27 Dental Industry Trends for 2023

Are you prepared for dental industry changes in 2023?

This post was originally published August 13, 2015, and updated December 27, 2022.

At Titan Web Agency, we work with some of the nation’s top dental practices. We consider it our responsibility to stay on top of the latest dental industry trends and what they mean for our clients.

As the new year has almost begun, it is time to review the current trends in dentistry for 2023 and how they’ll impact your marketing.

State of Dental 2023

The information below is from NexHealth’s 2022 survey, as the 2023 survey has not yet been released. We will update this post as soon as the new survey is available.

NexHealth conducted a survey and released a report about the state of dentistry in 2022. Here are some key takeaways that we feel are relevant to what dentists and dental practices can expect in 2023.

Year of the Patient

NexHealth dubbed 2022 The Year of the Patient. The report notes that the dental industry took a hit because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even patients who regularly visit the dentist were inclined to postpone cleanings and other treatments, even with dental offices already using sanitation precautions that would make spreading the virus unlikely.

The focus in 2022 was on bringing patients back to dentistry by making it easy for them to find a practice nearby, book an appointment online, and make payments on their mobile devices. Prioritizing patient needs is the best way to attract new patients and — as the report notes — many people were expected to move in 2022 meaning that they’ll be looking for new dentists.

Growing Faster by Focusing on the Patient Experience

65% of practices surveyed said they believe they will have more patients in 2022 than they did during the pandemic. It’s for that reason that improving patient satisfaction was the #1 goal of survey respondents.

Today’s patients are savvy, and they know what they want. Dental practices have the best chance of growth when they focus on optimizing the patient experience.

Survey Demographics

To help you interpret the survey results, here’s a breakdown of the demographics of those who responded:

• 57.49% dentists
• 24.53% owner/dentists
• 8.99% office managers
• 3.63% practice owners
• 3.15% operations
• 1.81% marketing
• 6.15% other

70% of respondents worked in single-office locations while the remaining 30% represented multi-office practices.

What are the Trends in Patient Experience

In the report, three trends emerged for improving the patient experience.

• Improving the customer experience.
• More convenient payment options.
• Automating insurance paperwork/verification.

Practices are focused on making every aspect of visiting the dentist more convenient for patients, from booking appointments online to making payments with a mobile wallet.

How Dental Software Can Transform Your Practice

Choosing the right dental software can transform your practice by allowing patients to book or change appointments easily, make on-time payments, and help your staff work efficiently.

Patients want to book online, so it makes sense to choose software that will allow them to do so. The same is true of streamlining the payment process. Automating processes can make your office more efficient and leave you free to treat more patients.

The Four “Deal Breakers” for New Dental Software

One of the questions the survey asked had to do with the necessary features of new dental practice management software. The right dental software can help any practice attract new patients, but what features do dentists consider to be deal-breakers? There are four features that, if absent, would rule out software.

1. Security and reliability. The survey respondents put security and reliability at the top of their lists. Patient information must be protected, and the software must work reliably and with a minimum of problems.
2. Ease of implementation and management. Adopting any new software requires time and effort, so dentists are more likely to choose software that’s easy to onboard and manage.
3. Excellent customer service. In a year when the consensus is that focusing on patients is essential, it’s not surprising that dentists expect top-notch customer service from software companies. Dentists can’t support their patients if they aren’t supported.
4. Integrations. Many dental offices use software and tools for a variety of purposes. Respondents made it clear that they prioritize dental software that integrates seamlessly with the tools they’re already using.

Items further down on the list included cost, new features, and brand recognition.

Where to Invest to Grow Your Practice

This section also references data from the 2022 NexHealth survey. We will update as needed.

Respondents to the NexHealth survey mentioned social media and online scheduling as the top two areas where they plan to invest money in to grow their practices.

Social Media

56% of dental practice employees and 59% of owners said their top spending priority was social media. The most popular outlets were image-friendly Instagram and community-based Facebook. Common goals included integrating posts with online booking and building brand awareness.

Online Scheduling

Second place went to online scheduling, with 44% of employees and 29% of owners calling it their top priority. We believe that online scheduling is an essential part of prioritizing patient needs since most patients say they prefer it.

We should note that owners were more likely to choose to add more services or increase their marketing spending over online scheduling.

First-Mover Advantage in the Year of the Patient

How can your practice become a first mover and take advantage of patient growth in 2023? It all boils down to two things.

1. Prioritizing online booking. Only 26% of survey respondents say their patients can book online and most of those are practices with high patient volume. Smaller practices are lagging.
2. Using patient experience software. Patient portals are something today’s dental patients expect. They want to be able to schedule or cancel appointments online, view their dental records, pay their bills, and check the status of claims.

When dental practice priorities align with patient priorities, they have the best chance of attracting new patients and increasing their profits.

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