cosmetic Dentistry Melbourne