General dentist and ortho outlook

[dentite24]

Basically, what are the current outlooks for these fields?:

Do you think the general dentist population will ever become over-saturated in the future? And, will corporate dentistry (like Aspen) eventually take over like it has in pharmacy and optometry (going away from private practices)?
And, how is the overall outlook for orthodontists? I know it is extremely hard to land a ortho residency in the first place, and it's a long time in school and will be a very expensive route. So, if you're gonna put that much time, effort, care, and money into something, you gotta know if it's worth getting in to.

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[Cold Front]

Personally, I think general dentistry will always have the best outlook than all other specialties.

With the advent of early childhood education and preventative dentistry, will reduce the chances of major dental treatments like Endo, pros, and even pedo - since most pedo cases will shift towards special needs patient and OR hospital cases. Remember, some 80% of pediatric patients start and remain at a general dentist office. Ortho specialty is also moving towards big cases, and growingly conceding to a variety of other Ortho treatments offered at a general dentist office; Invisalign, fast braces, 6 months braces and even veneers for adult patients who are not interes in traditional Ortho braces. Yes, some orthodontists will disagree with this, but Ortho 20 years ago looks different than today's scope of cases, any orthodontist will agree to that.

General dentistry has its fair share of doubts. In 1950's, 99% of dentists worked in solo practice office. Today, that number is 60%, the other 40% is either corporate chains or large multi-office group practices. The future does not favor solo practices, and could make general dentistry less attractive. Not to mention the dental therapists/mid-level providers who will cut into the services of general dentistry, if they do continue to pace on with their current plans.

Growing high student loans debt will make any future dentist or specialist face great financial challenges in their career, which could make the profession as a whole less desirable in the long term.

This is merely a personal observation, but the trend strongly supports all the factors I mentioned.

 

[johnho771]

I think there was a post a few months ago from an orthodontist on these forms. I remember him being dissapointed with the ortho prospects and seemed to favor the prospects of his gp colleauges.

 

[cacajuate]

General dentistry has its fair share of doubts. In 1950's, 99% of dentists worked in solo practice office. Today, that number is 60%, the other 40% is either corporate chains or large multi-office group practices. .

Where did you get the 60%/40% from?

 

[Cold Front]

Where did you get the 60%/40% from?

Dental Economics
http://www.dentaleconomics.com/arti...-multipractice-ownership-part-1-planning.html

 

[Endo16]

If that is the case Cold Front then all specialists will drop their specialty license and work as GP very soon. We'll join our GP colleagues soon, but wonder who is going to take a referral for broken files, pt in pain with missed MB2, or C shape canals. I will prep my crowns under scope and place implants as a future GP, and still love Endo

 

[Cold Front]

If that is the case Cold Front then all specialists will drop their specialty license and work as GP very soon. We'll join our GP colleagues soon, but wonder who is going to take a referral for broken files, pt in pain with missed MB2, or C shape canals. I will prep my crowns under scope and place implants as a future GP, and still love Endo

If that is the case Cold Front then all specialists will drop their specialty license and work as GP very soon. We'll join our GP colleagues soon, but wonder who is going to take a referral for broken files, pt in pain with missed MB2, or C shape canals. I will prep my crowns under scope and place implants as a future GP, and still love Endo

There will always be specialists, I never said they will be extinct.

40-50 years ago, less that 10% of all dentists were specialists. Today, they are close to 1 in 4. That's probably due to the exceptional growth of pediatric dentists over the past few decades, thanks to the baby boomers.

However, specialist numbers overall will not be growing the same way they did in the past, in fact they are expected to decline due to overall oral health improving in the US.

Per CDC, tooth loss and dental caries are declining (and will continue to decline) for all age groups, except for certain lower socioeconmic demographics. That's good for society, and certainly will have an impact on the economics of dentistry as a profession in the future, particularly on specialists who treat the serious consequences of dental caries; Endo and OR cases.