Why does overall dental spending continue to decline in inflation-adjusted terms?
Three big factors compound. First, dentistry is increasingly perceived as a discretionary expense rather than essential healthcare. Patients defer dental work when budgets tighten because they can, in ways they cannot defer urgent medical care. Second, prevention has worked dramatically over decades. Fluoride in water, widespread tooth brushing and flossing habits, electric toothbrushes, regular cleanings, and unintended prevention from medications like statins that reduce systemic inflammation have all combined to reduce the absolute volume of dental disease in younger cohorts. People under 45 who had real prevention growing up simply need less dentistry than prior generations. Third, the economic position of the middle class has weakened in real terms across the industrialized West. Record GDP and corporate profits coexist with fewer workers earning wages that keep pace with inflation. A growing share of the population with major dental needs has been priced out of paying for the work through their personal labor value. All three trends compound in the same direction. The pie shrinks for practices dependent on the broad middle of the market.
If the answers you are finding here resonate with you, my team and I work with a small group of clients each year. The next step is a complimentary Discovery Consultation and Practice Review with Dr. McAnally.
