Is Your Orthodontic Practice on Track? 5 Benchmarks to Review at Mid-Year

Most orthodontic practices entered 2026 with growth on the agenda. Now that Q3 planning around the corner, it's worth asking an honest question: are you on track?

Mid-year is the perfect time to take a step back to assess progress and identify where adjustments could strengthen second-half performance. The next few months can define the pace of your finish to 2026 and the momentum you carry into 2027.

Why Mid-Year Benchmarking Matters

Internal numbers only tell you what's happening inside your practice, not what's happening across the market. Benchmarking against peer practices reveals whether a trend is specific to your business or reflects something broader. That distinction changes how you respond.  

For example, a practice-specific conversion dip may point to process. An industry-wide dip may point to market conditions. Without an external reference, it’s harder to know whether to adjust operations, messaging, staffing, or expectations.

Here are five orthodontic benchmarks worth reviewing now:

1. Production Growth

Average production increased year over year heading into 2026, but growth requires more deliberate effort than in prior years. Performance now depends on more moving parts across the business, including fees, case mix, provider capacity, and patient financing.

With so many variables influencing growth, one question is worth examining closely at mid-year: are collections keeping pace with production? Benchmarking against peer practices can help clarify whether current growth is translating into stronger financial performance or starting to lose momentum.

2. New Patient Starts

While a full exam schedule reflects demand, starts are what ultimately drive revenue. Many practices are watching conversion more closely this year as patients weigh financial decisions more carefully before committing to treatment.

When case acceptance is lower than expected, the cause is rarely isolated to one part of the process. It tends to live somewhere in the patient journey before the decision, which makes it worth examining a few things in sequence:

• Is treatment being presented in a way that makes the next step feel clear?
• Are payment options part of the conversation early enough?
• Are undecided patients being followed up with consistently?

The gap between exams and starts is often where the most recoverable growth is.

3. Team Efficiency

Payroll is one of the largest operating costs in an orthodontic practice, and staffing efficiency remains a priority across the industry. As teams stabilize heading into the second half of 2026, the more pressing question is whether current staffing levels are aligned with production.

4. Payment Flexibility

Patient affordability is shaping treatment decisions more visibly than in recent years. As a result, flexible payment models are gaining traction across the industry. Most practices now offer terms that extend beyond six months, and industry data indicates that improving financial accessibility has not translated into higher collection risk.

If payment arrangements haven't been revisited recently, it's worth evaluating whether current terms are supporting treatment acceptance or creating hesitation before patients commit.

5. Overhead and Profitability

Staffing, supplies, marketing, and operating costs are all trending upward. As a result, practices are becoming more intentional about tracking the relationship between production and profitability. That being said, strong production can obscure a profitability problem when overhead is growing faster than revenue, and that gap tends to widen gradually before it shows up in the margins.

Compare, Refocus, and Grow

You can run a disciplined practice and still miss the broader picture. By measuring performance against broader industry benchmarks, you can see how growth impacts profitability, spot operational pressure earlier, and identify adjustments that could strengthen second-half performance.

The 2025 Orthodontic Practice Comparison Report from Cain Watters & Associates is drawn from Gaidge data across thousands of orthodontic practices nationwide. It gives you the external reference point to evaluate where you stand and make informed decisions for the rest of 2026. With it, you'll know:

• How production and collections compare to similar practices  
• Whether overhead and staffing costs are staying aligned with growth  
• How payment structures are influencing treatment acceptance  
• How starts and conversion rates compare across the market  
• Which performance trends deserve closer attention right now

Download the 2025 Orthodontic Practice Comparison Report from Cain Waters & Associates to evaluate your performance and uncover opportunities for the rest of 2026.