Where will dentistry be in 2025?

Opening the Clinical Innovations Conference in June developed into a real challenge when the brief for my keynote session was announced as the title of this post. What followed was a 90-minute presentation which required 3 months of research and preperation. Rather than trouble you with that, here are the bullet points I shared on my very last dental slide, predicting where I think dentistry will be in 2025.

1. A Royal College of Dentistry

2. More stringent validation requirements for Foundation Dentists

3. The threat of substitution – more DCP’s and more machines doing the work of dentists

4. 85% of NHS dentistry delivered by ADG (Association of Dental Groups) members predominantly owned by health insurers (goodbye Private Equity)

5. 60% of private dentistry delivered by retailers, health insurers and ADG members

6. The disappearance of the small independent NHS practice

7. Independent private practices down from 10,000 to 2,000 businesses

8. The independents mainly members of Producer Groups, sponsored by large corporate suppliers

9. The emergence of private micro-corporates (up to 10 locations on a hub & spoke model)

10. Managers at MBA standard for finance, marketing, CRM, operations and HR

11. The Digital Dental Business

12. Digital Treatment Planning delivered by DCP’s

13. The Dental Information Technologist – a new role in dentistry

14. Supplier Power (the only people who know how all of the technology works and integrates)

15. Buyer Power – patients able to do detailed research before they contact you (including price and profit disclosure)

16. The Virtual Patient who wants visualisations, alerts, notifications, knowledge and KUDOS for their long term self-care

17. The gamification of long-term dental care

18. Integration of the patient’s healthcare data into their on-line identity

19. Healthcare information transmitted in real time on wearable technology