Sorry if that headline rubbed you the wrong way; you might have bristled when you read it and thought, “I AM practicing the way I want!” If so, more power to you; among dentists today, you’re very fortunate.
SmartBox hears from dentists all over the country that their chairs are full and they’re making money… but they’re working themselves half to death to keep up with the demand for services. That’s the mixed blessing of so-called “full employment” and strong economic growth.
Not only that, but the vast majority of patients’ they’re seeing want routine services and balk when presented with a case solution for what they actually need. The large majority of today’s dental patients are price- and insurance-driven, in large part because wages haven’t nearly kept up with the rising costs of dental care. Dentists as a rule aren’t making a whole lot of money per case.
Stress and money aside, here’s food for thought:
- Do your cases and your days keep you interested and fulfilled?
- Are you making enough money for all your hard work?
- Is this really what you anticipated when you opened your practice?
- How much longer do you see yourself doing this?
If your answers to all four questions are “Yes,” stop reading. You’re right where you want to be. But if one or more those answers is no, read on.
Dentistry Shouldn’t Be A Commodity Business
It’s time to take a lesson from general practice physicians. They too are working too hard for too long, and arguably for too little. That’s in part due to the incredible power of insurance industry reimbursements coupled with the “corporatization” of medicine. There are relatively few independent general medical practices these days. Most of the doctors have joined (or been subsumed by) hospital-based organizations.
However – dentists have an advantage over physicians in that they not only diagnose the problems, they also treat the problems. Very little treatment goes on in a physician’s office these days; patients are referred out to specialist providers for anything more than fairly trivial problems. You not only diagnose, you treat a wide variety of dental issues and get paid to do it.
That means you can get paid well for attracting fee-for-service patients. They’re out there; some 20-30 percent of any given market consists of prospects that are willing to pay more for the right dentist. Those prospects don’t much care about saving a few dollars or what insurance will cover.
What Kind Of Dentistry Would You LIKE To Practice?
Treadmill dentistry is boring, it’s hard on dentists physically and emotionally, and it’s not sustainable in the long run. There’s a better way to practice dentistry.
If you’re ready to say goodbye to unrewarding treadmill dentistry, talk with SmartBox. We provide a steady stream of better dental patients for our doctors so they can work less, earn more, and practice the dentistry they want on their terms.
With SmartBox, you can enjoy dentistry and the rest of life too. And isn’t that ultimately what you’re working for?
The post Why Aren’t You Practicing The Dentistry You Want? appeared first on SmartBox.