Independent Dentist-Countering Poor Economy The independent dentist is never more so at risk of losing his/her practice given the poor state of the economy and a shrinking middle class. My program members know that I keep talking about something called the "new dental economy" which is literally the permanent change in consumer discretionary spending and buying power in the post-credit bust world.  Anyone practicing in the industrialized west minus those who are net exporters (Germany), have significant commodity wealth (Australia, Canada Norway), or who have net capital inflows thanks to short-term interest rates (New Zealand) [...]