Thirty-six percent of consumers have not visited a dentist in two years, according to a new report from the American Dental Association.
The American Dental Association compiled the results from its "Dentist Trend Report" survey and "Consumer Trend Report" survey for its 2024 "Communications Trend Report." The report aims to identify emerging issues for the dental industry and help improve communication between dentists, the ADA and other dental organization decision makers.
The "Dentist Trend Report" survey was conducted between March and April with 560 respondents. The "Consumer Trend Report" survey was conducted in March with more than 1,000 consumers throughout the U.S.
Here are 10 consumer trends to know from the report:
1. Where consumers seek health information:
- Trust the information from their doctor: 63%
- I search various online sources, then trust my intuition: 32%
- I trust friends and family: 31%
- Even the online sources that should be trustworthy seem to contradict eachotehr at times: 25%
- Don't always trust information from healthcare professionals: 17%
- Trust the people they follow on social media: 6%
- Don't align with any of the above statements: 4%
2. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they have a preferred dentist.
3. Forty-four percent of respondents said they have visited a dentist in the past 6 months.
4. Nineteen percent of respondents said they have visited a dentist in the past seven to 12 months.
5. Thirty-six percent of respondents have not visited a dentist in two years.
6. Cost was the number one factor behind consumers not visiting the dentist in two years.
7. 47% of consumers choose a dentist through friends or family referrals.
8. Fifty-nine percent of respondents said reviews impact their choice of dentist.
9. Thirty-six percent of consumers reported having been frustrated with their dentist.
10. Here is what consumers reported as the source of their frustration:
- Dentist ignored their pain: 22%
- Treatment plan was too expensive: 20%
- Dentist did not listen to the patient: 13%
- Took too long to get an appointment: 11%
- Didn’t address my symptoms fast enough: 10%
- Lack of transparency on fees: 8%
- Didn’t cooperate with my dental insurance: 5%
- Other: 13%