Dental Laboratories
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 4,900 dental labs in the US design and fabricate custom dental prosthetic appliances, such as dentures, crowns, and bridges, for dentist offices and practices. Primary products include fixed and removable prosthetic devices, cosmetic devices, and orthodontic devices. Other products include sports guards and anti-snoring devices.
Foreign Competition
Domestic dental labs compete with foreign labs in China, Mexico, and India, which have specialized in offering low-priced partial frames and traditional crowns, especially zirconia-based restorations.
Competition from In-Office Technology
Advances in technology allow dentists to produce certain dental appliances in-office, replacing services from dental labs with their internal operations.
Industry size & Structure
The average dental lab operates out of single location, employs 9 workers, and generates about $1 million annually.
- The dental lab industry consists of about 4,900 firms that employ 44,800 workers and generates about $5 billion annually.
- The industry is somewhat concentrated, as the top 50 companies account for over 43% of industry revenue.
- Large firms include Glidewell Laboratories, Modern Dental Labs, Dental Services Group, and National Dentex.
Industry Forecast
Dental Laboratories Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 18, 2024 - Weak Sales Growth Expected
- Dental lab industry sales are forecast to grow at a 3.6% compounded annual rate from 2022 to 2027, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. Industry labor costs increased during 2023 as employment increased slightly and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased moderately, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Personal income and spending, an indicator of demand for dental services and custom dental prosthetic appliances, increased 1% month over month in January 2024, while consumer spending increased 0.2%, according to the US Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Real disposable personal income, what Americans make after adjusting for inflation and taxes, was unchanged during the period. "Overall, [the report] is meeting the expectations, and some of the worst fears in the market weren't met," said Stephen Gallagher, chief US economist at Societe Generale.
- The US dental prosthetics market achieved a valuation of $10.2 billion in 2023, according to Research and Markets. The industry has an expected growth rate of 1.7% from 2024 through 2030, with an expected valuation of $11.5 billion in 2030. Continually improving dental health is the primary factor restraining the growth of the US dental prosthetics market. An increasing portion of the population can maintain their natural teeth, resulting in a decrease in the number of individuals experiencing complete tooth loss. The market for full dentures and dental bridges is adversely affected as a result, while more cost-effective segments of dental prosthetics, such as crowns and partial dentures, experience growth.
- New networked technology allows dental laboratories to expand their reach directly into dental practices, according to additive manufacturing technology firm Desktop Metal. Networked scanners, for example, allow dentists to scan patients and use the digital data to directly order restoration services from a dental laboratory, or print-ready digital files from laboratories can be sent from a laboratory to the practice, where products can be printed chairside in the dental practice on networked 3D printers. Dentists can order a full range of simple to complex restorations, removables, and appliances including bite guards, crowns, veneers, dentures, and more.
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