Sikka Software, today announced the launch of a new website and heat map detailing the economic impact of the Coronavirus on the dental industry.
SANTA CLARA, CA, USA, April 2, 2020 — Sikka Software, a market leader in advancing retail and dental healthcare connectivity, today announced the launch of a new website and heat map detailing the economic impact of the Coronavirus on the dental industry. The repercussions of the Coronavirus on travel, restaurants, transportation, and retail have been widely discussed in the media, but the devastating impact to the $140B dental industry, employing over 150,000 workers in the US, has not yet been quantified. New data from Sikka Software, compiled from over 9,000 opt-in dental practices, shows that average patient visits declined by 81% the week of March 22rd versus the week of March 8th. The impact to dental production is even more dramatic, with the average dental practice down 83% over the last two weeks. To illustrate this impact, an average California dental practice produced just over $31,000 and saw an average of 88 patients during the week of March 8th. Last week, those averages dropped to under $6,000 and only 18 patients. Individual Practitioners have been hit harder than Dental Service Organizations (DSO), as DSOs are more likely to have emergency equipment, appropriate PPE, and are more likely to be engaged in teledentistry, all of which enable them to remain partially operationally during this crisis.
“While dental practices can benefit from some aspects of the CARES Act, including expanded SBA loans, due to the nature of the business there is a high risk of transmitting COVID-19. As a result, all non-emergency procedures and many dental offices have had to close.” said Vijay Sikka, Founder and CEO of Sikka Software. “The industry needs relief from State and Federal Governments to survive, and it doesn’t have the financial support being provided (and rightly so) to the medical industry.”
“Covid-19 related shelter in place orders have brought our business to a halt. As healthcare providers, we are heartbroken when our patients call us requesting dental treatment and, with the lack of PPE, we are not able to see them or treat them,” according to San Jose-based dentist. “Our team appreciates this information from Sikka Software and we are anxiously looking forward to when we can start seeing patients again. I know our patients are as well.”
Sikka Software is continuing to track the impact on dentist practices and dental productivity on a weekly basis, and has started an outreach to dentists on how to best deal with the crisis. Sikka Software has also developed a new website and interactive heat map with State-by-State analysis. This analysis, together with a list of available resources, is located at https://sikkasoft.com/COVID-19
About Sikka Software
Sikka Software is helping to rethink the retail healthcare market using a single API cloud platform with Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analytics. Focusing on non-physician practices in dentistry, audiology, veterinary, optometry, chiropractic, orthodontic and oral surgery etc., Sikka Software now has over 34,000 practice installations on its platform. These are businesses where the primary skilled workers are also the owners who need tools to digitize their practices and help them make more real-time, optimized decisions. Sikka Software API and cloud platform connect to 90% of the retail healthcare market including practice management systems and financial software. For more information, please visit https://sikkasoft.com.
This press release was originally published April 2, 2020. You can view the original release here.