Ladd Dental Group

 Across the dental profession, practice owners and clinicians are feeling it: doing more dentistry , seeing more patients, and yet margins continue to tighten. While there are several contributing factors, one stands above the rest as the single biggest driver of margin compression in dentistry today. Labor. Labor Costs Are Rising Faster Than Revenue Staff wages, benefits, and recruitment costs have increased dramatically over the past several years. Hygienists, assistants, and front-office team members are in high demand, and the supply has not kept pace. Many practices have experienced: 20–40% increases in hygiene wages Higher overtime costs due to staffing shortages Signing bonuses, temp staffing, and recruiting fees Increased benefit costs to remain competitive At the same time, reimbursement rates—especially from PPOs—have remained largely flat. When your largest expense grows rapidly but your revenue per procedure doesn’t, margins get squeezed. Hygiene E...

 Key Insights Here are four major trends from HPI’s recent work: 1. Workforce/Gender/Demographics Women now represent nearly 40% of practicing dentists in the U.S. — the profession is becoming more gender-diverse.  The number of dental school applicants rose ~11.5% in 2024, the highest since 2007.  The dentist supply is projected to keep growing, potentially outpacing retirements in some markets.  However — geographic distribution remains uneven. Many rural and underserved areas continue to have fewer dentists per population, and younger dentists tend to gravitate toward urban/suburban markets. What this means: Recruitment of dentists (and support staff) is becoming more competitive — especially in attractive suburban/urban markets like Noblesville/Indianapolis. For multi-site groups focused on acquisition/growth, this trend suggests the talent pool is becoming deeper; but also that you need compelling value propositions (culture, leadersh...