Competition where I work

[andresmendoza]

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When you open a dental practice, would you expect any competition, or is it much more laid back than restaurants/grocery stores?

I would like to know because everywhere I turn, I see about 1-2 dental offices somewhat close together and I'm just curious to see if they need some type of complex strategy to stay in business. I even look on Google Maps and they're everywhere. There's a screenshot Please wait...

I live in North Carolina which is the reason why I'm asking because it seems flooded out here with dentists.

 

[theleatherwalle]

There is intense competition everywhere across all fields. If you think dental practices are immune from this, you are sorely mistaken.

 

[RemainPositive]

Yes, I believe so, especially in hugely saturated markets like NYC, Cali, Houston. All other personal factors aside (family obligation...ect), I would do a demographic analysis of the area I want to practice before I set up shop.

 

[andresmendoza]

Yes, I believe so, especially in hugely saturated markets like NYC, Cali, Houston. All other personal factors aside (family obligation...ect), I would do a demographic analysis of the area I want to practice before I set up shop.

Great idea, thank you for the input.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

The growth in provider numbers is outpacing demand for services. Unless you go where no one is willing to go, prepare to face competition.

Big Hoss

 

[Typical Average Student]

This is just on one road in Houston... it's not even a main road.

 

[Gyuji]

Small section of a main street and avenue within the Miami metro area where half the population are foreigners.

 

[charlestweed]

There are 3 dental offices right across the street from my office (it's a general dental office that I share with a GP friend). On my side of the street, there are 2 dental offices including mine. Most of my patients don't live in this area. They come because their GPs and their friends refer them to me. Since there were dental/orthodontic offices everywhere, I didn't bother doing demographic analysis when I set up my practice. Two things that I looked at when I chose the office location were cheap rent and good number of available parking spaces for my staff and my patients to park their cars.

Just last week, a new patient told my receptionist that she went to a wrong office. Instead of seeing me, she went to an office that is located in the same strip mall with mine. That office charged her $75 for the dental exam and then they referred her to see an ortho, whom they regularly refer their patients to. And that's when she realized she went to a wrong office. She called our office again to make another appointment and I will see her this Sunday.

 

[psiyung]

On the other side of Houston where I work the pop ratio has gone from 2000:1 to 650:1 in 2 years

 

[2TH MVR]

If you are in a popular location (sunbelt, coastal, major city,) it will be impossible to find any area that won't eventually be saturated. People want to live and work in nice areas. If you find that outlier location with few if any competition in a popular city and set up your practice. Eventually .... the competition will find you. That is a fact.
In saturated areas with plenty of dentists. You will typically have 1 or 2 dominant dental practices per area. They are masters of marketing and business. The rest of the practices in that specific area will be average. Again .... the patient pie can only be cut so many times.
I practice in Phoenix. It is ridiculously saturated with dentists and Corps. Mostly because Arizona attracts many, many residents (mostly from CA lol).

You either deal with the competition .... or practice in a semi-rural/rural area with less competition. I found an area with only ONE dentist. Tok, Alaska. No competition there, but probably hard to find a nice, sunny beach.

 

[ElCubanito]

The dental racket is pretty saturated everywhere...you should become a mechanic, open a little shop in your garage fixing german cars, Audi, BMW. Cash business.

 

[setdoc7]

There are two offices across the street from me. I barely know these dentists. I do fine. Modern office, well decorated. Patients go where they are comfortable.

 

[Cold Front]

When you open a dental practice, would you expect any competition, or is it much more laid back than restaurants/grocery stores?

I would like to know because everywhere I turn, I see about 1-2 dental offices somewhat close together and I'm just curious to see if they need some type of complex strategy to stay in business. I even look on Google Maps and they're everywhere. There's a screenshot Please wait...

I live in North Carolina which is the reason why I'm asking because it seems flooded out here with dentists.

You really should be looking at dentist to population ratios. You could have 10-20 dental offices within 3 miles radius, but if there is 200,000 population within that same radius - that’s 1:10,000 ratio, not including the patients who come to that area for work or shopping, or even drive through the area.


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[psiyung]

You really should be looking at dentist to population ratios. You could have 10-20 dental offices within 3 miles radius, but if there is 200,000 population within that same radius - that’s 1:10,000 ratio, not including the patients who come to that area for work or shopping, or even drive through the area.


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Doesn't matter in big cities anymore. That ratio will change within a few months. Just make sure you get the best location in that area, because dentists will flock there, regardless.

