Is it time to Close Orthodontics Schools in the US?
DISCLOSURE:
A friend of mine told me yesterday of a quote he had heard while living in Taiwan as an LDS missionary for two years. He said a respected leader told him, “If you visit a country for a week you can write a book. If you visit a country for several months you can only write a paper.” The message — the more we learn, the more we find that we don’t really understand.
Today’s post is written on information that would be gathered by the week long tourist — so I invite and expect that those with first hand knowledge will provide correction and further insight using the comments button below.
With disclosures out of the way, let me continue my AAO Annual Meeting inspired speculations. In the US, the total number of practices offering orthodontics has grown from less than 10K at the turn of the century to more than 45,000 today (most of those are GPs offering aligners). During the same period of time the total demand for orthodontics has not matched the increase in supply (and recently may have even declined).
According to economic principles of supply and demand — the price of orthodontics should begin to free fall in the coming years. The need for more orthodontic specialists should fall with those prices. That demand for orthodontic specialists should permanently fall below today’s need as GPs take more of the cases and technology to support the GP’s efforts improves.
Today orthodontic specialty programs report that it is becoming very difficult to recruit faculty — fewer orthodontists can retire in today’s financial market turmoil — and few can afford to take the pay cut to accept a full-time teaching position.
Rather than get creative and offer more part-time positions, perhaps these programs should consolidate — share the available teachers among fewer schools and produce fewer orthodontists. Why would the profession want more orthodontists in a market that might now be in over supply mode?
My fear, is that the financial markets will turn the corner, many of the baby boomers will begin to retire and will want something to do — so the demand for teaching positions will lead more dental schools to offer orthodontic specialty programs (rather than fewer). This all in an attempt to make up for the retiring boomers without consideration for the additional capacity created by the GPs offering orthodontics now as well. Orthodontists should jump on the opportunity they have now to encourage schools to close their specialty programs and/or eliminate the number of students admitted to the programs.
Its time for educators to seriously consider the impact they are having on the profession. Educators need to closely monitor the supply of orthodontists (vs the demand for treatment). They should also consider how they can help provide meaningful distance between GPs offering orthodontics and orthodontic specialists.
Tomorrow’s earnings of today’s orthodontists could be secured and or at least protected by a significant rationalization of orthodontic speciality programs in the US — perhaps a reduction of 50% or more of the available slots could be eliminated or offered only to those doctors willing to practice outside of the US and Canada.
What do you think?
Be Smart!
B2
