The #1 Blind Spot for Young Dentists Opening a Practice Today
I see it all the time: young dentists stepping into ownership and getting entirely in over their heads.
When mapping out a new practice, it is easy to get distracted by the shiny objects and the standard operational hurdles. Most new owners spend their nights stressing over:
- Navigating insurance negotiations and PPO fee schedules.
- Integrating the latest clinical technology and software.
- The logistics of the physical office build-out.
- Patient acquisition and marketing campaigns.
While those are all necessary components of a successful practice, focusing on them exclusively means missing the biggest threat to your growth. They are sadly mistaken about what will actually bottleneck their operations.
Staffing is the biggest problem in dentistry today.
Most young dentists are unbelievably unaware of how difficult it is to recruit, train, and retain reliable clinical and front-office staff. You can have the best technology and a flooded marketing funnel, but without a competent, cohesive team to handle the volume and deliver a great patient experience, the practice will stall out.
Focus on building your systems for hiring and team culture from day one—because your staff is what ultimately dictates your ceiling.
By Dr. Patrick Anghel, DDS (Pat the Dentist)