Dental practices must continually adapt to keep up with changing times. Fortunately, dentistry changes more slowly than industries like software or tech, allowing practice owners more time to understand the dynamic landscape, identify opportunities, and react accordingly to grow production and maintain success. There are many opportunities to increase practice production, maximize profit margins, and allow dentists to retire earlier than the current average of 69 years of age.
Expand the practice. In every practice career, there will be opportunities for expansion that can increase production, profit, and income. Expanding the practice can include adding one or more new chairs, moving, or taking on a second office. The physical facility can play a key role in the size the practice becomes, and we encourage dentists to continually analyze opportunities and timing to expand the practice. Practice expansion can grow practices anywhere from 20% to 100%.
Don’t forget to maximize insurance benefits. Approximately 90% of today’s dental practices participate in one or more insurance plans. Therefore, most practices must learn to manage their insurance relationship at the highest level. Opportunities include raising fees annually, submitting the fee schedule to the insurer, contacting the insurer regularly to ask for higher reimbursements, appealing cases that are declined, and using the right insurance codes.
Dr. Roger P. Levin is CEO of Levin Group, a leading practice management and marketing consulting firm. To contact him or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit LevinGroup.comor email [email protected].
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