It has been a short while since microscopes became the standard in endodontic care, then branched into nearly every area of clinical delivery. Their price was steep, but the improvement in clinical care was noteworthy. Far fewer mistakes, easier and better access, better instrumentation — everything improved.
Several manufacturers jumped in with both feet — Prescott, Leica, and Zeiss, for example. Given the number of dentists, the benefits of using a microscope, the improved clinical outcomes and increased efficiencies, this was a breakthrough technology whose time had come.
Entire divisions within these companies erupted: sales, marketing, clinical representatives, and training courses all soon followed.
The microscopes gained popularity, and steadily grew more accepted. Clinical efficiencies and better quality were clear benefits. The future looked unstoppable for microscope technology: more doctors, more usage, and more sales — it was all going strong. Any endodontist joining a practice, whether small or large, solo or group, insisted on only joining a practice that possessed a microscope.
Even though the cost of microscopes was in the six-figure range, practicing without a microscope made your practice was outdated. Periodontists and restorative dentists were also getting in on the trend. Microscopes had a huge trajectory — that is, until now. A new, recently introduced technology will make the microscope obsolete: MoraVision has appeared.
The Pace is Speeding Up
If you haven’t noticed, the speed of change is accelerating. Every new technology makes the previous technology obsolete. The cost of these innovations is steep: how can solo practices — or even small groups — afford to stay current? The bottom line is that they can’t.
As solo practices struggle to meet the rising costs of technology, along with increasing business and supply costs, they simply can’t generate meaningful economies of scale.
At a particular level of group-practice size, where the group can appropriately scale, the cost of delivery of care per patient is dropping rather than increasing. For example: in large groups, fewer staff is necessary, and staff is the highest cost in a business. It costs less money to deliver care and leaves more money available to invest in new technologies. And the larger the group, the more new tech they can buy, allowing them to negotiate down costs per unit.
Furthermore, as AI and robotics begin to take over functions previously done by administrative staff, costs will go down further, allowing for more investments into the latest business and clinical technologies. This is what is termed a “virtuous cycle.”
If the competition for group practice is solo practice, and solo practice can’t afford to stay current with technology due to the expense, group practices will come to dominate the market.
