Dental implants have reached maturity as a service. In the early days of the 1980s and 1990s, dentists were still debating about how to make osseointegration happen. Today, we have a solid understanding of higher-level concepts such as A-P spread, screw fatigue, and peri-implant mucositis. Implant dentistry has become more refined and predictable in just about every aspect except one: profit.
I’ve often heard dentists fondly recall the days when six implants and a full-arch prosthesis could fetch a fee in the many tens of thousands of dollars. And dentists deserved to charge that much. There was a bigger backlog of patients wanting to get out of dentures and fewer clinicians possessing the knowledge to help them do so. A large demand for a revolutionary new service and a small supply of providers meant the price point could be high. But as more dentists learned how to provide implant therapy and as the Greatest Generation and baby boomers had their needs met, the supply and demand curves began to shift.
Those shifts can be unpleasant. Today, when a lower-fee PPO patient receives the best materials and lab work money can buy, we can find ourselves in the unfortunate position of losing money while providing care.
Fortunately, there are solutions. Innovative manufacturers are creating quality materials at lower price points. Dentists are leveraging technologies such as CBCT and guided surgery to anticipate costly complications. And dentists are setting their fees based on their true overhead and targeted profitability.
I advise dentists to compete on service and not on price. If our sole unique offering to patients is a low fee, then we are entering a race to the bottom. However, we would be wise to pay attention to our costs and our fees, especially when it comes to implant care. The market is demanding that we find ways to make dentistry more affordable. Your profit shouldn’t be an accident.
