Reasons for Out-of-Control Dental Practice Overhead Issues

If you’re having trouble with finances at your dental practice, you’re not the only one. In 2014, it was discovered that dental practice overhead accounted for around 75% of revenue. It may be difficult, but there are ways to remedy financial problems for your practice, and one of the first steps is identifying where the problem lies.

Why Your Overhead May Be Out of Control

Below are a few of the reasons you may be struggling. Once you discover the issue, it will be simpler to tackle it head-on:

• Paying Attention to the Wrong Numbers – You may think you’re keeping track of the numbers, but it won’t do you much good if you’re not paying attention to right ones. It’s possible for a dental practice to grow and increase revenue, but still be struggling with overhead costs. You may want to consider looking into inventory control, supply usage, and the purchasing system in place at your office.
• Employee Theft – We hope that this isn’t the case for your office, but dental practices are vulnerable to embezzlement. The most common form of embezzlement in a dental office is through theft of collections. Plan and implement new controls to help keep track of your employees and how they handle the finances. This is both to protect you from embezzlement and your staff from false accusations.
• Appointment Cancellations & No-Shows – Every time you reserve a time slot for a patient who cancels or simply doesn’t show up, the possibility of making money during that time period is lost. It may be helpful to look for ways to encourage your patients to keep their appointments.

If you’re not sure what’s causing your overhead issues, we’d be happy to help. CTC National has assisted dentists all over the country to get their practices back on the right track and running smoothly. Give us a call today to speak with a dental consultant. Our dental consulting firm specializes in how to start dental practice / starting a new dental practice.