As a group, dentists have become more savvy in the area of practice management, but many are still too quick to accept some of the notions that have been perpetuated by dental magazines, by professional organizations, by the media, or by their dentist friends.

These myths and notions swirl through the dental community with surprising intensity and regularity. Sadly, many dentists fall victim to these myths and lose precious time and money chasing avenues that don't really exist.

Here is the fourth of five myths that pervade the practice of dentistry - and the reality.

Myth:

There is a big market for cosmetic dentistry.

Reality:

Despite all the Extreme Makeover shows, and the plethora of articles in every dental and fashion magazine, the market for cosmetic dentistry in most communities is miniscule.

Many dentists believe that their professional life would be great if they could flood their practice with wealthy patients interested in high-priced cosmetic work. Dental magazines and seminar speakers perpetuate this myth with emotional stories of how patients have improved their self-esteem, relationships, and careers with cosmetic work.

Typically, examples show how a particular doctor operating in a lower or average-income neighborhood was able to do significant cosmetic work on regular people. While these stories may be true, there is not adequate volume for this to be a reliable source of income.

The reality is that the market for cosmetic dentistry services is very small, smaller than you might expect. And it is a slippery, finicky market. The ones who need anterior makeovers are usually the ones who have neglected their dental health for years or decades and often lack the financial resources to proceed with cosmetic work.

When such services are marketed to the wealthy, you quickly learn that a lot of dentists are targeting this small group. Consequently, the cost to draw in patients interested in cosmetic work is high, often prohibitively high. In addition, when the patient does come in, the case acceptance rate is lower than you might be used to seeing in a general dentistry practice.

Except for a few true geniuses like Larry Rosenthal and Bill Dickerson, we have not seen many dentists become profitable with a practice based entirely on cosmetic dentistry. Most successful practices are general dentistry practices that add a cosmetic component and offer these services to their existing patient base.

Dentists who do a lot of cosmetic work tend to be located in wealthy or favorable locations (California, parts of Florida, New York City, Princeton, parts of Arizona, and other select high-income locations). If you live elsewhere, don't pin your hopes on this myth.

If our perspective strikes you as good sense, we invite you to request a confidential practice assessment so that we can quantify for you the hidden profit potential in your practice. It's free. Request a practice assessment.