How To Increase Dental Practice Revenue

Price increases are just one of the many options available to increase your dental practice revenue. If you want to increase production but feel your prices are where they need to be already, we have some secrets that will make your practice a more desirable option for your patients and save overhead at the same time. These secrets don’t just increase production and revenue—they help your practice grow. Here is how to increase dental practice revenue and increase production in your dental office by 25% or more.

1. Optimize your software use.

There are many dental practice-management software options out there, but the reality is that most of the problems this software can fix will remain unresolved if your team isn’t entirely on board with and good at using the software. If your team doesn’t know how best to operate it, then it won’t save you any time or money in the end.

To make the most of your software investment, you need to get your team involved in training and ensure that they actually know how to use the software to its full potential. By making sure everyone on your team is comfortable operating it, you ensure that you’re reaping all the benefits of your existing tools.

You also need to take full advantage of the stats tracking that your software helps with. You need to know how many cancellations, how many empty chairs, how many accepted treatment plans, and how many other patient variables you have to deal with. Make sure that the whole team is aware of these stats, and have team meetings once a week in which your practice manager reviews the stats with you.

2. Study to expand your services.

There is always demand for specialty dentistry. While it is a long process to study and train to offer new services to your patients, this investment will more than pay for itself with time, especially if you choose a specialty you truly love and want to spend time doing. Add to that making sure it’s a specialty that is in demand and you have a winning combination. Learning a new specialty, such as cosmetic dentistry, orthodontics, or implant dentistry, can be a valuable investment in the future of your career and your practice as a whole. These additional specialties not only attract new patients but also increase revenue from existing patients, both of which will help your bottom line.

One specialty that meshes extremely well with general dentistry is orthodontics. You don’t have to be an orthodontist to offer orthodontics; instead, you can take general dentist orthodontics courses and develop the specialty yourself if you have the time and desire to do so. By treating patients who need orthodontics in-house, you add a revenue stream to your dental practice and have to make fewer referrals.

3. Improve patient retention.

Enhancing the patient experience is a good way to develop relationships that lead to long-lasting care and improve your reputation within the community. Happy patients lead to more new patients, so taking measures to improve patient retention are excellent for your business’s bottom line. These do not have to be huge infrastructural changes or anything too complicated; simply make some small changes with your patients’ quality of life in mind.

Some of these small changes include collecting and using patient feedback to improve the patient experience and increase satisfaction, which encourage higher patient retention and more referrals. Another option is expanding appointment availability to accommodate more patients and increase revenue. This could include offering extended hours or adding additional team members to the practice. Patients with specific needs strongly appreciate early or late appointments, and you may find that these patients are more likely to show up when they can schedule during these time slots. Making your practice feel more accommodating can also bring a boost to your revenue.

4. Schedule for success.

There is only so much time in the day, so for your practice to thrive, you need to make sure that every available appointment is taken. No call/no shows are the banes of any practice, so if you want to increase production, you need to figure out a way to maximize appointments.

First, put a policy in place regarding your no call/no shows. You and your team should communicate with patients about the importance of keeping their appointments and the consequences of not showing up without notice. For example, it may be difficult for them to schedule a new appointment in the near future because appointments can be booked out so far in advance, or you may charge a fee for no call/no shows.

Use calls or texts to remind patients of their upcoming appointments and confirm that they plan to attend. This helps to reduce the number of patients who forget about their appointments or make other plans. You can also offer incentives for patients who attend their appointments as scheduled, such as a discount on follow-up services, although it’s a good idea to limit these  incentives to save money.

It is also a good idea to implement a system for tracking no call/no show appointments and following up with these patients. This can include calling to acknowledge the missed appointment and to offer a new time slot.

Another way to deal with scheduling woes is by implementing a short-call list. One practice did this by letting patients opt in to a system where the practice would not pre-schedule them for a set day and time but instead call to schedule with 24 hours or sometimes same-day notice. In turn, the patients received 10% off every charge that day. This allowed the practice’s team to fill in gaps in the schedule with ease while the patients enthusiastically responded to the discount.

5. Explain your financing options.

While most patients understand that high-quality dental care comes with a higher price tag, not everyone is able to afford these services upfront. Consider offering financing options such as payment plans or through third-party lenders to make it easier for patients to access treatment and budget for smaller payments over time. By being open about your available financing options, you help your patients figure out what works best for them so they can continue getting the care they need.

Wrapping Up

These are just a few of the many ways you can increase dental practice revenue. While most of these can be done entirely in your practice, adding a specialty like orthodontic dentistry requires additional coursework and practice. Synergy Orthodontic Seminars provides training programs that prepare dentists to offer orthodontic treatment. You will develop not only the knowledge required but also the practical experience and skills necessary to expand the treatment options you provide for your patients. Browse our upcoming courses to find an opportunity near you.