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Comment by to3m | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if quick checkups are any less profitable per unit time than doing fillings. Not much in the way of materials required, and you can get a good throughput, with each visit likely to be of predictable duration.

(My teeth are in good shape, and my average dentist visit takes all of 15 minutes: check teeth for basic soundness, scrape off tartar, remove tea stains from upper incisors. Still costs me £55.)

There is also orthodontic work.

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"Quick Checkups" are less profitable. However, Scaling and root planing (periodontal treatment) is super profitable which is just a more time intensive version of a checkup. I do know of some dentists that tell their hygienists to not do a good job so they can get the periodontal treatment and charge $400 a quarter instead of $150 every 6 months.

Source: Wife was a hygienist before she burned out from contortionist body pain and having to make commission.

> Source: Wife was a hygienist before she burned out from contortionist body pain and having to make commission.

Note to self: find out what dentists make their hygienists work on commission and don't go there.

Since you used pounds I'm assuming UK, NHS dentists charge £53 for extractions/most work, a check up is less than £20 and mine always include a cleaning/scaling if required.

Unless you are strictly private in which case that sounds more sane.

In the U.S., checkups are primarily done by the (less-expensive) dental assistant doing the X-rays, the (moderately expensive) hygienist doing the cleaning, followed by a quick inspection of mouth and X-rays by the (expensive) dentist. I imagine that the predictability and minimal time use of the dentist would allow it to be quite profitable.

However, as teeth become drastically less susceptible to disease, people will feel much less need to have regular dentist visits...

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