Dental Practices NAICS 621210

Mar 2, 2026 - High Collection Rates Reported, Insurance Verification Is A Major Challenge

• About 63% of dental practices surveyed for revenue cycle management firm Zentist reported net collection rates of 90% or higher. About 71% of respondents identified real-time insurance verification as their primary daily challenge. Some 31% of respondents cited increasing patient out-of-pocket costs as the single trend most likely to impact business performance in 2026.
• Most dental practices don't experience a single major billing breakdown that's easy to identify and fix, according to the Dr. Bicuspid industry news website. The breakdown is instead a slow build of small issues. Common problems include claims not sent, benefit checks denied because of one missed key detail, a missing attachment that delays payment for weeks, and a denial that sits too long because the day got busy. Consistent occurrence of these errors creates something much bigger than a single claim problem: They create an unstable system that's hard to predict and manage. The issue usually isn't effort but capacity. Even great teams struggle when the system relies on memory, constant multitasking, and "We'll fix it later" follow-up cycles.

• Balancing the increasing operational complexity of running a modern dental practice with the need to deliver high-quality, personalized patient care will be the key dentistry challenge of 2026 according to Scott Kalniz, DDS. Chief Dental Officer and Vice President of Network Development at Beam Benefits. Other challenges include rising costs, staffing shortages, administrative burdens and growing patient expectations. The key to overcoming these challenges will be the thoughtful integration of technologies that help practices make smarter, faster decisions while automating many of the administrative tasks that slow teams down, such as scheduling, patient communication and revenue cycle management.
• Dental practice employment decreased slightly and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first 11 months of 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Dental Practices slightly raised their prices during the first 11 months of 2025, according to the BLS. Dental practice sales are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.98% from 2025 to 2029, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund. The Producer Price Index for dental practices increased 2.02% year over year in May, according to the BLS.