Practice Production Prioritized: Increase production by two months a year
Most practices create a schedule template without real data. That's not necessarily a bad thing; many dentists are satisfied with their annual production and income. But what if you could add two months' worth of production every year without extra work? This is an enormous opportunity to increase production, profit, income, and savings for dentists, without any additional stress or hours. Here's how to add two months' worth of production every year.
Know where you stand today
A quick and simple calculation will reveal a dentist's average production per month. The best way to do this is by taking the total production over the last two years and dividing it by 24. It is recommended to use 24 months' worth of data instead of 12 because it will provide a more accurate average monthly production.
If there is more than one dentist in a practice, you'll want to do this for each provider individually. This is not about who is pulling their weight; it's about getting an accurate mathematical picture of each provider's production per month with the goal of creating the most effective and productive schedule for the entire practice.
Complete a procedural time study
Each provider should time how long it takes to do the most common major procedures. Again, it is important to get accurate data, so you should time each procedure in each service category at least 10 times and calculate the average. For example, if you find that it takes an average of 40 minutes to complete a specific service, then that gives you a realistic picture of the actual time needed in the schedule.
Most practices schedule based on habit or tradition. We routinely see practices that have never changed the amount of time provided in the schedule for a specific service; the time allocated for a task will remain that way unless you take steps to identify if the procedure can be done faster.
This exercise is solely about identifying the average time for each major procedure. Once again, this needs to be done for each provider because not all dentists work at the same speed-but do not rush yourself or put yourself in a stressful position in the process.
Benefits of being efficient
Once the procedural time study is completed, Levin Group almost always finds that the actual amount of time needed for most procedures is less than what is currently being scheduled. A 60-minute appointment can become a 50-minute appointment. A 90-minute appointment can become an 80-minute appointment.
After many years of building new schedules for practices with a focus on increasing capacity, we have found that most practices are able to reduce the amount of time they need for patients by at least 10 minutes per hour, which increases dentist production time by two months per year without working any more time. Over a 30-year career, this can add up to six extra years of dentist production. This is one of the largest opportunities to increase practice production, income, and savings. In an era when many dentists are retiring after the age of 70, this is an opportunity that should not be missed.
Editor's note: This article appeared in the October 2025 print edition of Dental Economics magazine. Dentists in North America are eligible for a complimentary print subscription. Sign up here.
About the Author
Roger P. Levin, DDS, CEO and Founder of Levin Group
Roger 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].