Sometimes it’s hard to be positive when our days are filled with nothing but negative news. Rising costs, recession looming, and wars continuing to be fought around the world. Whilst influencing our lives in various ways, they are all outside of our circle of control.
So, what about the dental technician and the dental market? We see a lot of doom and gloom here with NHS practices on the downturn, and stories of labs that feed that sector having a tough time. However, in all crises, it’s essential that we do all we can to innovate and adapt to an ever-changing market.
I know there are some who will see me as preaching positivity from my ivory tower at Byrne’s but before you judge me, let me be straight that I’ve had my own challenges over the year. 2022 was a difficult one (people, process, software, time, you name it), topped off by a closing final quarter of really poor sales. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience of tough times this past year.
2023 however, is set to be quite the year of opportunity – in my opinion. I believe it is time for us, as Dental Technicians and labs, to really stand tall and show what we are capable of as an industry. For decades we have been subservient to the broader dental industry, and yet we are vital to the success of modern dental treatment. As lab numbers and technicians continue to decline, the demand for our services increases annually. Global dental technology sales are estimated to be a record high of over £33 Billion in 2024, and many marketing papers quote sales growths of between 4-6% per annum in the UK alone. With a market growth beating nearly every other aspect of manufacturing and being well above most economic growth percentages, dental technology has an awful lot to be positive about.
When any industry identifies as an opportunity for serious money to be made, large groups and corporates start to raise huge funds to invest. We are seeing exactly this happening with the growth of large chains of labs, in parallel with clinical corporate groups acquiring their own labs to supply their practices. We do not need to fear the large groups because there is more than enough work for all of us, providing we adapt and move with the modern market.
Digitisation is key to this growth and if your lab is not offering any digital services, you will soon be left behind. In my lab, 100% of my crown and bridge and implant work has at least one digital stage. In prosthetics, all my trays, splints, guides, temporary dentures, and some definitive dentures, are made digitally, 3D-printed or milled, and they are looking as good as hand-made. This isn’t ‘de-skilling’ anyone, quite the opposite. This is up-skilling, and the smiles and buzz generated amongst the team from learning and challenging these new methods, are testament to the power of digital.
Intra oral scanning (IOS) has really scaled up post-pandemic and in our lab, 70% of all impressions are now IOS and that is rising every month. Needless to say, labs with no digital offering are potentially missing out on work. 2023 is the year where we all really need to help each other in the growth and implementation of digital workflow. Dentists are leaning on technicians more and more for material knowledge, IOS knowledge, and the whole digital workflow. Some recent evidence showed that dentists consider dental technicians to be the most trusted of all dental professionals and suppliers, which puts us in a very strong position. Technicians are honest and all decisions we make are ultimately in the patients’ interest, so this report came as no surprise to me. Providing we keep up to date on materials and we share what works and what doesn’t with other labs, we can be a force to be reckoned with as a knowledge base in the dental industry.
As patients’ demands continue to rise, the pressure on the clinician and clinical teams is increasing. The majority of patient’s have little interest in the type of implant used, or the method of bonding the teeth, but they do really care about the false teeth we manufacture for them. As digital enables expanding treatment options, it is our responsibility to ensure the clinical team is aware of this and advise accordingly. Dentists and the clinical team have never been busier so keeping up with what we do is near impossible. We are also seeing a decline in chairside restorative work like milling, as clinicians simply do not have the time or resources to finish to the standard that we can.
There is an enormous amount to be positive about in 2023, and I genuinely feel there has never been a better time than this exact moment to be a dental technician. We have growth opportunity, our industry is talking to each other and helping each other to grow. We have finally earned the respect we deserve for our extensive knowledge of restorative dentistry, and this will only grow as we become more digital. It’s shaping up to be quite the year as we Dental Technicians take Centre stage. I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited to be a technician and lab owner, as I am right now. Let’s rock 2023 #dentaltechniciansarerockstars