Running a Successful Dental Practice

Running a dental practice is no joke. In this age of the internet which includes countless online directories, there have never been more options available for consumers when it comes to selecting a dentist’s office. In addition to searches online, consumers can also use social media to inquire with their friends about which dentist is best suited for their oral health needs.

Amidst all of the day-to-day operations, it is easy to lose sight of the essential elements that make for a successful dental practice. The main focus of ensuring a successful dental business should be providing an exceptional patient experience.

 How you manage your dental office leaves a lasting impression on your patients, and this affects the amount of patient retention you have. That is why it is imperative that you adhere to best practices and always seek out methods to improve every aspect of your dental business operation.

When it comes to running a successful dental practice, here are 10 tips that are designed to help you.

 10 Ways to Operate a Successful Dental Practice

 1)     Identify What Makes Your Dental Practice Stand Out

When it comes to marketing your dental practice, you need to pinpoint what makes your dental business unique.  What sets you apart from the competition?  Perhaps you offer a wide range of oral health services or you provide specialty services that are in high demand.

These unique aspects of your practice will serve you well as they have the capability of attracting and retaining large numbers of patients.

Your practice also should promote these special qualities your dentist office provides to its patients.  Utilize several methods in your marketing campaigns that highlight the features that set your dental business apart from other practices. You can leverage social media, brochures, and your newsletter to illustrate how you provide an unmatched quality patient experience.

2)     Expand Your Dental Services

One of the best ways to increase the number of patients you serve is by widening the array of services you offer.  This approach will work to your advantage as you sharpen your competitive edge and engage more prospective patients.

You might consider adding more team members to your dental roll or moving into a larger building. If these actions enable you to expand your oral health services, follow through with them if you have a large enough patient count to sustain them. How about introducing new state-of-the-art technology to enhance the effectiveness of your dental services?

 When you add to your dental repertoire, you have an excellent chance of improving your reputation and increasing your patient base. This all leads to a stronger bottom line.

 3)     Increase Your Patient Referrals

Do you want to have a surefire way of boosting your profit margin?  Take actions to improve your patient referrals.  There is nothing more effective when it comes to improving your economic status than having prospects become patients at your dental practice.

Consider that a trusted recommendation from a family member, colleague, or friend could be the one reason why someone chooses your dental practice over another.  Take the initiative and occasionally ask your patients to tell others in their lives about your dental business. Have referral cards ready to give out and include business cards in your mailings to patients. Use email to make it easy for patients to refer people to your business and provide them with links to online review sites.

Don’t forget to incentivize your staff in ways that motivate them to tell others they know about your practice and watch your dental business grow.

 4)     Provide Plenty of Training for Staff

Every member of your teams hould receive regular training to build their skill sets and ensure positive patient interactions. It is worth noting that your front office team is the initial point of contact for your new and returning patients.  It is in the best interest of your dental business to ensure that professionalism, attitude, and communication are all first-rate so you leave a good lasting impression with callers and visitors.

Running a successful dental practice starts with your team. Make continuing education and professional training available to your team to help ensure your dental practice is providing exceptional oral health services and patient relations. Training not only helps your team members become more competent but leads to maximized profit margins. 

5)     Be Less Dependent on Dental Insurance

If you rely too much on insurance companies for patient payments, you may be cutting into your profit margin. Insurance companies decide what they are willing to pay for specific oral health treatments, as well as which treatments are even covered.

While there are opportunities to both ensure they pay the highest fee possible and negotiate higher reimbursement, PPOs  lock your dental practice into the insurance company’s pricing. In addition to creating a possible negative effect on patient treatment, you are restricting your profit potential if you only charge what insurance will pay. Your patients may face obstacles in receiving the necessary oral health treatment simply because the insurance company won’t cover it.

 Take the tactic of communicating the value of your dental services to your patients. That strategy is likely to persuade patients to go forward with out-of-pocket payments. When your practice enjoys more out-of-pocket payments , your bottom line is strengthened.

 6)     Have Flexible Finance Options Available

Running a successful dental practice involved providing patients with flexible financing options. Your patients then will be more likely to accept your oral health treatment recommendations and want to continue to be long-term patients.

Debit, credit, cash, and personal check are just a few of the different types of convenient financing available.. Financing options eliminate any obstacles to ensuring timely payments. And timely payments will result in a healthier profit margin.

 7)     Capitalize on Working Hours

With a restricted numberof hours to care for patientseach day, make the most of your team’s productivity.  One important way of improving productivity is by using software for booking patient appointments.

 It is also important to create policies for patients that include a requirement for 24-hour cancellation notices and fee schedules for missed appointments. You can also institute flexible work schedules that allow you to provide services for patients early in the morning and later in the evening. This allows you to accommodate your team’spersonal schedule needs while also stimulating more profit.

 8)     Automate Time Consuming Activities

There is ample dental practice software available that can enable your office to automate time-consuming tasks. Among the services you could automate are scheduling, appointment reminders, and other methods of communication with patients.

 You might think about upgrading your software and implementing features that include SMS and email reminders to decrease the number of no-show patients among other revenue generating opportunities. This action makes your front office staff more productive. They are freed up to interact with more patients and handle more ambitious matters.

 9)     Embrace Your Office Culture

When you create a happy and healthy dental practice, you enhance the productivity of your dental practice.  Make it your mission to deliver exceptional quality care for your patients. You also want your dental business to be known for stellar team relations.

 If you want to operate a successful dental practice, then make it a point to have a vibrant culture.  You want your team to be happy to come to work. Your aim should be to provide your team with a high degree of contentment.

 In order to improve the office culture, hold regular staff-building meetings and even occasional outings. You want to inspire your teamwith authentic leadership, and that helps to bring about a positive culture in your dental practice.

 10)  Engage Your Patients

Earning the trust and loyalty of your patients requires more than providing good quality services and delivering convenient options that include longer operating hours and an easy-access location. You need to truly engage with and get to know your patients on a relational level.

Reaching out to patients on an emotional level shows that you care and are not limited to providing routine dental treatments on a nameless person. You connect with your patients by seeing them as people rather than numbers. You gain their confidence by building mutually beneficial relationships.

 Turn Your Practice into a Successful Dental Business

Running a successful dental practice is made easy by putting into practice some of these tips. They will help you realize a healthier bottom line.

 Drilldown Solution Can Help Your Small Business Optimize Profits

 At Drilldown Solution, we are all about helping small businesses to be profitable. Our fractional CFOs are highly skilled and able to assist you in establishing a robust financial system while providing you with keen insights, strategic guidance, and fiscal leadership to support your growth and ascendance in the marketplace. 

Drilldown Solution offers a full suite of financial services that include bookkeeping, accounting, and tax preparation. We have the expert team to help any small business thrive, even under the current COVID-19 pandemic circumstances. We accomplish this with a three-part system comprised of patient-experience excellence, financial focused operations, and accountability.

 Our goal at Drilldown Solution is to put your small business in the best financial position possible, utilizing proactive processes and personal care!