You’ve probably heard about “The Golden Age of Dentistry.” It’s a mythical period around the 1970’s to 1980’s when dentist success stories abounded. Dentists were purchasing second homes, jet-setting around the globe on vacations, and eased into an extremely comfortable retirement when they were ready, even if that significantly before retirement age.
It’s a mythical period because it only shows what was possible for some dentists. It ignores the struggles of many doctors during that same time frame to fully realize financial success.
What we’re living through now certainly isn’t another Golden Age for dentists. Corporate dentistry, pretty much undreamed-of four decades ago, has become a major player in the provision of dental services. More dental schools are graduating record numbers of new dentists each year, and those new graduates are fuel for the corporate machine.
Reliance on dental insurance is an inescapable fact of life for almost all practices, limiting the amount and type of dentistry that patients are willing to pay for. Recently, we’ve seen a trend to shift more of the cost burden to patients, making them even more reluctant to spend on anything other than dental care.
And there are more practicing dentists right now than at any time in U.S. history.
One More Thing
According to a 2017 report by Brookings, inflation-adjusted wages are only 10 percent above their 1973 levels. When you think how the cost of providing dental care – and everything else – has soared in the last 45 years, it’s obvious why people are reluctant to spend on dentistry. They’re focused on keeping the lights on, food on the table, and their families clothed.
In fact, CNBC reported last year that 78 percent of workers live paycheck to paycheck. It’s not surprising that many, many dentists advertise low price. It seems like the only way to get new patients through the door.
Of course, that last figure ignores the 22 percent of workers who have savings, have money left over after each paycheck, and can buy things they want, rather than just what they need. They can afford to pay more for the right dentist.
If you want your dental practice to be all it can be, you need a significant number of those “better” patients. SmartBox specializes in helping you attract not only more patients, but better patients as well.
The SmartBox Difference
SmartBox helps more than 550 dentists on three continents succeed on their own terms. We provide a steady stream of new patients so our doctors can focus on doing the dentistry, rather than overseeing their marketing
Dr. Thomas J. Feder of Belleville, Illinois is extremely happy with what SmartBox has accomplished for his practice. He said, “I’ve had more new patients than I’ve ever had. My income for the year last year was up, and this year is going, the way it’s going, it’s going to beat that by several percentage points. We’re doing a lot better this year than we did last year, and I was extremely happy with last year. If I had it to do over, there’s absolutely no doubt I would join SmartBox.”
If you’d like to see what SmartBox can do for your practice, even in the face of corporate dentistry and declining insurance reimbursements, here’s your first step.
Click on the green “Get Started” button at the top of the page. Schedule your free, no-obligation Practice Discovery Session
. Invest 25 minutes in a phone call, following which we’ll send your your free, completely personalized Patient Attraction Roadmap.
The times are changing for dentists, but with SmartBox you can secure your practice’s future and experience your own “Golden Age of Dentistry.”
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