The Rise and Fall of Dental Prices, Among Other Things

The dental industry suffered in the slow economy just as any other industry, but the question I'd like to ask is why? In the past it was one of the most lucrative fields in the market, and it seemed that dental prices were rising faster than the rate of inflation. Seriously, you could buy a car (or two) for what it costs to restore your teeth nowadays... with the new technology for cosmetic procedures such as implants & veneers, even crowns are exorbitantly priced! However, in the last few years, with the recession/depression/economic downturn (call it what you will) it seems that all of a sudden, the price of dentistry has become more negotiable! Dentist's are lowering their fees; some are even offering a 50% cut in everyday routine procedures. Or maybe it's that they are getting more creative with payment options; their own "in house" financing, credit card companies that are getting in on the action by offering medical and dental financing to qualified people. I don't know, it just seems to me that in this time when everyone is recovering financially and struggling to stay afloat, if they can offer these discounts and options now, why couldn't they have offered more creative financing options and lower prices all along? Would you chalk it up to GREED? Seriously, one could apply this theory to every product or service based industry out there and the question is the same. Could this GREED factor have put us where we are today? I would say absolutely.

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