India’s dental health crisis is a $2 billion opportunity — but are Indian patients getting better care?

India faces challenges regarding oral health care — in addition to limited access to dental offices and dentists, the nation also struggles with the concept of what dental care should be. According to a report by Indian Dental Association, India’s dental industry is approximately $2 billion, while the global dental market was approximately $36.32 billion in 2021 with estimates for this number to reach $63.93 billion by 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4%. Experts predict that India will have one of the largest single-country markets for dental products and services globally. That is significant in itself; however, it also signals a tremendous demand that India’s current oral health infrastructure cannot support effectively.

There are an estimated 292,000 dental professionals and 317 dental schools in India, which sounds adequate. Nonetheless, there is an exponential sum from urban to rural areas, and most people cannot afford to seek out oral care or, when they do seek care from a dentist, they only have their immediate need met — as opposed to understanding the actual reasons for their original problem. This gap requires not only increased patient care facilities but also improved delivery.

Ignoring oral health has costs that will undoubtedly impact patients. Untreated dental problems can lead to heart disease, diabetes, or the development of respiratory infections, along with other systemic conditions. Oral health is not simply cosmetic or luxuriously unimportant; it is a reflection of one’s entire being. 

So how do most Indians handle their dental care? It’s a reactive approach; when they have a toothache that is intolerable, they will seek out the first available clinic. They are going to accept any treatment style that the doctor provides, regardless of the cost, and leave the clinic without any follow-up, a preventive plan, or understanding of the treatment they received and why they needed it.

The system for delivering dental care isn’t broken because the dentist lacks the skills; it is broken because the system has not been developed around the patient.

Sachin Katira, Co-Founder & CEO of Eka Dental Care says, “The Indian dental sector is experiencing phenomenal growth, but there needs to be a framework in place for providing good quality care; otherwise, it will be indistinguishable from background noise. In order to achieve this goal, a cultural shift towards ensuring that all patients can access high-quality, clinically appropriate, ethically sound dentistry on an ongoing basis must be established. This is the way forward, all dentistry at all levels must meet the aforementioned criteria, regardless of location and/or practice type.”

The need for a different way to approach this situation has never been more apparent. “The entire dental care system needs to change its focus from providing only the most costly service, to providing an appropriate service and doing it correctly the first time. Price transparency is essential so that individuals are not surprised by how much they will have to pay for a service. In addition, using clinically-assured materials and procedures are very important; therefore, dental practices must not try to reduce the invoice amount by using inferior materials or procedures. Further, all dental practices must adhere to strict sterilisation standards that remain in place for all patients and be able to provide dental services that are warranted, with no intent to oversell,” Sachin adds.

Dr Jeevan Venkappa Shetty, Co-Founder & COO, Eka Dental Care, commented, “In dental care, there are no shortcuts that do not ultimately show up later as a complication, repeat visits, and patient dissatisfaction. Most of our patients have come to us from another dentist because they were improperly diagnosed, fast tracked through their dental treatment, and did not have follow-up treatment. Proper dental treatment takes time, proper materials, and clinical rigour through all points of the treatment journey. This is not a luxury, this is how dental treatment needs to be provided.

Dr Jeevan further adds, “At Eka, this is the quality we maintain and have set across each of our clinics and every treatment as well, because we believe that when you build a dental practice around doing things right, patients don’t just get better outcomes, they come back with their families and refer their neighbours. That trust is what we are building, one treatment at a time.”

A simple answer can be provided. By maintaining self-discipline regarding expectations of performance behaviours there will begin to rise an increased awareness on the part of the practitioner and the patients. In addition, an understanding that healthcare can and should provide both exceptional quality and affordable pricing must be established through changing the existing business model away from one based upon numbers of patients to one focused upon patient outcome.

India’s oral health care transitional change, as stated by many on high has begun to take place through an increasing number of clinics throughout all parts of this country however only by providing access to higher quality clinics will the transition of providing oral health care for everyone take place.