The Importance of Digital Transformation in the Dental Industry in 2024

Although the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is still taking a bite out of profit goals, the oral care market is holding strong. The U.S. market was valued at $14.8 billion in 2022 and is estimated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% from 2022 to 2030, reaching $20.5 billion in 2030. Canada's oral care market, valued at $2.8 Bn in 2022, is estimated to expand at an even higher CAGR of 6.2% from 2022 to 2030 and will reach $4.5 billion in 2030.

Although the market outlook is positive, as revealed in our new 2024 Ultimate Guide to Creating Order from Chaos, the North American dentistry landscape will feel the impact of several industry-wide trends, including AI-powered digital transformation.

Businesses from all sectors around the globe are feeling the urgency to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) and digitally transform their business models and structures. In fact, investment in the digital transformation of business practices, products, and organizations is forecasted to reach $3.4 trillion (US) in 2026, with 2024 trends hinging on AI, cost containment, and the ability to handle rapid and unrelenting change.

While digital transformation is often associated with forward-looking, revenue-generating initiatives (e.g., launching digital products or services), the emphasis in 2024’s uncertain economic climate has shifted to internal drivers with operational efficiency topping the list of digital transformation objectives in recent years.

To reduce overhead costs and protect the bottom line, dental practices will be turning to AI-powered digital automated platforms to streamline administrative workflows and empower patients with information. AI-driven technology will also help optimize the clinical aspect of patient care, via tools and capabilities such as integrated digital imaging, 3D printing, and early detection of pathologies such as oral cancer.

Digital transformation is changing how dental practices operate and how dental professionals interact with their patients, team, peers, and vendors. The strategic decision to use AI and machine learning (ML) to enhance decision making, reinvent business models and ecosystems, and remake the customer experience will be reflected on the bottom line.

Notably, a 2024 report found that when asked about recent technology adoption in their practices, 69% of “high-growth practices” confirmed their investment in technology, compared to 44% of practices that experienced a revenue decline in the last year; similarly, 68% of “high-growth practices” intend to adopt technology in the future—strikingly 23% higher than practices that saw moderate revenue growth last year and 26% higher than practices that lost revenue last year.

In response to rising patient expectations, escalating costs, and the need to do more in less time with fewer resources, AI-powered digital automation platforms will become the norm for dental practices moving forward, automating interfaces between systems, processes, and users to enhance practice efficiency, boost profitability, and improve the patient experience.

Digital automation platforms help dentistry professionals simplify and streamline their practice workflows (e.g., appointment booking, operations management) to minimize manual paper-based administrative tasks, reduce operating costs, and improve communication and collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem.

At the heart of the digital transformation—and the trend to implement AI-driven digital automation platforms—is the intelligent digital mesh, described as the integration of people, devices, the Internet of Things (IoT), processes, services, and data into a collaborative environment.

The intelligent digital mesh is transforming current business models to accommodate people, processes, and devices in an integrated framework for the highest gains. The integration, collaboration, and communication between devices, platforms, and users enhance decision-making processes and outcomes in an innovative way that is blazing a trail of efficiency and productivity.

Built on the intelligent digital mesh, AI-powered digital automation platforms can transform the operational and communication workflows within dental practices to better meet the needs of patients, employees, partners, and vendors. By proactively updating their systems with the latest automated technology, dental practice owners can thrive and grow, even in the face of industry, operational, and professional challenges.

Forward-thinking dental professionals are embracing an integrated, holistic approach to managing the business of their practice, implementing AI- and ML-driven systems that create digital business ecosystems and people-centric smart spaces. Rather than simply building technology stacks, this modern model considers the business and human context first, automating workflows to simplify and expedite the user experience.

An integrated healthcare management solution helps dentists, pharmacists, office managers, healthcare administrators, personnel, vendors, and patients connect, collaborate, and thrive by simplifying the everyday tasks of the business of healthcare management.

By automatically integrating a full range of healthcare management workflows—staff management, payroll, patient scheduling, practice management, ordering, inventory management, patient communication—through an all-in-one platform, you can empower your team, seamlessly communicate with your healthcare community, and simplify your day-to- day operations to optimize patient care and grow your practice by:

• Creating a connected healthcare ecosystem that empowers participants
• Organizing your business and life for increased efficiency, efficacy, and profits, whether you operate one practice or multiple clinics
• Simplifying your practice to make your life easier and more balanced—without compromising patient care, business growth, or employee satisfaction

Automated workflows create ease, balance, and harmony—delivering benefits beyond the business operations of the practice. By helping you save time, reduce costs, and minimize friction and frustration, a holistic, integrated healthcare business management platform enables you to focus on what matters most: patient care, practice growth, and personal wellbeing.

Whether a dentist, pharmacist, healthcare administrator, office manager, healthcare personnel, vendor, job seeker, or patient, you’ll reap the benefits of greater operational efficiency, better communication and collaboration, and a higher standard of care that a holistic, integrated model of healthcare management delivers.

Let us show you how. Schedule a personalized demo with us today.