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Industry Insights: Orthodontic Trends and Insights by Gaidge

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Industry Insights: Gaidge’s 2025 Orthodontic Industry Trends and Insights 

Each year, Gaidge analyzes data from more than 2,500 U.S. orthodontic practices to identify key industry trends. This report tracks more than 80 metrics across seven practice functions, providing a data-driven look at financial and operational performance, while offering insights that practices can use to refine strategies and drive growth.


2025 industry outlook
The orthodontic industry continues to evolve, and 2024 marked a turning point. Practices have faced economic shifts, changing patient behaviors and operational challenges, yet the data tells a promising story. While uncertainty has defined recent years, trends point toward stabilization and renewed growth.

After years of fluctuation, production finished strong, with growth trending up since July—the first sustained improvement since 2021. Despite one fewer workday and the leap year’s calendar shifts, the back half of the year saw growth in four of six months—a welcome sign of stability.


Long-term performance trends
Looking at five-year trends, the orthodontic industry has experienced major cycles, but overall growth has remained flat at 0.2%. While we expected stronger momentum, 2024’s finish—combined with key indicators—suggests a return to normal industry patterns, with low single-digit growth likely in 2025. Economic forecasts also point to steady growth through 2026.


Growth and market trends
The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the U.S. orthodontic industry remains at 0.2%, indicating stability but slow movement (Fig. 1). While growth has been modest, key performance indicators (KPIs) suggest practices are regaining momentum. To stay competitive, practices should target 3% annual growth, factoring in inflation. Maximizing contract fees and initial payments remains a crucial opportunity.
Gaidge’s 2025 Orthodontic Industry Trends and Insights
Fig. 1

Most top industry indicators showed improvement over 2023:
  • Net collection: slight increase.
  • Patient calls: slight decline but stronger than in 2023.
  • Starts: slight decline but better recovery than in 2023.
  • Conversion rate: flat.
While production is up and starts are down, this is likely because of increased revenue from add-ons, such as retainer programs.


What this means for practices
Understanding these broader industry trends is important, but to navigate them successfully, orthodontic practices must measure their own performance against industry benchmarks. Key performance indicators (KPIs) provide a clear picture of financial and operational health, helping practices make informed decisions that drive sustainable growth.


KPIs and benchmarks: how to measure your practice’s growth
KPIs provide a snapshot of practice performance, but the bigger picture lies in the trends behind them. With Gaidge, orthodontic practices can track, interpret and act on their data to make informed decisions and drive long-term growth. Let’s explore the KPIs, emerging trends and actionable insights that can help optimize efficiency, production and financial health (Fig. 2).
Gaidge’s 2025 Orthodontic Industry Trends and Insights
Fig. 2

Trend 1: Net production vs. net collection shows continued improvement
After a post-COVID growth surge in 2021, the industry experienced a decline in 2022. Over the past two years, net production vs. net collection has steadily improved, with the percentage continuing to rise, signaling healthier financial performance for practices (Fig. 3).
Gaidge’s 2025 Orthodontic Industry Trends and Insights
Fig. 3

Net production should be 5%–20% greater than net collection to indicate a growing practice. Net collection consistently being higher than net production usually indicates no growth or a practice in decline. Recognizing this trend early helps prevent overlooked financial risks.


Trend 2: Contracts rise, initial fees hold steady
Contract values continue to exceed $5,450, reflecting fee adjustments for growth. Initial payments have remained flat, suggesting that practices are prioritizing accessibility (Fig. 4).
Gaidge’s 2025 Orthodontic Industry Trends and Insights
Fig. 4

Keep fees in line with industry trends and adjust them regularly. Evaluating fees by treatment type can reveal their impact on your overall average. While there’s no set target for initial payments, tracking trends helps maintain healthy cash flow.


Trend 3: New patient calls to exams back to pre-COVID levels
New patient adds (calls) to exams is the percentage of patients who scheduled an exam after calling and then followed through by attending their appointment. The new patient adds to exams rate holds at 81%. However, too many patients still miss their scheduled exams, leaving room for improvement (Fig. 5).
Gaidge’s 2025 Orthodontic Industry Trends and Insights
Fig. 5

New patient flow is key, but tracking new patient adds to exams reveals where your practice may be falling short—whether in intake, marketing or scheduling. Understanding this metric helps improve conversion from calls to exams, driving practice growth.

Looking at your data, there are several ways to take action depending on what your metrics tell you, including balancing exam availability to ensure future exams scheduled don’t outpace new patient adds, reducing no-shows and cancellations, refining your intake process with first impressions, and assessing your marketing strategy.


Trend 4: YOY decline in case acceptance with seasonal patterns
Case acceptance has declined year over year, but seasonal trends remain consistent. Rates are higher from January to March and lower from September to November (Fig. 6).
Gaidge’s 2025 Orthodontic Industry Trends and Insights
Fig. 6

Case acceptance is a critical growth metric and one of the most important KPIs. It directly impacts treatment starts, contracts and revenue. Not all patients accept treatment, but tracking performance against industry benchmarks helps practices improve acceptance rates. For example, if only 60% of consults start treatment, comparing with industry benchmarks can reveal if your practice is underperforming.


Trend 5: Observation patient visits continue to decline
Observation visits dropped from 9% (2020–2022) to 8% (2023–2024), pointing to lower engagement in pre-treatment and between-phase monitoring (Fig. 7).
Gaidge’s 2025 Orthodontic Industry Trends and Insights
Fig. 7

June is the busiest month for observation visits, while September is the slowest, likely because of school schedules.

Tracking how many observation patients return each month can help you identify gaps. If no-shows are high, strengthen reminders and have your coordinator follow up to reschedule. Small efforts here help keep patients engaged.

To maintain consistency, set a nine-month schedule for ages 1–10 and a six-month schedule for ages 11–14. Follow-ups help, but engagement matters too. Send reminders, host appreciation events and use social media to keep patients connected between appointments.

Additionally, since summer is a busier season, especially in June, it’s a great time to ramp up your observation program and maximize scheduled appointments.


Turn insights into actionable growth
Gaidge empowers orthodontic practices with the tools and insights needed to make informed, strategic decisions. Gaidge Analytics tracks more than 80 metrics across 35 reports, giving you real-time visibility into your financial health and performance.

With the right data at your fingertips, you can confidently refine strategies, optimize efficiency and focus on what matters most—your patients.
To see more trends and insights, download Gaidge’s full eBook: here.
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October 2025
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