Expanding the services your dental practice offers to include orthodontics can be a great way to attract new clients and increase income significantly. However, making this change requires a considerable commitment of both time and money, and it is important to consider whether the reward will be worth the cost.

The cost of adding orthodontics to dental practice services is not simply the cost of the necessary training courses. You will also need to add equipment, appliances, and other materials to accommodate these new services, and you will likely need to restructure some of your marketing strategies.

If you’re considering combining general dentistry and orthodontics at your practice, understanding common concerns and frequent questions about this expansion can help you make an informed decision. 

The Cost of Adding Orthodontics to Your Dental Practice Services

General dentistry and orthodontics can be a great combination under the right circumstances, but it does require an initial investment. Typical costs you can anticipate on your way to expanding your practice include:

Orthodontics for General Dentist Courses

In order to be qualified to offer orthodontic services, you will first need to take a series of orthodontics courses for general dentists. This education is both the most important and likely most expensive aspect of this process. 

While you can opt for less comprehensive courses that may take less time and cost less money, those courses lack the attention to detail you need to confidently integrate orthodontics into your practice.

Estimated Cost: $10,000-$20,000

Orthodontic Equipment

The second most significant expense associated with orthodontics for general dentist courses would be the new equipment required. 

Fortunately, you will not need a great deal of new equipment, but even a few small additions can cost quite a bit of money. The amount of equipment you will need will depend mostly on the size of your practice.

Estimated Cost: $8,000-$20,000

Marketing Yourself

Of course, with these new skills, you will also need to advertise the fact that you now offer orthodontic services at your practice in order to start recouping your costs and growing your business. The costs for advertising vary considerably. 

Word-of-mouth marketing may be a great move if you’ve got a strong customer base – plus, it’s  completely free. Other more aggressive forms of marketing through media can reach a wider range of potential customers at a faster rate, but they can cost you in the thousands.

Estimated Costs: Free to thousands of dollars

Cost Per Individual Case

It is also going to cost you money to store all the supplies, appliances, and other items required to provide your patients with the care they need. 

But while the estimated cost of an average case is somewhere between $250-$750, the average cost of braces for a patient is somewhere around $5000. Therefore, you will more than earn your money back as you begin to treat your patients with orthodontic care. 

How many patients at my practice are eligible for treatment?

The number of patients at your practice potentially eligible for treatment is another important factor to consider when looking into orthodontics for general dentist courses. 

You will want a fair amount of your expansion into orthodontics to occur internally. If you are not a family dentist, then this will be more difficult, as 50-70% of orthodontic patients are between the ages of 10 and 18, while only about 25% of them are adults.

You should also know that even after your training, you will not be qualified to address all orthodontic issues. GPs can learn to handle about 70-80% of malocclusions, which means that not all of your patients who are in need of orthodontic treatment will be able to receive it from you.

Is adding orthodontic services to my practice worth it?

When you look at the initial costs of combining general dentistry and orthodontics at your dental practice, you can clearly see it is an investment. With a cost falling between $18,000 and $40,000 for education and equipment alone, you cannot do this without considering all the factors involved.

However, it is estimated that adding between just three and five orthodontic cases per month can increase your bottom line by $150,000 to $300,000 per year! That estimate absolutely outweighs the cost of adding these services to your practice.

Expanding into orthodontics can definitely be worth your time, energy, and money. Because it can come with considerable cost, however, it is important to choose thorough orthodontics courses for general and pediatric dentists that are going to help you get where you’re going and maximize your investment.

Synergy Orthodontic Seminars can help you expand your dental practice. 

If you are looking for comprehensive orthodontic training courses that can help you successfully expand your dental practice, contact Synergy Orthodontic Seminars today.