As a group, dentists have become more savvy in the area of practice management, but many are still too quick to accept some of the notions that have been perpetuated by dental magazines, by professional organizations, by the media, or by their dentist friends.

These myths and notions swirl through the dental community with surprising intensity and regularity. Sadly, many dentists fall victim to these myths and lose precious time and money chasing avenues that don't really exist.

Here is the first of five myths that pervade the practice of dentistry - and the reality.

Myth:

A high volume of patients is an indicator of success.

Reality:

A solo practitioner needs only about 1,500 active patients.

The total number of patient files in your office does not necessarily determine success. Looks can be deceiving. Many offices seem flooded with patients and appear to be extremely busy, but upon closer examination, we find that many of them don't do as much dentistry, their patient retention rate is poor, or their profit margins are wafer-thin. They see a lot of patients, but their bottom line is far from healthy.

If you know how to diagnose thoroughly, learn how to gain acceptance for comprehensive care, and put in place an effective reactivation and hygiene recall program, you need just 1,500 active patients. With fewer patients, you will do better dentistry and experience a more rewarding career.

Practices that don't do these things well require a high volume of patients to compensate for internal deficiencies. Such offices typically have a lot of patient files, mostly consisting of patients who have not completed their treatment.

A dentist owning a DMO practice could be doing $1 million in annual production, working very hard, seeing 40-50 patients a day and 80 new patients a month, and yet the owner dentist in such a practice may be earning no more than $140,000. We've seen profit margins as low as 14% in some of these practices.

On the other hand, a dentist producing and collecting just $400,000 at 50% margin could be comfortably earning $200,000 annually, seeing one-third or one-fourth the number of patients, without having to roller-skate from room to room.

Doctors put in anywhere from 24 to 38 hours a week. This is a stressful profession. It would be prudent to limit treatment hours to 32 hours per week maximum, and with sound practice management, this is entirely realistic. It also goes along with better patient care and smoother relationships with staff and patients.

If our perspective strikes you as good sense, we invite you to request a confidential practice assessment so that we can quantify for you the hidden profit potential in your practice. It's free. Request a practice assessment.