 

[princeafrica]

There are 3 dental offices right across the street from my office (it's a general dental office that I share with a GP friend). On my side of the street, there are 2 dental offices including mine. Most of my patients don't live in this area. They come because their GPs and their friends refer them to me. Since there were dental/orthodontic offices everywhere, I didn't bother doing demographic analysis when I set up my practice. Two things that I looked at when I chose the office location were cheap rent and good number of available parking spaces for my staff and my patients to park their cars.

Just last week, a new patient told my receptionist that she went to a wrong office. Instead of seeing me, she went to an office that is located in the same strip mall with mine. That office charged her $75 for the dental exam and then they referred her to see an ortho, whom they regularly refer their patients to. And that's when she realized she went to a wrong office. She called our office again to make another appointment and I will see her this Sunday.

View attachment 283097

lol @ those two offices right next to each other. must be awkward

 

[Cold Front]

Doesn't matter in big cities anymore. That ratio will change within a few months. Just make sure you get the best location in that area, because dentists will flock there, regardless.

No 2 communities are exactly alike. No 2 dental offices are exactly alike. I learnt that first few months out of school. I was opening a practice from scratch at an area I really liked - but was (still is) relatively saturated. I googled “dentist + zip code” and the red dots in the map results were closely staggered together. So I called at each of those offices and pretended as a potential new patient who moved to the area recently (no crime in doing that!), and then asked the receptionist the following questions relatively quickly - so he/she didn’t have the time to wonder “what’s going on here!?”:

1. What are your office hours? (Google can’t be trusted with the office hours)
2. What insurances do you accept?
3. How long have they been open?
4. How many dentists work at the office? (Again, you cant trust Google on this or the office websites too much).
5. How far booked out are you/can you get me in soon?
6. What is your new patient fees for FFS patients?
7. Do you see kids? (I pretended to have kids, I didn’t!)
8. How many hygienists work at your office?
9. What are your Walk-in/emergency hours?
10. Do you have a specialist who visits the office?

Then I would process the information and find something those offices lacked or the majority of them didn’t have, and then I would make sure I provided those services - and marketed my office as that.

Again, it’s all about threading the needle in big cities. You just have to approach it the right away.


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[gorilla3]

If you are in a popular location (sunbelt, coastal, major city,) it will be impossible to find any area that won't eventually be saturated. People want to live and work in nice areas. If you find that outlier location with few if any competition in a popular city and set up your practice. Eventually .... the competition will find you. That is a fact.
In saturated areas with plenty of dentists. You will typically have 1 or 2 dominant dental practices per area. They are masters of marketing and business. The rest of the practices in that specific area will be average. Again .... the patient pie can only be cut so many times.
I practice in Phoenix. It is ridiculously saturated with dentists and Corps. Mostly because Arizona attracts many, many residents (mostly from CA lol).

You either deal with the competition .... or practice in a semi-rural/rural area with less competition. I found an area with only ONE dentist. Tok, Alaska. No competition there, but probably hard to find a nice, sunny beach.

Time to move to Tok, Alaska and compete with $500 dentures. 🙂

 

[psiyung]

No 2 communities are exactly alike. No 2 dental offices are exactly alike. I learnt that first few months out of school. I was opening a practice from scratch at an area I really liked - but was (still is) relatively saturated. I googled “dentist + zip code” and the red dots in the map results were closely staggered together. So I called at each of those offices and pretended as a potential new patient who moved to the area recently (no crime in doing that!), and then asked the receptionist the following questions relatively quickly - so he/she didn’t have the time to wonder “what’s going on here!?”:

1. What are your office hours? (Google can’t be trusted with the office hours)
2. What insurances do you accept?
3. How long have they been open?
4. How many dentists work at the office? (Again, you cant trust Google on this or the office websites too much).
5. How far booked out are you/can you get me in soon?
6. What is your new patient fees for FFS patients?
7. Do you see kids? (I pretended to have kids, I didn’t!)
8. How many hygienists work at your office?
9. What are your Walk-in/emergency hours?
10. Do you have a specialist who visits the office?

Then I would process the information and find something those offices lacked or the majority of them didn’t have, and then I would make sure I provided those services - and marketed my office as that.

Again, it’s all about threading the needle in big cities. You just have to approach it the right away.


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I own a few offices myself, so I know the market pretty well. I also understand certain areas in big cities have easier competition than others. The issue is these big cities are always growing, and there will be dentists popping up left and right after some time. For example, I have an office in a suburb outside of Houston. When I opened this office the competition was minimal. Now the area is more saturated than a lot of areas in Houston. Dentists will come to growing areas. The key is to find the best location in that area, so you always have an edge over your competition no matter how many dentists decide to open their offices in and around that area.