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New York: Makers of dental veneers aren't smiling so brightly these days as the slowing US economy weakens demand for expensive optional treatments.
In the first quarter, companies such as diversified manufacturers 3M and Danaher and dental distributor Henry Schein reported slower sales of items like braces and crowns.
"Market growth has slowed in higher-end discretionary procedures," said Bret Wise, chief executive of manufacturer Dentsply International, during the company's first-quarter conference call.
A set of veneers can cost $10,000, while the implant and crown-and-bridge work that reconstructs a tooth can cost $3,000. Dental insurance, for those who have it, usually does not cover optional treatments and often does not fully cover even those treatments necessitated by pain.
In an economic downturn, patients tend to postpone these treatments or downgrade to cheaper alternatives, said Dr. Matthew Messina, owner of a general dental practice in suburban Cleveland, Ohio.
Small-cap Birner Dental Management Services has seen a greater than 10 per cent reduction in demand for crowns and bridges this year, said board member Brooks O'Neil, also an analyst for Dougherty & Company.
"In dentistry, it's less the economy than the perception of the economy," Messina said. "If people are confident about their future, their job, then they're willing to invest in more elective procedures."
This past quarter's results reflected the new tendency of dental patients to keep their wallets in their pockets.
At Danaher, where dental products excluding equipment accounted for about eight per cent of the company's $11.03 billion in 2007 revenue, first-quarter dental revenue for existing businesses was flat, in part due to the slowdown in sales of more expensive procedures, the company said in a conference call.
3M saw the same slowdown in discretionary treatments, the company said on its conference call. Oral care comprised about $1.04 billion of 3M's $24.5 billion in 2007 sales.
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