The dental industry is a small one.  I’ve heard more than once that more money is spent each year on pet food than on dental products & services – some estimates to the tune of 2X.  Anyway, we seem to get here in different ways, often through family connections or by accident.  I’ve been a dental marketing professional for almost a decade now.  I tried to leave once, and it didn’t stick.  It seems once you’re in for just a few years, you don’t leave.  But unlike the Hotel California, there are good reasons for that.  Here are my top 5:

Places:  I have a love for travel (die Liebe zum reisen), bordering on addiction at times.  I’m fortunate that my career in marketing dental products & services has taken me to some fantastic places and memories.  From Koeln for IDS to Vegas in spring to varied ADA sites, the dental industry has certainly scratched my itch for travel.  I just smile when friends give that quizzical look as I talk about all the fun in Chicago in February.

Products:  Let’s face it, there are just some really cool products and services.  And we get to be a part of positioning them, training how to use them, selling them, and creating them!  Whether new generations of adhesives, hygiene products, lasers, salivary testing, cone beam imaging, or CAD/CAM, dentistry is advancing at a rapid pace.  It’s all for the benefit of our dental practice customers and ultimately their patients.  And we’re right in the middle of it!  How cool is that?

Passion:  We believe in what we’re doing.  When that “tire kicker” at the booth suddenly and seemingly inexplicably becomes animated about the features or lack thereof of your product, that’s passion, my friend.  Not only must our products provide a solid ROI, but also they must have a definitive benefit to the patient.  We all share that responsibility and from it stems a wonderful professional passion.  You can see it in the many associations and organizations in our industry from ADA to AAP to TBSE to DTA.

Potential:  It’s partly the combination of the products and passion that give our industry such potential.  From a financial perspective, it has weathered storms of economic downturn fairly well compared to others.  However it is more than that.  We have so many new technologies and services, but we’re just getting warmed up.  Oral cancer screening is just one category which comes to mind.  Not only is it growing, but it is helping to position the dental health professionals as more than just teeth cleaners and fixers.  Patients can benefit from preventive, restorative, and cosmetic services which are faster, less painful, and more environmentally friendly than ever before.  I can’t wait to see where WE take our industry next.

People:  All of the above are of course because of the people.  I’ve met so many fun, interesting, and sincere people in this industry.  I’m thankful for that.  Ultimately the people of this industry are our industry.  We are what make it great.

No doubt, we’ll see each other in some interesting place and perhaps we can share in person our passion for our products and their potential.  I look forward to hearing what you love about the dental industry and marketing products & services within it.