There's huge inertia to change in Dentistry, we know that drilling and filling is basically the worst way to fix teeth. It's firmly established that ART/HVGIC is a much simpler and superior method for 95% of issues. Could be nearly 100% with proper patient education. The ART proponents have been saying this for 30 years, but it's now too hard to deny the superiority. You don't hear Dentist advocating for it though, instead they push fillings, crowns and root canals. Because the majority of a dentist work is actually repairing the inevitable problems that drilling and filling will cause. Drilled teeth will almost certainly need to be refilled and at a larger portion each time.
Loads of studies that show the effectiveness of ART just as well as composites.
And the difference is Novocaine shots and drilling out a tooth vs no numbing need, minimal cleaning with a pick and toothbrush and then essentially placing a ball of putty in the cavity. A ball of putty which actually chemically bonds with the tooth and releases fluoride to rebuild enamel.
But it's hard to charge $350 for something anyone with two fingers can do in about 15 minutes. And then of course if it breaks or comes out the fix isn't drilling an even larger area, it's just filling a smaller hole with putty.
So what you're saying is, the dental industry is ripe for disruption by someone who can set up a fancy office and hire a half competent nurse? Come on, YCombinator, do your thing.
Nope the regulation is too strict. You either must be a dentist or a hygienist to do any sort of dental work and there are strict limits on what a hygienist can do. To avoid regulation you must have an actual dentist doing everything. Now, the robot angle may open something up. There is already innovation in the manner you are thinking, but it's private equity basically buying the cheapest / worst dentist they can and scheduling them to do like 60 fillings a day in a different location each day of the week. Obviously the goal is extracting the most profit though. They will push all the most expensive procedures that non-dentist can do like periodontal debridement and measuring the gums etc.
Loads of studies that show the effectiveness of ART just as well as composites.
And the difference is Novocaine shots and drilling out a tooth vs no numbing need, minimal cleaning with a pick and toothbrush and then essentially placing a ball of putty in the cavity. A ball of putty which actually chemically bonds with the tooth and releases fluoride to rebuild enamel.
But it's hard to charge $350 for something anyone with two fingers can do in about 15 minutes. And then of course if it breaks or comes out the fix isn't drilling an even larger area, it's just filling a smaller hole with putty.
https://www.practiceupdate.com/content/effectiveness-of-art-...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6526224/