Fluent Dental Market Insights Supplier Blog

January 10, 2024

Patients over the age of 65 are joining Medicare Advantage plans at a rapid pace — with important implications for the dental market.

Recent years have seen major shifts in the dental industry. From the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to the changing demographics seeking care, industry stakeholders have experienced unprecedented changes.

Fluent’s latest report, “How Medicare Advantage is shaking up the dental market,” provides a fascinating glimpse into the trends, including changing demographics in the U.S. and how they’re impacting the procedures being performed. This report is based on commercial dental claims data in Fluent’s DentaBase® database and insights from Fluent’s DentalMarketWatch® Report.

Age 65+ consumers and dental services: Quick insights

Fluent’s full report provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of Medicare Advantage on the dental industry, including the patient and treatment share of the commercially-insured market for age 65+. A few important highlights include:

Data from the Census Bureau projects the growing population of the over-65 demographic in the United States to reach over 80 million by 2040, making up 22% of the overall population.
As the population gets older, dental providers will need to think differently about how to serve senior patients and their needs.
A third of periodontists’ treatments and almost a third of their dollars are all coming from patients over the age of 65 – and these numbers will likely continue to climb.
Changes in the demographics seeking care demonstrate an increased opportunity for endodontic services.
The 65+ demographic is receiving several procedures more frequently than the rest of the population, including crowns and tooth extractions.

The growth in the over-65 segment of the population, and the popularity of Medicare Advantage plans, will create unique opportunities for all dental market stakeholders to grow in the coming years.