How many dentists are in your country?

Market sizing
New answer on Feb 28, 2021
4 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Feb 02, 2021

One of the questions I had today:

  • How many dentist are in your country?

How would you solve this question?

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Ian
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replied on Feb 02, 2021
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Classic type of case here :)

  1. Population of country
  2. Split by income/wealth level (poor, middle, upper class)
  3. Estimate # of visits per year per group (of course, directly correlated with socioeconimic status...benchmark off of how often you go)
  4. # of visits a dentist probably has per day (do not assume full capacity)
  5. # days/weeks worked per dentist
  6. Divide Q3xQ2 by Q4xQ5
  7. Multiply by a factor of your choice to account for doctor holidays/days off and/or non-full capacity at doctor's offices

And voila!

Bread-and-butter type of case here!

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Anonymous A on Feb 02, 2021

Almost made the same approach, except I divided per age category (children, mature, old).

Ian on Feb 04, 2021

So, here's the question...which one is more directly correlated with frequency of visits? I would argue, regardless of age, you'll go to the dentist around once ayear. But, if you're poorer you can't afford to go as frquently (or at all). Remember...they're not testing just the final #...they're testing for your reasoning. Pick the categories that increase/decrease frequency the most!

Anonymous B on Oct 25, 2022

How would you guess the number of visits a dentist has a day? And how does that actually correlate to number of dentists because can’t that be for the same dentist?

Antonello
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Content Creator
replied on Feb 03, 2021
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi, in addition to the solutions proposed by the other coaches in the discussion, I would like to suggest similar cases in the platform to practice with:

  • https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-much-would-you-charge-to-clean-all-the-windows-in-seattle-4965
  • https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/market-sizing-milk-consumption-5087
  • https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-would-you-calculate-the-value-of-a-cow-4982
  • https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/estimate-number-of-traffic-lights-in-a-london-5692

Hope it helps,
Antonello

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Gaurav
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replied on Feb 28, 2021
Ex-Mckinsey|Certified Career Coach |Placed 500+ candidates at MBB & other consultancies

Hi there,

Ian is spot on! Besides, it really makes sense how you reason it and not necessarily if that is the most correct answer.

There are a lot of questions on market sizing on Preplounge, and it is a nice practice!

GB

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Clara
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replied on Feb 03, 2021
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

This is a very classic type of market sizing.

I would suggest:

  • Population
  • Break it down in age buckets -you could also do economic level, but this one for me is more powerful-.
  • Calculate number of visits per group
  • Calculate how many appointments one dentist can make

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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Ian gave the best answer

Ian

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