22
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Volume1 Issue4
N
ews and
E
vents
H
ope springs eternal for fishermen/
women, skiers, andchairsof eco-
nomiccommittees everywhere.
Thegoodnews is that in2012 the
averagedentist inBritishColum-
bia (BC) reduced their expensesby3.7%. The
badnews is that gross andnet incomes fell
3.8%and3.4% respectively in2012. This is the
first drop innet incomes since2003during
theSARScrisiswhenpatients avoideddental
offices for fear of infection.
Duringbalance sheet recessions (where there
is ahangover of debt thatmust beworked
out)worldeconomies takeanaverageof
5 to7years to return toany semblanceof
normalcy. Throughout 2013, as theEurozone
flirtedwithdeflationand theUSCongress
seemeddetermined to “playchicken”with
its economic recovery (andeveryoneelse’s),
therewas agreat deal of uncertaintyas to
whereweareheaded,more thanyouwould
expect 6yearsout from2007–08.
Not all BCdental practiceshad their net
incomedrop in2012; however, thegap
between incomes increased fromanalready
high level. For everywinningdental practice
last year,more saw incomesdecrease. There
area lotof keyquestions, theobviousone
being,what ishappening in2013and2014? Is
thisdrop in incomesabreather (theeffectsof
a recessionaredelayed indental practices—
we tend to lagbehindother services), or are
stagnant incomes thenewnormal?
All econometric forecasting suffers from the
same structural problem: it takes time to
correlatefinancial data—soonaverage, the
datayouareusing to forecast the future is 2
yearsold. I amwaitingwithbaitedbreath to
see the2013 results for BCdental practices,
whichwewill not get until the fall of 2014.
Practiceswith increased incomes in2012had
two things incommon:
• Theyaregoodmanagersof their dental
practices.
• Theycreatevalue for their patients (some
chargebelow feeguide, someat feeguide,
and someabove).
Economics committees acrossCanadawill
likely faceachallenge trying to stimulate
demand for dentistry for thenext 5 to
10years, a lifetime ineconomic forecasting.
WhilemostCanadians consider the 2008 global economic crisis to be behind
us,manydental practices are still feeling its effects.With the growth in full-time
equivalent (FTE) dentists exceeding that indental demand in some provinces,
financial recovery couldbe slow.Dr. JamesArmstrong,CDABoardmember for
BritishColumbia, takes stock of the situation inCanada, witha particular focus
on the impact inhis home province.
THEGOOD,THEBAD
ANDTHEGREAT
DOLDRUMS
JamesArmstrong
BSc,MBA,DMD,FACD
Dr. Armstrong is chair
of theBritishColumbia
DentalAssociation (BCDA)
EconomicsCommittee,
editorial consultant for jcda.ca
onbusiness and economics
matters, co-organizer for
theCertificate inDental
PracticeManagement and
adjunct professor at Sauder
School of Business,UBC.
...many economists expect slow, uncertainand sluggish growth
to be the newnormal for the next decade for the economies of
theG7 countries, includingCanada.
