Robert and David, I agree with alot of what you say but there are some worries in my view.

I have seen lectures from Hoya starting to draw less, the peak was last fall.

THere are less emails to me regarding training and courses.

There is less banter here and on DT.

NOw as for new grads, there is an alarming shortage of new grads coming out of the schools everywhere. More dentists will retire in the next 10 years then will dentists graduate to replace them.

1/2 of all new grads are women who typically practice fewer days and more of them do not buy into a practice. More grads are foreign students (in the USA at least) and they must return to their home country.

What does this all mean……….

WEll first of all to buy a house and pay of loans are the students first two wishes in many cases. There is just no money to buy a practice with expensive technology. Nor do they need it to start the practice because they are going to be busy as the coming shortage occurs.

This is going to be a severe problem by around 2010-2015 and already here in Vancouver the prices for dental practices is falling (for the last 4 years) and it is becoming increasingly difficult to sell a practice (2 X as many sellers as buyers).

Technology better be very careful because although new grads are tech savvy and not afraid of it, there will be very limited funds to purchase any new tech given the state of costs of schooling and housing in many major markets where technology is needed to differentiate oneself.

In rural areas my belief is that technology may not be that important to the growth and success of any practice.

For the first time in 7-8 years I really worry about the growth of technology and particularly lasers as I really feel they may have hit a plateau and we are going to see ALOT of adjustment in the next 5 years. I have been wrong many times but its getting just too expensive for many to purchase all the goodies that are available.

Glenn

Really? Like what?

At one point when I was particularly discouraged, someone commented to me “You can check out anytime you like but you can never really leave”.

That prediction wound up coming true and I’ve had to eat some words;)

From Kimmel’s 07/25 post:  

Biolase had a great deal to do with the new wave in laser users, encluding myself.  I think they really had the oppurtunity to make it to the tipping point. The market was right. It was a very much improved technology , the economy was down for many dentist and they where looking for the magic pill , it was a perfect marketing niche in a profession that was finally starting to market and the patients where ready for something new in dentistry!!!   Some many things look right for lasers to finally become mainstream.
What happened?  Well the ALD dropped the ball and stayed a good old boys club,  Biolase screwed up—-Yep Biolase screwed up—- You just can not have a business model thats treats customers like crap and keep growing. It catches up with you. Biolase has a creditablity gap and they need to start working on it… Yesterday.

Biolase made some early errors with marketing claims, crappy training, poor engineering of original Waterlase fiber and customer service. But Biolase is the reason many of us new f@rts got involved with laser dentistry. I think the company is making an effort to correct the early problems and have a nice product with the WaterlaseMD.

Hoya…….. they also blew it. Hanging on the coattails of Biolase’s marketing and now partnering with Schein… Now thats a joke.. Get a cotton role salesperson to sell a laser!!!!

HOYA manufactures excellent products and during my quest had the best training for erbiums/diodes. They did drop the ball on marketing. Florida is a hot market for laser dentistry, yet at our state meeting in July, HOYA did not even have a booth. They outsourced to Schein and Benco which have huge displays. One would have literally had to stumble over the new VersaWave. The “cotton roll” comment is not a joke. I had a semi-sales pitch presented to me where I nodded, smiled and thanked the person for her time.

Fontana— tooooo late to join the party…

Lares is marketing the PowerLase AT(Fidelis) in the U.S. which looks like an interesting “new” product. Thirty six hours into our state meeting, the Lares representative told me I was the only doctor that had come by talk to him about the laser.

Millennium— about the only hope left to bring the laser market back into the forefront. It will be interesting to see how the control their growth and continue to market.

After initially being quite skeptical, I think MDT is on to something significant. If I had to do this laser dentistry thing all over again I might have started here. I think it’s great that they are moving towards a prospective, university-based trial.

Now that I’ve done it again!! Anyone want to lend me a name tag for the meetings next year?

No longer necessary. I think people respect you because even though you didn’t know Steven Parker or Joel White you were never afraid to speak your mind and challenge the claims made by “gurus”. This is beneficial for us neophytes and also requires those with long-term experience to justify their presentations.

