Disruptive Innovation and the Oral Health System

Disruptive innovation is a process whereby companies or industries that have succeeded in the past by producing ever more sophisticated and expensive products and services end up losing their customer base because eventually others enter to serve a market more in line with true consumer needs. The U.S. oral health system has followed this path and is now perfectly positioned for disruptive innovation. Among the innovations that are already disrupting the industry and will increasingly do so are consolidation of dental practices, bringing care to where people are through telehealth- health connected teams and Virtual Dental Homes, and payment systems that provide incentives for lowering costs and improving the health of the population.