Happy Labor Day!
I hope that your Monday holiday provides some much-needed rest and relaxation.
One of the things that seems to be in very short supply these days for dentists is time away from the practice. All over the country, dental chairs are full and then some. Doctors describe themselves as practically running between rooms trying to keep up. Many practices have extended their hours or even added days to their calendars to meet the demand.
There’s no question that dentists are making money these days, and that’s a welcome development after the fallout from the Great Recession. But that success comes at the cost of high levels of fatigue and stress, low job satisfaction, and not nearly enough compensation. Not to mention the impact on their family and social lives.
In a nutshell, dentists are working too hard for too long for too little.
There are reasons why dentistry has deteriorated into a commodity business where low price is king. Put briefly, those reasons are:
- Wages haven’t kept up with the rising cost of providing dental care.
- Dental insurance companies are shifting more of the payment burden to patients.
- Corporate dentistry and dental service organizations are using their economies of scale to slash prices, forcing independent dentists to follow suit.
You Don’t Have To Compete On Price
If you’re as swamped as most dentists today, it might be hard to believe that there are prospects in your market who don’t much care about low price or insurance. They’re out there, and in many markets those “better” patients make up some 30 percent or even more of prospects.
But you won’t get them by being just another “discount dentist.” You will get them by differentiating yourself from the pack and appealing to what those better patients want… basically, a relationship with a dentist who they like, trust, and regard as the expert to solve their dental problems. If you’re using price-based advertising to promote your practice, it’s time to rethink your approach.
As Dr. Michael Abernathy, the founder of Summit Practice Solutions, wrote, “If you’re not working towards something that’s going to give you freedom, what in the world are you working towards? I’ll tell you: MORE WORK. There’s a better way. You just need the blueprint to build it.”
SmartBox Has The Answer
SmartBox helps more than a thousand dentists on three continents work less, earn more, and enjoy life. We provide a steady stream of better patients so that our doctors can focus on doing the dentistry they want on their terms.
Those dentists include Dr. Thomas Feder of Belleville, Illinois. Dr. Feder wanted to step down his hours of practice by bringing on an associate, but the practice wouldn’t support two dentists. After partnering with SmartBox, he told us, “Our average case value has increased. People are coming in looking for dentures and implants. The practice is now overwhelming our dental lab.”
If you’re ready to labor less while earning more and having time to enjoy life, SmartBox can help. May the next year bring you the practice of dentistry that’s more rewarding in every sense of the word.
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