Who (which dental practice type) will get hit first and hardest?
The cosmetic/full mouth rehab focused practice, in even a moderately competitive market area, will be the first to get hit and the hardest hit. There is a necessity vs. elective mindset in the market. The farther away you go from family dentistry toward cosmetic/full mouth dentistry – the more “elective” the market perceives the dentistry. The real killer though is the 2.3 trillion in unavailable funding. Between 2001 and the latter part of 2005, those extreme makeovers you were doing were largely funded by home equity lines or loans. Well, that home equity has all but vanished for the vast majority of the population. If you combine an elective perception and lack of available funding, you get a slowdown. In some markets, like the markets mentioned above, a drastic slowdown. What to do? The first thing we recommend is to pay more attention to your existing patient base. There is likely a tremendous opportunity for practice growth within your own patient base. Between 2001 and 2005, you
