Your Teeth Look Great: A Peek Inside Dental Meeting Trends

by Frank Skinner, Executive Director, HCEA

Americans will spend an estimated $109 billion dollars on dental services in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  So, it may not be a surprise that over 90 dental-related conference organizations were reported to HCEA last year. That’s the equivalent of a dental meeting every four days. While the larger economic recession has had an impact on overall dental-related consumer spending, dentists and other dental professionals still actively pursue education and appear to be sustaining attendance at the major dental meetings taking place throughout the U.S.

Dental meetings also comprise seven of the top 25 largest healthcare meetings in the U.S. Combined, these top seven events drew more than 205,000 total attendees in 2010, of which 138,000 were dental professionals. Ironically, most of these meetings could be considered regional events based on their historical context in certain regions of the country; however, no one told the Atlanta-based Hinman Dental Society that.  Hinman’s annual meeting is number 15 out of the top 50 largest healthcare meetings and drew over 21,000 total attendees last year. While Hinman’s annual event draws a large number of attendees from around the southeastern U.S., they actually have attendees from all 50 states and several countries.

The largest reported healthcare convention in 2010 was the Greater New York Dental Meeting (GNYDM), which reported over 58,000 total attendees and likewise drew attendees from all 50 states. For a seemingly localized event by name, GNYDM also attracts attendees from over 130 countries, which highlights that these leading dental meetings are anything but small regional events.

Nationally, the American Dental Association’s (ADA) annual conference attracted over 25,000 total attendees last year, making it number 11 out of the top 50 largest healthcare meetings. Whether these events are primarily regional or national, their conventions are successfully delivering education and exhibits that are sustaining the needs of the entire dental ecosystem.

Dental by the Numbers

Overall Top 50 Rank	Association Name	Attend Total	Attend Pro.
1	Greater New York Dental Meeting	58,135	34,637
6	Chicago Dental Society	31,373	22,054
9	Massachusetts Dental Society - Yankee Dental Congress	26,792	22,674
10	California Dental Association - Anaheim	26,166	18,737
11	American Dental Association	25,605	13,615
15	Hinman Dental Society	21,275	14,790
25	California Dental Association - San Francisco	16,064	11,572

 

More than Floss
How does the dental sector seemingly sustain so many large meetings when other medical specialties typically only have one or two large-scale conferences per year?

One aspect unique to these dental conventions is that they tend to offer education and exhibits that appeal to every professional within the dental practice: dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, dental office managers and other dental practice business professionals.

Even though the leading dental events draw attendees from around the U.S. and many countries, they still have a regional dynamic that leverages the proximity to large urban populations to underpin sustained attendance. A significant number of attendees can easily drive or commute to these regional meetings, which means airfare and travel expenses are not as much of a concern to all attendees. Large metropolitan regions like New York, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles/Anaheim have the power of numbers. More dental practices serving more people means more dentists and more dental practice personnel who can attend these events.

Another factor to aid in meeting attendance is that registered attendance is free in some cases for certain events or priced at very reasonable rates, which means greater opportunity for more to attend and likewise more opportunity for exhibitors to reach a larger share of their target market.

Fresh Focus on Education
Most medical meetings have a vigilant focus on providing the best education possible. However, the dynamics of the dental world are slightly different in that events large and small (over 90 dental-related events) along with virtual education and other specialized education are all competing for people’s time, arguably more so than at most other medical specialties.

“We continue to compete for everyone’s professional education dollar. To add to that competition, we must also position ourselves against more professional meetings than any other healthcare specialty except for maybe surgeons,” explains Sylvia Ratchford, Executive Director of the Hinman Dental Society. “That list does not include the online and distance learning opportunities that are too numerous to count. While we know that our meeting is outstanding in its offerings and we are well-established (100 year anniversary in 2012), we continue to be amazed at the number of dental professionals in the Southeast who have never heard of our meeting! We continue to brainstorm and research ways to reach all dental professionals.”

Ratchford explains that Hinman has evolved their event to include more participation courses for hands-on learning, shorter course times to allow for more focused learning and time to attend other courses and development of course tracks dedicated to not only the dentists but hygienists, assistants and office managers.

“We have also expanded the number of course offerings on the actual exhibit hall floor to both drive traffic and provide easy access to products and/or services used in the sessions,” says Ratchford.

Similarly the American Dental Association, while national in organizational scope, also strives to continually advance their education efforts.

“Our meeting moves around the country so our demographics shift in fascinating ways with each new location,” explains Catherine Mills, Director of American Dental Association Sessions.  “The ADA Annual Session continues to attract attendees for our unique educational opportunities, the ability to participate and shape the future of the profession, the special events offered, as well as the ability to network with other dentists from around the world.”

According to Mills, a major focus for delivering value is on the creativity and engagement between speakers and attendees. While the ADA Annual Session attracts attendees from over 80, countries their exhibit hall also features 80-90 percent of all dental manufacturers, dealers and suppliers that exhibit at dental shows, making the event worthwhile for attendees as they seek education and learn about the latest technologies and products that are available.

Exhibiting Diverse Smiles
The average exhibit hall size amongst six of the top seven largest dental meetings is approximately 118,000 net square feet (GNYDM figures not available).  Given the diverse mix of dental professionals that attend, this means an equally diverse mix of exhibit marketing companies are trying to reach them that goes beyond just simply dental products.

“We also have a number of non-dental companies that mostly gear towards practice management and the running of an office,” says Mills.  “All of these companies reach both the dentist and the dental team.  We also have a small number of non-dental leisure exhibitors such as jewelry and travel which appeal to all types of attendees including family and guests.”

These leading events reported between 300 to 800 exhibit booths in 2010. In addition to offering course education on the show floor and hands-on exhibits that appeal to the clinical professionals, the exhibit hall is designed to bring the latest technologies and innovations available to everyone in the practice.

“The companies on the exhibit floor range from large to small and are providers of major equipment to small disposables, owners to representatives as well as intangible services for practice and personal management,” says Ratchford of the Hinman show. “Products and services are provided for all members of the dental staff.”

Building for the Future
The dental sector, like many sectors, took a hit during the economic recession, and according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, dental services spending declined slightly by .1% last year. For dental associations and conferences, serving such a large healthcare sector is both a challenge and an opportunity. While each event strives to offer the best education possible, there is also natural indirect competition for people’s time when choosing which events to attend or whether to pursue alternative forms of continuing education. However, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), over 62% of adults over 17 visited their dentist last year and over 78% of children 17 and younger did the same. Like many healthcare needs, oral health is critically important around the world, and the need to stay informed about all the latest treatments and options is constant for all dental professionals.
 
Note: American Dental Association and Hinman Dental Society are members of HCEA.