Thanks for checking out Orthodontic Products' 2008 Buyer's Guide. Our annual compendium of orthodontic companies tells you who's who, how you can contact them, and what they sell.

This particular version of the Buyer's Guide comes at the end of a year that has seen a flurry of activity in what financial analysts might refer to as the "orthodontic space." While a handful of companies from past Buyer's Guides have gone out of business and a few splashy startups have recently made names for themselves, consolidation and acquisition have been the name of the game in 2007. And as anyone who has taken Econ 101 knows, fewer companies means less competition, and less competition tends to mean higher prices.

I don't think I'll get much argument when I say that it is getting more and more expensive to be an orthodontist, especially because I have some data to back up my claim. According to the 2007 JCO Orthodontic Practice Study¹, orthodontists' overhead rate is up to 55%, the highest in a decade. And as anyone who has taken Home Ec 101 knows, when you find yourself spending more than half of what you make, the best thing to do is shop around for lower prices.

So I invite you to spend some time with your Buyer's Guide. Make some calls or send some e-mails to the companies listed here. Maybe you can save yourself a few bucks.

I hope that 2007 has been a successful and fulfilling year, and I trust that 2008 will be even better.

Christopher Piehler

REFERENCE

1. Keim RG, Gottlieb EL, Nelson AH, Vogels DS. 2007 JCO Orthodontic Practice Study. J Clin Orthod. 2007;41(10):617-626.