Dental office – case
The degree of complexity – 2-3 (on a scale of 1 to 5) – depends on the equipment set.
The volume of primary investment – from 100 thousand to 500 thousand USD (depends on the cost of the room, the number of seats, the equipment used, the availability of additional diagnostic equipment).
The license is mandatory, preferably for all 5 major dental specialties (orthopedic dentist, dentist therapist, dentist-orthodontist, dentist-surgeon, dentist, pediatrician).
Specialization: complex services are in demand, but specialization is possible: therapeutic, surgical dentistry, orthodontics (bite correction), dental orthopedics (prosthetics); children’s dentistry.
Business franchise: possible in 3-5 years of operation.
This business is combined with: the sale of related products (brushes, pastes, flosses, etc.); cosmetology services (especially injecting cosmetology); less often – by other medical specializations (gynecology, ultrasound, MRI, CT, clinical diagnostic laboratory, consultation of doctors, emergency medical care).
Payback period – 1-2 years (!).
The time to break-even point: up to 6 months from the moment of opening.
The payback period and the break-even point are indicated taking into account that the project has an individual, high-quality business plan.
- I. Is it worth the “game of candles”?
Judge for yourself:
Of all the areas of the medical business, dentistry is the most profitable and numerous (70% of private medical clinics are dental) for the following reasons:
- a) – the public sector of dentistry has practically ceased to exist;
- b) – Affordable patients are more likely to turn to dentists than to doctors of other specialties;
- c) – the average check in dentistry is several times higher than in other branches of medicine.
The fact that this segment is particularly successful, says and the availability only of dentistry from all types of medical services of individual codes in the classification of economic activities (KVED) – 86.23 and 85.13.
Now the Ukrainian dental market remains successful despite instability in the country: for example, insurers indicate that this type of services accounts for no less than 20% of payments under voluntary medical insurance programs annually.
Demand for dental services is high and constant, tends to increase.
Need to treat dental pathology the vast majority of the population, both children’s and adults (80% according to the study of the Association of Dentists of Ukraine). In recent years, there has been a significant increase in major dental diseases among Ukrainians. The reason is that according to international recommendations, every person should visit the dentist at least once a year for examination and consultation. However, more than 70% of the population turn to the dentist only in the presence of acute pain. Thus, expecting “to the last”, patients increase the average check to dentists, as the pathology becomes neglected, and the treatment – more expensive.
- II. Volume and potential of the market
The market of private dental services in the country began to function from the beginning of the 90s and for its incomplete 30 years of existence has the largest experience of rendering paid services to the population among other branches of medicine; the most dynamically developing. According to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, in the coming years the market of paid medical services will expand by 12% per year.
In Ukraine, 3,734 private dental clinics (a cabinet) have been registered, among which there is a fierce competition on the market of a fairly high level.
The market is close to saturation or oversaturated (according to various analysts’ estimates). But since the share of network dental companies accounts for only a quarter of the commercial sector, the opportunities of a dental business that has competently started even from scratch are great.
The capacity of the dental market is quite difficult to assess, since a large part of the money is in the shadows – doctors of public clinics engaged in private practice receive it. However, experts believe that it is about millions of dollars a year.
In the market of dental services there are 2 types of competition:
1) true (fair) competition – between clinics of the same price level;
2) false:
– between state (where doctors do not pay for rent, all money is distributed among staff as informal payments) and private (working in the legal field) clinics;
– as well as the competition of medicine with other spheres of services (when choosing a client – buy clothes, phone, car or insert teeth).
Our company analyzed in detail the main factors of the competitiveness of dental services and synthesized the optimal recipe for entry and survival in the market, developed a unique trading offer to attract customers, thanks to which the work of the new enterprise will favorably differ from competitors.
- III. Scope of activities
There are three types of medical institutions that provide paid dental services:
– Single dental clinics (rooms) – the most common;
-set of dental clinics;
-medical centers and clinics that, apart from dental services, provide other paid medical services.
On the market, full-cycle clinics are valued – providing a full range of dental services.
The average size of a private dental clinic is 3-4 dental units. The cabinet of less than 2 dental units is not expedient to open.
Rent a room is not recommended – buy a room without repair (preferably withdrawn from the housing stock), because it requires a specific overhaul: the supply of communications to the dental units and screening for the use of X-ray equipment, as well as special design solutions for the comfort of patients.
- IV. Where is it better to open
In the big cities. Watch the saturation of the local market.
- V. Portrait of a potential client
As the teeth spoil everything, potential customers need to be segmented and work with each of them separately.
Depending on the location of the clinic (large city / small town / countryside, sleeping area / center, etc.), the pricing policy of the enterprise (focus on the economy / middle / premium segment) – the portraits of each segment will be different.