Barron's business journal this week gave a pessimistic forecast for two of dentistry's leading distributors, Henry Schein and Patterson Dental.
Together, the two companies control 70% of the $7 billion market for North American dental supplies, the journal reported. But after interviewing dentists and analysts, the journal concluded that the stock for both companies is overpriced. Six of nine dentists reportedly said that patients were putting off dental work because of the recession.
The report quoted Patterson's Chief Financial Officer R. Stephen Armstrong as saying "the dental market has held up quite well to this point," and "signs are already indicating that people are returning to more normal patterns" for dental spending.
Investors appeared unconcerned by the report, with both companies' stock hovering around the same price as when it was published.
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