North Texas Dentistry Volume 6 Issue 5 North Texas Dentistry Volume 6 Issue 5 | Page 24

practice management

The Three-Step
Method for

Increasing
Production
by Roger P. Levin, DDS

Like any small business, your dental practice will reach its true income potential only if

you have essential systems in place and operating with maximum efficiency and effective-

ness. You need to start the system design process with precise, measurable objectives —
performance targets — and train your team to use the systems well, with scripting.

Step One:

Setting Targets for Practice Growth

To reach success, you must first define it… as specifically as possible. Come up with a vision of where you want your practice to
be in three years, e.g., becoming the go-to source of cosmetic
dentistry or reaching one million dollars in production or opening a second office.

Whatever your vision, identify the broad goals you’ll need to attain in order to fulfill your vision. Then, break these goals down
into specific performance targets you and your staff will strive
to hit on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis.

Some examples of targets are:

• Keeping 98% of all patients scheduled at all times

• Establishing a dentist-to-hygienist production ratio of 3:1
• Closing 90% of the cases you present

• Learning how to perform certain cosmetic procedures
within six months
• Increasing the number of referrals from patients by
more than 18% annually
• Reducing overhead to 59%

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There are many other targets you can set, depending on your
vision-driven goals. All must be specific, measurable and ultimately assigned to team members. Having such targets is vital
for three reasons. First, they will serve as powerful motivators
for you and your team. Second, they’ll also make it possible to
report and discuss your progress during staff meetings. And
third, targets will play a role in your systems design process, because you can hit your targets only if you create systems that
make it possible to do so.

Step Two:

Creating Systems for Reaching the Targets

Operating a dental office successfully typically requires dozens
of management systems and subsystems. Working with numerous practices to upgrade their productivity and profitability,
Levin Group has identified nine primary systems that are absolutely essential. For GPs, they are:

1. Leadership
2. Scripting

3. Collections

4. New Patient
Experience

5. Scheduling

6. Case Acceptance

7. Team Building
8. Hygiene

9. Marketing