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There's no need to over compensate your dental team.

How far should you go when compensating your dental team?

Oct. 11, 2023
Some dentists are still offering too much when it comes to compensating their teams to keep them. But dental staffing issues are actually starting to improve.

Given the general shortage of dental staff today, there’s a great deal of fear and anxiety over losing staff members. Many articles have been written on how to increase staff longevity and build a culture that’s satisfying and rewarding for the staff, and this should allow for a more stable staff scenario. 

Suggested strategies range from signing bonuses to longevity bonuses to increased compensation to gas allowances to hygiene commissions to overall practice production bonuses. Bonuses and compensation have become more creative than ever as dentists and office managers scramble to find ways to retain their team.

Read more from Dr. Levin

The dental staffing crisis

4 ways to retain your dental staff during trying times

Is there a limit when compensating? 

Yes. A top business school professor said, “Any job is only worth so much.” We have definitely seen jobs in dentistry become worth more. A shortage always drives compensation higher, whether it’s salary, bonuses, commissions, or other financial or nonfinancial benefits. This is normal.  

But keep in mind that the staffing shortage has now stabilized. It may not have improved much, but it’s not worsening. Early indicators are that more staff members who quit or retired during the pandemic are coming back to dentistry. Their excess discretionary savings have begun to run out and their credit card debt is growing. Either way, there’s a point where a practice needs to set a limit for compensation.

It's important to compensate staff competitively, fairly, and proactively. It’s also important not to panic and go into an “at all costs” mentality of not losing staff. We have the privilege of meeting with many practices and we’ve yet to meet one that’s gone bankrupt because they couldn’t find any staff. We’ve seen challenges in hiring, challenges in retaining, and challenges in training current and new staff, but those challenges have always been present. They have merely been exacerbated today. 

The key is to know where the limit is and to be clear with team members that you’re not going beyond that. Let them know there’s an opportunity for growth as the practice grows, to increase compensation year by year due to inflation, and to demonstrate compassion, but there is a line for compensation that you will not cross.

This is a very sound business principal and one that every practice should give serious thought to. Having a clear budget, knowing your profit and loss goals, and tracking these carefully will contribute to a financially healthy practice. You may be surprised when your staff stays with you, even if you don’t go past your compensation line.

This article originally appeared in DE Weekend, the newsletter that willelevate your Sunday mornings with practical and innovative practice management and clinical content from experts across the field.Subscribe here.

About the Author

Roger P. Levin, DDS, CEO and founder of Levin Group

Roger P. Levin, DDS, CEO and founder of Levin Group, has worked with more than 30,000 practices to increase production. A recognized expert on dental practice management and marketing, he has written 67 books and more than 4,000 articles, and regularly presents seminars in the US and around the world. To contact Dr. Levin or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit levingroup.com or email [email protected].

Updated January 23, 2024

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