You went to dental school to learn how to care for your patients. You might even pursue continuing education so that you can offer specialized services and remain at the forefront of advances in the field. Running a successful practice requires more than just skill and knowledge of dentistry, however. You also need to follow the core principle of business: making sure your income exceeds your expenses, thus allowing you to turn a profit. Many dentists opt to work four-day weeks, but Bryant Consultants wants to explain how this isn’t always the solution for every practice.
Facts and Figures About the Dental Industry
Across the industry, overhead (the total expenses entailed with running a business) accounts for about 60 percent of gross income for the average dental practice. The other 40 percent doesn’t represent profit, however; instead, this amount classifies as doctor compensation—defined as your patients’ cost for providing professional dental services. If you’re hiring an outside dentist to help do the work, most of that 40 percent is going to go to that dentist as payment, leaving little to no profit.
Many dentists work five days a week, especially if they are in the early stages of running their practice. That means five days’ worth of patients and income, but also five days of overhead.
Now, let’s do the math. Let’s say you’re seeing patients five days a week, and your overhead is at that 60 percent mark. That means the patient’s income from the first three days covers your overhead. The remaining income from your fourth and fifth days is the doctor’s compensation. As a practice grows, the tendency to go to a four-day week is natural, and spurred by several concerns: wanting a higher quality of life and paying off debt, just to name a couple.
Before shifting to a four-day schedule, you need to think about how that impacts your bottom line. Certain aspects of your overhead remain unchanged no matter how many days you work: your rent, utility costs, telephone service, and payroll. If your overhead is still 60 percent and you go to a four-day schedule, then 75 percent of your workweek now is required to cover your expenses. That also cuts doctor compensation in half.
No one willingly would cut their personal income in half, but dentists and other medical professionals do this all the time. There is a surprising solution to this dilemma, though. Consider adjusting your schedule to work three days a week—not four or five.
Three Days a Week?
Not all practices can do this, but if yours can support this schedule, we recommend it. You’ll be working a lot less, but also increase your profits. You’re also eliminating an additional day of compensation for your hourly workers, going through fewer supplies, and lowering your utility costs. Your practice also will become more efficient: you’ll have fewer openings on your schedule and a healthy waiting list for when patients cancel or reschedule. You’re also essentially budgeting yourself 26 weeks of vacation time per year, which can be amazing for your quality of life, while actually making more money than you are now. This can actually be done! Our dental consultants at Bryant Consultants can show you how to turn this dream into a reality.
Dental Coaching Services
If you like the idea of shifting to a three-day workweek, you probably have questions about how to implement this idea. The dental industry experts at Bryant Consultants are here to help. Using our Coaching From A Distance program, we can work with dentists just like you no matter where you are located. We perform a thorough audit of every aspect of your practice, determining how to use existing assets and resources to improve both your level of care and profitability.
At Bryant Consultants, our services can help you refine your vision, establish goals, and set processes in place to evolve your practice. Contact us by calling (877) 768-4799. We provide consultation, training, and coaching to help improve the operations of your practice. No office is out of reach for us. We will even come to you!
