The headline on the front page of the Sunday Times on July 13th reads: “Scandal of children’s rotten teeth”.
So Should dentists rejoice or be sad? Rejoice because it inevitably means more work; sad because from a general health point of view it’s a monumental disaster that was completely avoidable and sadder because the situation will continue to deteriorate as surely as waistlines expand for the foreseeable future.
The average child smiles 400 times a day while the average adult smiles a rather miserable 15 times, which sort of makes the situation more acute.
As a happy child of the 50s (I’m sure I will have smiled at least 400 times a day) my fluoride free teeth were regularly extracted, filled and generally messed about with by what I now realise were well intentioned but far from gifted dentists.
I then spent the first 25 years of adulthood being serviced by various NHS dentists, keeping me out of pain which suited me because that’s what I thought dentists were for. I was always a grateful and happy patient. When I arrived at 50 I realised there was more to dentists than just pain relief and since then have spent a small fortune on private dentistry, attempting to maximise my 15 smiles per day.
What will the 26,000 children hospitalised each year for multiple extractions likely to be doing with their teeth at 50? Most are unlikely to change their high sugar diets, meaning a lifetime of dental intervention to address pain. There will also be a rising demand for improved smiles for both children and teenagers.
Does this mean there’s a growing market opportunity for paedodontists? Will parents pay extra to help their children cope with poor diets along with paying to give their children better smiles? You bet.
My money is on a new high speed growth category of paedodontists rivalling adult ortho for GDPs as the biggest revenue generator.
If you would like to discuss this opportunity please contact me directly.
e:jonathan.fine@breathebusiness.co.uk
t:07860 672 727
Best wishes,
JJF