While I don't think this statistic is Earth shattering, I do think it bears reinforcing to folks in the profession. In 2021 there was greater spending for dental services than in the years preceding the 2020 appearance of Covid-19.
I know that we certainly noticed that in our office. It seemed to me that with folks being cooped up due to shelter at home rulings... paired with things like entertainment expenses being saved there was a definite interest in doing something good for yourself. We actually saw several folks who came in as new patients that had been putting off dental work for years who were excited to take care of their needs.
However, me talking about it isn't much of a reliable data point. One of the things that I love about the ADA (and a reason I've been a member since before I graduated) is simply that they represent dentistry and can provide incredible insights into the profession. Lately, the association's statisticians have been hard at work sending out surveys that they can compile into salient data points. What they have discovered is that what we saw in our office was not a strange statistical aberration.
It seems that, yes, spending DID go up for dental needs once folks could get back out into civilization and begin to again live their lives. Things are now starting to head back down into their normal ranges again, but I still think there is a lot we can learn about dental spending.
I'm not sure if this information is only available to members or not, but you can see the info by following this link. If the info IS behind a paywall, you should just go ahead and pay your dues. The ADA is the unified voice for dentistry in America and they deserve our support.
No comments:
Post a Comment