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Show FGYcrdIa Praspscts Fr.? ttl lisiistFy The dental equipment-supply industry seems assured of continued good growth because of a sizable number of plus factors. PERHAPS foremost is the quick progress being made by dental insurance. While a decade ago only about 4.5 million people in the U.S. were covered by such insurance, in-surance, the figure had risen to some 25 million by the end of 1974, and by 1980 it is expected ex-pected that 60-80 million will have some form of dental insurance. in-surance. The rapid expansion can be attributed in large measure to the increasing number of large-scale labor agreements that include this as a fringe benefit. EVEN if such fast growth does occur by the year 1980, however, there would still be an extremely large segment of the population not covered by dental insurance. Hence, there is an impressive potential poten-tial for further extension in this field. The gain in dental insurance in-surance is not by any means the only plus as far as this industry is concerned. Other factors signaling further good progress include: RISING personal incomes; new product developments; Increased education furthering further-ing awareness of the need for proper dental care; and a mounting international market which is expected to expand at a rate of at least 15 percent each year. Up to this point, most of the domestic dental equipment-supply equipment-supply firms have made few if any important inroads into foreign areas. RISING incomes, dental insurance in-surance coverage, and an increasing recognition that even crooked teeth can be a health hazard are likewise having a major impact on the business of orthodontia. Recent figures indicate that an increasing number of adults are now turning to orthodontists for braces in order to straighten crooked teeth: In years gone by, orthodontists orthodon-tists catered primarily to children. But now it is estimated es-timated that up to 15 percent of the average orthodontist's practice is made up of adults-triple the percentage ten years ago. IN THE past decade, dental equipment sales have advanced ad-vanced by an estimated 10-12 percent annually, while sales of dental supplies have moved ahead at an even more rapid rate. Insiders are of the opinion that in coming years annual domestic shipments of dental equipment and supplies will grow at a rate of about 12-15 percent a year, while the advance ad-vance overseas should be even more pronounced. THERE are only a few publicly owned firms with major interests in the dental equipment field. In this group are Uentsply, Dett-Tal-Ez, Cavitron, Cooper Laboratories, Labora-tories, Sterndent, Sybron, and Unitek (being acquired by Bristol-Myers). But there are, too, many well-known companies making dental equipment, even tnougn tneir major interests are elsewhere. AMONG them are American Hospital Supply, Esmark, Ipco Hospital Supply, Sup-ply, Johnson and Johnson, Litton, Narco Scientific, Pennwalt, and many leading pharmaceutical firms. While a number of these companies have stocks within a reasonable buying range, the Research Department of Babson's Reports looks with special favor on Sybron Corp. and Pennwalt for investors wishing to buy the issues of companies with substantial interests in the dental field. SYBRON produces a wide line of equipment and supplies including dental chairs, X-ray equipment, filling compounds, etc. It has a good record and appears to have a bright future. Pennwalt has a strong stake in the dental field through its S. S. White division, which is one of the world's largest producers of dental supplies and equipment, and its J.F. Jelenko, a maker of dental gold, gold alloys, and laboratory labora-tory equipment. FOR free copies of reports on these attractive companies, com-panies, readers of this column may write to Babson's Reports Inc., Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts 02181. |