Contrasting the economic outlook for dentistry and medicine

Since 1978, expenditures for dental services, adjusted for inflation, have been almost level while the total number of dentists increased. Applicants and enrollments at American dental schools have decreased. The most important uncertainty clouding the economic future of dentistry is the impact of declines in dental disease on the demand for dental services. Medicine is also undergoing change and has experienced many of the same forces at work in dentistry. However, continuing innovations in the diagnosis and treatment of disease form a stable foundation for the demand for physicians' services, which should provide favorable economic conditions for practicing physicians. The major uncertainties for medicine are changes in the structure, finance, and reimbursement of physicians services which may result from efforts to control the cost of these new technologies.