Dentaltown July 2020 - 22

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kcdan
Member Since: 09/03/13
Post: 8 of 30

How many staff do you have? Sounds like delegating more might be beneficial. Also, how
far apart are the two offices? Can you combine them into one location? ■
9/24/2015

psdmd
Member Since: 06/20/03
Post: 10 of 30

If the FQHC takes Medicaid, I'd drop the kids. They'll go to the FQHC and fill up their
schedule and you'll have more time for better paying patients. I'd also work toward longer, more
productive appointments, quadrant dentistry. Make appointments production-dense. ■
9/25/2015

t00thmal00f
Member Since: 06/07/10
Posts: 18 and 20 of 30

I think owning multiple offices is the most overrated thing out there. I'm not saying it's bad,
I'm just saying it is held up as the standard for happiness when a lot of times you can do just
as well and work a lot less with just one office. Sell one office, focus on the one you want, and
work a lot less.
Do your own prophies. Get a hygienist in two days per week for scalings and PMV. Make
sure you are using Open Dental and schedule with the bars on the left side of the screen. Start
limiting your Medicaid patients to one to four per day. That way you aren't restricting hours or
anything, but you are leaving spaces open for emergencies and more productive stuff.
What is your favorite part of dentistry? If it is extractions, go heavy on the extraction advertising. If it's crowns, do that. Focus your advertising on one area that you are really good at.
Then when the crown patient comes in, you can redo the crown, win them over, move on to
SRPs, then implants, then fillings, etc. Exercise. You will be better in everything.
One op for new patients/emergencies/Medicaid/crown seats/adjustment/no production or
production less than $250. One op for recall/hygiene. One op for treatment over $250. Have all
three filled at all times.
Work 12-7. Only six hours (if you take a lunch) but it is primetime hours. Quadrant dentistry. See fewer patients but do more work on them. Do sealants on those Medicaid kids. ■
9/25/2015

Mattematics
Member Since: 09/02/09
Post: 22 of 30

Came across this old thread. How about a five-year update? At the end of 2016 I was burned
out. Hard. Like suicidal, loaded-gun-in-my-mouth hard. Made some big changes. Closed
Office #1 and merged patient charts with Office #2 back in 2017. Fired all the staff. Sold my
house and got out of town. Remodeled Office #2 and added CBCT and a fourth operatory.
Grossed $500,000 in 2015 and $1.1 million in 2019.
Now for 2020, looking to "shrink to greatness." Drop one or both of my last PPOs.
Continue to grow in ortho and implants. Work 3.5 days. Goal is to now become more profitable
and increase quality of life, not "keeping up with the dental Joneses." Do have some new toys
(scanner, printer, mill, etc.) that I want to pay off at an accelerated rate. Might drop from two
full-time hygienists to one. Increasing marketing for ortho, implants and sedation. Mailers out
for ortho right now. Radio for implants and sedation in a few months. Reining in overhead,
getting off the roller skates.
Hope everyone is navigating the 'Rona OK. ■
5/14/2020

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