Reimagining revenue cycle management: How dental practices can fix reimbursement and get paid faster

Dental practices are no strangers to insurance headaches. Whether managing a multi-location dental service organization (DSO) or operating an independent practice, one thing is clear: getting paid is harder than it should be. Reimbursements are slow, claims errors are rising, and staff are overwhelmed by administrative backlogs. So, what's causing the bottleneck?

One major factor is outdated revenue cycle management (RCM) strategies, especially on the insurance reimbursement side. From paper checks to legacy billing workflows, current systems are built around manual processes that introduce friction and delay at every step. The result? Less time for care, reduced margins, and a growing risk of burnout among administrative teams.

What's broken in today’s reimbursement process?

RCM in dentistry has traditionally focused on the front end, including coding, collections, and patient financial engagement. However, as insurance plans grow more complex and payer requirements evolve, the back end of the revenue cycle is as critical. Unfortunately, most practices rely on tools that haven't evolved to match that complexity.

According to a recent survey, 67% of healthcare payer executives report reduced efficiency due to antiquated reimbursement processes.¹ This inefficiency creates a ripple effect: providers struggle to reconcile claims and payments when payers lag, often delaying or abandoning collections altogether. Practices are left with approved but unpaid claims, partially paid claims, or incorrectly processed claims, each requiring follow-up, documentation, and staff intervention.

The problem is especially acute for smaller practices. While DSOs may have dedicated billing departments and access to advanced software, independent providers often manage collections with limited staff and even more limited time. That reality creates a double burden of less cash flow and more administrative overhead, especially when combined with similar struggles with patient collections. According to a 2024 report, the top 10% of dental practices collected 123% of billed production and received patient payments in just 7 days, compared to the 20-day average for most practices.²

When reimbursements stall, so does cash flow

The true cost of outdated RCM systems goes far beyond a slow reimbursement here or there. It’s systemic. Delays in processing, matching, and posting payments can throw off revenue forecasting, increase A/R days, and force dental practices to operate without full financial visibility.

This unpredictability makes it difficult to invest in equipment, retain staff, or expand services. At a time when the dental industry is seeing increased demand for specialized care and preventive services, administrative strain should not be the factor holding practices back.

DSOs face their own challenges. While they benefit from scale, they also operate at a higher volume, which means manual reimbursement processes don't just delay payment; they multiply inefficiencies across locations. Fragmented payments from different carriers, inconsistent documentation formats, and the need for staff to rekey data all contribute to slowed growth and compliance risk.

Automation isn't a luxury; it's the fix

To break the cycle of lost time and revenue, dental practices and DSOs must rethink what “good RCM” really means. At its core, RCM should empower providers to control how quickly and accurately they get paid, not create more friction.

Next-generation digital payment rails offer that control. Unlike ACH or paper checks, these systems transmit both funds and detailed remittance data in a single, HIPAA-compliant transaction. Practices no longer wait for separate 835 files or manually match claims to payments. The result is faster posting, fewer errors, and far less staff rework.

Practices that adopt this approach report measurable improvements: reimbursement times shrinking from weeks to just days, administrative hours reduced by up to 90%, and A/R days cut by as much as 25%. For a smaller practice that averages 20 days to collect on claims, reducing that cycle to under a week can mean thousands of dollars in working capital back in the business each month.

By digitizing the reimbursement process, practices can finally shift from reactive to proactive revenue management. Staff aren't bogged down with exception handling, and providers gain real-time visibility into financial performance across payers, locations, and time periods.

For DSOs and independents, it’s about control

Automated insurance payment processing doesn't require a full RCM system overhaul. Instead, it builds on the technology dental practices already use, making it easier to integrate into day-to-day operations.

Smaller practices can gain the same benefits as larger organizations. This means more consistent cash flow, fewer claim touchpoints, and less time spent chasing down payments. For DSOs, the impact is amplified across offices and payer networks. With centralized visibility, executives and regional managers can identify revenue gaps, payment anomalies, or carrier-specific issues in near real time.

That level of control is operationally and strategically necessary. As payers tighten budgets and shift documentation burdens to providers, practices that haven’t streamlined their back-end RCM will find themselves playing catch-up.

Don't let RCM be the roadblock

Reimbursement doesn't have to be a slow, confusing, manual process, nor does it have to be maintaining status quo. By investing in modern payment infrastructure, specifically digital reimbursement tools, dental practices can reduce risk, improve cash flow, and free their teams to focus on patient care.

Ultimately, RCM isn't about software. It's about outcomes. Practices that modernize how they receive and reconcile insurance payments don't just get paid faster; they create a healthier, more scalable foundation for growth.

Editor's note: This article originally appeared in The Bottom Line with Dental Economics, the newsletter that will elevate your inbox with practical and innovative practice management and clinical content from experts across the field. Subscribe here.

References

1. A dose of digital: How modernizing payments is revitalizing healthcare. PYMNTS. April 2025. https://www.pymnts.com/tracker_posts/a-dose-of-digital-how-modernizing-payments-is-revitalizing-healthcare/
2. Portalatin A. How dental practices fare in case acceptance, collection rates, and more. Becker’s Dental + DSO Review. May 29, 2024. https://www.beckersdental.com/dentists/how-dental-practices-fare-in-case-acceptance-collection-rates-and-more/