Principles of Practice Management: Why dental practices fail to grow—and how to reverse a 13% decline

I had a fascinating conversation with a new client last week, one that I’ve had many times. I spoke to him about four years ago when his practice was flat; now it was down 13%. In looking at my notes from our original conversation, it was apparent that four years ago, he thought he could figure out how to kick his practice back into growth. He felt he had the background and knowledge to identify where his weak points were and take corrective action to move forward. If it were only that easy …

How to identify hidden weaknesses in your dental practice

Fast forward four years, and not only did things not improve for this doctor, they worsened. In listening to him now, he definitely had picked up some of the weak points, however he fell victim to the same challenge that most practice owners face—he was too close to the situation and wasn’t seeking insights and opinions from enough other advisors and experts.

So, what should he and other dentists in this situation do?

1. Meet with the team and ask them to list every weakness in the practice. Get input from the people who are doing this every day. They are the “overlooked experts” in this equation. You will probably be surprised by how many areas they highlight, but that is a good thing because your team sees things that you don’t.
2. Study the business of dentistry. There is a tremendous amount of content and literature on how to run dental practices. I know because I have written a great deal of it myself and hope to continue to do so for many years. You won’t find all of the answers in any single area, but as you read practice management content, you’ll be able to reflect as to whether or not your practice is on track. Are your no-shows less than 2%? Have you done procedural time studies in the last three years to determine if your schedule is accurate? Do you get all new patients in within seven to 10 days? And on and on. Where are the weaknesses that, once corrected, will propel a practice to growth?
3. Consider professional expertise. The most successful people I’ve met surround themselves with experts, and they do it early. When I founded Levin Group 40 years ago, the first thing I did was seek experts to help me. Experts do several things that you cannot do on your own. First, they can get you there faster. Second, they can get you bigger than you might get on your own. Third, they keep you from making mistakes. And I’m referring to experts in all walks of your life, not just practice growth. I encourage dentists to have all of the basic experts in place—accountants, lawyers, estate planners, attorneys, etc.

Becoming a dentist is not easy. Running a dental practice is not easy. Identifying the reasons for a declining dental practice is extremely challenging and can best be approached using the three steps outlined above. The most challenging part is figuring out the problem. Fortunately, fixing it is usually pretty straightforward.

Editor's note: This article originally appeared in DE Weekend, the newsletter that will elevate your Sunday mornings with practical and innovative practice management and clinical content from experts across the field. Subscribe here.