Oh, and just so you know, I still believe laser dentistry will become more mainstream. It is just going to take a new player to come along or some event to push us back to the Tipping point!!

My prediction is this will happen. I have a ton of ideas but too dumb from physics standpoint to ever bring them to fruition.

i will put my 2 cents in from an investor standpoint since I still have a few shares (and I mean that literally) of BLTI.

IMO the business models that worked for the early adopters is not (or will not be) working for wide spread adoption. I think this way because it seems that the interest of companies like Biolase ultimately comes into conflict with the interests of the customers. The models need changing so that the interests of all stakeholders (dentists, companies/ investors) are aligned for the entire duration of the laser from manufacture to obsolecense. It’s up to the smart companies to figure out how to do it. Changing the sales methods by itself will not work. Widespread adoption will not happen until the business models are redone.

Tang hit the nail on the head here and this has got to rank in my TOP TEN of most profound posts. I made an effort once to express the same opinion to a company and was treated like an arrogant idiot. It’s not the SALE, it’s the VALUE and the LONG TERM relationship with the dentist customer who is the ultimate gatekeeper for investors/shareholders.

And I’ve got ideas on how to rework the business models. Unfortunately, I have nothing to market:(

Hi all,
This is a very good thread to see everyone’s view!
Thanks for sharing!
Ken

Hi People,

Many good points are brought up to rationalize the present climate in laser dentistry.  The climate change is indeed multi-factorial.  None of it is really as surprising as it might seem if we think about it.

For experienced dentists, the initial entry into the laser world was like a dawn of a new era.  Suddenly, there is this amazing tool that can do things beyond the traditional means.  Handpiece and scalpel are no longer the only staples of the profession.  Certain difficult procedures are no longer such a drudgery when there is a laser at your finger tips.  

The treatments are handled better, the staff members are impressed, the patients are better cared for, and you, the dentist is happier.  Along the way, you pick up more patients and generate more income.  Bonus points for us!

You become excited and try to share your joy with your colleagues, but most are not interested and politely listen to your conquest with you lasers.  Many a times, the responses I get are:  “Do you need it?”  or “Is there a need for that?” or “How much?  And it doesn’t  replace your handpiece?” or “I can do that with my scaplel or my handpiece or my electrosurg or whatever…”

These non-laser friendly souls are contend in what they are comfortable in doing.  And there is nothing wrong with that.  Many of them are providing wonderful treatments for their patients.  But think how much better they can be if a dental laser was part of their practice.  So, there is still hope for a broader market.  

Thank goodness for LDF.  A haven to share our experiences and to learn from one another.  But even with all good intentions and desires to continue to share, the level of enthusiasm cannot be sustained.  

There is life beyond laser dentistry.  One almost needs to take another step back to join non-laser dentistry.  So for laser dentists, we literally have to take two extra steps back to find that balance.

As for newer dentists, they may not find the same need for the dental lasers as the more established practitioners.  Perhaps they have not had as many years in doing certain difficult procedures that the more seasoned among us openly welcome this wonderful tool of light.  Perhaps they are also fresher and are not looking for that certain thing to revive their passion for dentistry.  Not to mention the cost factor that Glenn has eluded to in that new grads cannot have all the tech toys when there are other financial priorities.

However, if the use of the dental lasers is part of the school curriculum and students are introduced to them in their training, then it won’t be such a hard sell upon graduation.  For that to happen, you pretty well have to have all the planets line up in a straight line…..  Wishful thinking when it comes to the Ivory Towers.  The teachings may not be as contemporay as they can be.  Big Bucks and Big Politics.

As laser companies come and go, we just hope that we have done enough homework to have chosen the ones that will provide the best performance clinically and financially.  

The excitement may wane but the journey continues because dental lasers are here to stay.

Cheers to all.   Enjoy the rest of the summer.

Andrew

(Edited by ASI at 4:36 am on Aug. 18, 2005)

(Edited by ASI at 2:58 pm on Aug. 18, 2005)