What it takes to sustain and grow dental practice values during COVID-19

Many of the dental practices that have remained viable during the COVID-19 pandemic are doing so well that they are now actually increasing their gross revenue, net income, and dental practice value. Some of this upside has come from new patients who no longer have their previous dentist to call upon since he or she is no longer in business. Others have come from the continued good service that the dental office has always provided and the referrals that they have received from current patients who speak so highly of the dentist's clinical and personal skills. Few or no staff layoffs keep these dental offices open with employees who are recognizable and known to those who are using their services.

The successful dental office prior to COVID-19 will remain successful during and after the virus is controlled. There may be some creativity required, but the profitable office will always find a way to prevail since it concentrates on service, patient care, comfortable settings, and clinically skilled referrals of specialists if the practice does not include a specific skill set. The office hours and accessibility are key ingredients as well. When the times and profits were good, these dentists followed the rule of the patient coming first -- and they do the same during the pandemic.

The office professional and nonprofessional staff

There is an old saying about first impressions being the most important and lasting forever. After contact is made by a call to the dental office, initiating a relationship between the patient or prospective new dental client and the staff employee answering the phone, it is almost impossible to change that first impression.

Bruce Bryen, CPA, CVA.

The personnel responsible for answering the phone may have been trained to be pleasant and understanding of the patient's needs and responsive to the caller. This is a critical part of the patient and dental office relationship. The dental offices that have trained their employees will succeed, whereas those with employees with little or no training in telephone etiquette are not poised for success.

The phone call, the answers to questions during that exchange, and a subsequent appointment with the dental professional sets the stage for the relationship between the patient and the dental office. The patient expects the dental professional to be highly skilled in his or her clinical expertise and experience as well as understanding of his or her needs. A pleasant personality helps assist with the relationship between the dentist and the person in the chair.

That personality give-and-take is not only important for the current work at hand but also a free marketing extension for the dental office and dentist. If the patient is happy, then he or she will advertise to friends about how much better this office is than others and how friends and relatives should visit the office.

Other points to consider when working through COVID-19 and prospering

To prosper in the pandemic, think about what you would do to prosper and "sell" the dental practice to the public in preparation for a big transition.

Think of the things that the dental practice would be attempting to do when it is getting ready for a sale to a third-party dentist. The office would be bright and have a comfortable feel to it. Everyone in the office would be pleasant and would put forward their best faces to the patients. The idea is to think about how you would market the practice if there were no COVID-19 virus, in terms of accessibility by telephone, location, and an online listing with general and specialty services and hours of service.

What would the dentist do to facilitate the growth of the office? Where would the marketing be placed? Who would train the staff, associate dentists, and hygienists, and how would they be trained? These items that would be used for enhancing the office attributes should continue during the COVID-19 pandemic and would continue once the health crisis that our society is facing has passed.

Of course, during the pandemic, every step available for sanitizing and cleaning should take place. The items needed to ensure safety and the time to appropriate to them can be expensive. The dentist should account for the state of awareness of the problem and the use of every available procedure to keep the office as safe as possible. Since these points come with costs, there should be some type of offset with a patient charge. It does not have to be much, but it will make the patient aware of the effort by the dentist and staff besides seeing the signs that are posted throughout the office about how clean and safe it is.

The continued approach to prosperity

To summarize, the dentist and dental practice that will prosper is the one that is innovative, has good training available for the staff, and communicates well on matters of safety and progress. It is an approach that would make the dental practice successful with or without the COVID-19 pandemic. It will make the dental practice even more successful as the pandemic eases with vaccination available for those who want it across the U.S.

There will continue to be referrals from happy patients and the staff will stay happily employed. This is the essence of a continued approach to prosperity. It all begins with the dentist and his or her attitude toward what is occurring and what he or she anticipates. For the dental practices and dentists who have fear as their point of view and a worried attitude toward the continuing of the business, the patients and the staff will see that and that perspective will dominate them as well. The patients will begin to leave or not refer friends and family to the office. The staff will start to look for other opportunities of employment. This perspective has failure written all over it.

Bruce Bryen, CPA, CVA, is a certified public accountant and a certified valuation analyst with more than 45 years of experience. Learn more about him and his services.

The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.