How to Reduce Dental Practice Overhead
Starting a dental practice is a dream for many dentists. It’s what a large portion of dentists have in mind for their career trajectory. If you’re thinking of starting a dental practice, you will want to take some time to come up with a plan. Something to consider about starting your own dental practice is the large budget you’ll need. Here are some ways you can reduce your dental practice overhead:
Consider your supplier carefully
If there is one area that will be a consistent cost and affect your dental practice overhead, it’s your dental supplies, including everything you could think of, from mouth mirror products to syringes. You need them, you can’t practice without them, but the cost can be high.
This is where some smart practices can come in, like shopping around for the best deals, doing your research on a quality company, and looking into discounts and freebies offered for loyal customers. You can save big when you choose your supply provider wisely.
Location matters
You’ll want to position your practice in an area that will bring you the type of growth you want. You want to be sure it’s an area where you can reach your target demographic, even if initial consultations are online because of Covid. Additionally, when looking for a location, choose your real estate wisely.
Will the location provide you with enough room for future growth? Does it have enough space for everything you want to do? Know that in some areas, people are happy to pay whatever the cost to get private healthcare, so research this demographic. When signing a lease, consider signing one for multiple years, so you can lock in a price for years to come.
Buy refurbished dental equipment
A large cost when starting your dental practice will be the dental equipment you need. If you plan on working with a team of dentists to serve several patients at once, that will mean more dental equipment. This is when shopping around for refurbished dental equipment that’s still in quality shape can help you to get the stuff you need, but at a lower cost than what’s available brand new on the market.
Practice smart hiring
What some business owners don’t realize is how much of an expense it is to hire new employees. You want to take your time when hiring new dental hygienists and assistants for your practice, so you can avoid having to fire and then hire a new team.
Additionally, when you find valuable candidates who can fill the positions you need and you can depend on them, you’ll be ensuring your practice runs the way you want it to, which in turn can result in more money and happier patients.
Work with an accountant
Preparing your budget and bookkeeping can be a lot. It’s not easy to keep up with the expenses and budgeting required for such a large scale project. Therefore, it could be wise to work with an accountant who has experience in the dental industry. This way, you can be sure that your financials are covered, allowing you to cut down on unnecessary expenses you may otherwise not even notice.
In Conclusion
Whether you plan to offer consultations online as a part of your practice or only offer in-person care, starting a dental practice as a dentist can be a good idea. However, you will want to pay attention to the fact that there will be a lot of costs involved. Hopefully these tips can help you plan ahead and do whatever you can to avoid high overhead costs.
