Buying Dental Supplies and Their Supply Models
Dentists typically spend about $50,000 each year in stocking up their offices in dental supplies. In today’s landscape, dentists have to find reliable sources for their industry, and there are more options than ever in that regard. However, offices have begun to find newer sources of supply channels, such as GPOs or group purchasing organizations and e-commerce models such as Amazon Business, Synergy Dental Partners, and Nexternal to cater to the dental industry. In some expert’s opinion, these distributors would be classified as being part of the “gray market” where they purchase from trusted intermediaries rather than the manufacturer itself. Non-traditional supply channels have emerged as an alternative source, meaning that dentists have to be even more selective about their choices in products.
Originally, the dental supply model began under direct contact with the product’s manufacturer to purchases products. Manufacturers still provide these options, especially as more specialties in dentistry continue to rise in popularity, but their sales pricing tends to fluctuate from country to country, making their pricing scaling vary. Many of these products tend to be identical, but because of the variances in price, distributors become a more highly valuable asset due to their ability to keep within the same exchange rate.
Thus, these large manufacturing companies have now routed their sales through distributors. These distributors sit between the manufacturer and customer as a full-end service, giving their customers sales representatives, equipment repair services, and general dentist supplies. One problem presented with larger distributors, such as Henry Schein, Patterson, and Benco, is that they tend to close off their catalog pricing from non-members, and sometimes their rates for products tend to be adjusted depending on the discretion of the customer.
Top 5 3D Printers for Your Dental Practice or Lab
Smaller distributors, such as Net32 and Smart Practice will be able to show off all of their price ranges for their product selections, but typically carry more disposables and smaller products such as gloves, alginate molds, and forceps. These distributors tend to also avoid the gray market by buying from the manufacturer themselves, and with the addition of more and more non-traditional supply chains, the ability to remain authentic to their goals as a supplier can become more difficult to compete with.
The end-consumer will have endless options for supplying their business. As clinical procedures change over time, dental suppliers will have to adapt to their industry to keep up with the advancements in technology. Some of the best dental distributors focus on educating their customers about their products because they’re able to combine a competitive advantage that’s appealing to both the manufacturer and consumer. They focus on transparency, educating their customers about the pricing variants and supply chain system in how they attain, sell, and deliver products. Overall, dentists who wish to gain dental supplies should be able to trust in companies that deliver on their words by giving honest prices and building trust off of those prices.
While searching for dental distributors, we focused on a specific set of criteria to find this list, including their accreditation with the American Dental Association (ADA) and their consumer ratings through the Better Business Bureau (BBB). This list encompasses a group of dental instrument distributors that we trust to give genuine prices across the board.
Top 5 Handpieces in Dentistry. High-Speed and Slow-Speed
1. Goetze Dental
Company Type: Privately Held
Company Size: 50-200 Employees
Founded: 1884
BBB Accredited: A+, Not BBB Accredited
Goetze Dental has been a family-owned business since 1884 and has served over 10,000 dentists within the Midwestern states. Their distribution centers allow the company to ship their products within one day, and their showroom features products from authorized dealers such as Planmeca, Midmark, 3M, Premier, and Integra LifeSciences. A unique aspect of these distributors is their focus on private practices; their initiative to aid in small business ownership gives their company a unique insight into equipment and supply price management, and thus offers their price sales for instruments at reasonable prices. Their catalogs even give unique descriptions of the various components of their products, including measurements, shape, and serial numbers, along with the price.
2. Burkhart Dental Supply
Company Type: Privately Held
Company Size: 200-500 Employees
Founded: 1888
BBB Accredited: NR, Not BBB Accredited
Burkhart Dental Supply has been around just as long but operates with an initiative to reduce overhead costs, improve support efficiency, and leverage with their dealers on the latest technologies that small to medium-size practices need to keep up with the industry. Burkhart’s goal is to maximize practice revenue, offering labels from manufacturers such as Young Innovations, Midmark, Hu-Friendly, and A-Dec and provide simple payment methods to help new and current dentists achieve their business goals. As a family-owned business, the company constantly updates its prices according to the manufacturer’s value, and help carry products such as instruments to meet the needs of every dentist.
3. Midwest Dental Equipment & Supply
Company Type: Privately Held
Company Size: 50-200 Employees
Founded: 1988
BBB Accredited: A+, Not BBB Accredited
Midwest Dental Equipment & Supply focuses entirely on their competitive prices when it comes to serving their customers. Since 1988, Midwest Dental has continued its family-orientated traditions in valuing their customers and employees, placing value on their ability to bring innovative solutions and versatility to the dental market. Their prices are based on demand and offer brand names such as Crosstex, GC Americ, Pelton & Crane, and KaVo. The supply company also offers Advance Private Label products, their own brand that features basic necessities such as gloves, burs, and infection control items.
4. Darby Dental Supply
Company Type: Privately Held
Company Size: 200-500 Employees
Founded: 1948
BBB Accredited: NR, Not BBB Accredited
Darby Dental Supply has been in operation since 1984 and remains one of the leading dental supply distributors nationwide. Darby Dental stocks over 40,000 products within their warehouses and distribution centers across the country, and gives group practices the ability to negotiate contracts for purchasing rules. Their online website lets practices manage their purchasing operations without the need for major capital investments, and their websites monitor buying activity to keep track of trends in pricing and demand to keep up with dentist’s needs by working with top manufacturers such as Aesptico, Carestream, Euronda, and Kerr Dental.
5. Pearson Dental Supply Company
Company Type: Privately Held
Company Size: 200-500 Employees
Founded: 1945
BBB Accredited: B-, Not BBB Accredited
Pearson Dental Supply Co. has been in full operation for over 60 years and has supplied generations of dentists with personalized attention and a constant stock of today’s advancements in the field of dentistry. The company has established itself with over 200 manufacturers, including companies such as Septodont, Kulzer, and SDI, to compile large inventories of products and equipment for both individual and bulk purchasing. Their prices aim for a balance between quality and value, and each of their products is backed by warranties and liability insurance to give trust and assurance to the customer.
Among this list, we’d also recommend looking at Scott’s Dental Supply, Dental Health Products Inc, and Pure Life Dental for instrument shopping.
