CATEGORY 102 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST In the last edition I wrote an article about how to build the $10 million dental practice, and I was very pleased to receive so many phone calls from around Australia relating to the article. Many dentists were able to identify with how many times they had approached this steep cliff only to be beaten back by things beyond their control. So this time I’m going to write about how we identify a sick dental practice and what we do about it. Common signs of a sick dental practice. 1. Poor new patient flow, insufficient new patients entering the practice, high marketing costs with poor returns few patient referrals. 2. Low treatment acceptance, patients delay or decline treatment centres are too focused on procedures rather than patient concerns. How do we improve this? It’s the same way we develop stronger communication skills build trust, before discussing treatment, present options clearly and confidently. Under booked clinicians empty appointment books frequent last minute gaps. We fixed this by improving recall systems train reception in proactive, monitor clinical productivity weekly. 3. Weak recall and reactivation systems. Patients disappear without follow up, hygiene schedules are inconsistent, we fix this by implementing structured recall protocols and regularly contact overdue patients. We also activate a tracking system to recall effectiveness of what we’re doing. 4. Poor team culture Staff conflict or negativity lack of accountability high staff turnover, How do we fix it establish clear expectations? Hold regular team meetings Recognise and reward positive performance. 5. Ineffective leadership 6. Practice owner or manager involved in every decision, little delegation treatment,members wait to be told what to do. How we improve it is by delegating responsibilities, developing team leaders creating systems rather than relying on individuals. 7. Financial underperformance. High overheads low profitability despite being busy, poor cash flow. 8. Improvement only comes by monitoring key performance indicators, controlling expenses, improving scheduling efficiency and case acceptance. 9. Inconsistent clinical standards. Different dentists provide different messages resulting in variable treatment planning, the only way to improve this is to establish clinical protocols, encourage peer review and mentoring and provide annual professional development. 10. Poor patient experience .This will be due to the long waiting times, lack of communication and patients not feeling valued. In improvement will result from a focus on hospitality and service, training staff and communication seeking and acting on patient feedback. Lack of vision and direction will continually result in team members not understanding the practice goals and resulting in absolutely no strategic planning. Improvement comes from creating a clear vision, setting annual and quarterly objectives and targets, that cause the communicating goals regularly to be evaluated and improved. In my next article I will show the five vital signs of a healthy dental practice and show readers how to encourage everyone to get hold of this? I’d like to pose a question before the next article: If we were to double our patient numbers tomorrow would your system’s team leadership and patient experience improve or collapse? u Dr Harry Marget 0412 322 253 • harry@74dga.com.au harry@dentalgrowthadvisors.com.au Signs of a sick dental office Dr Harry Marget By Dr Harry Marget BEYOND CLINICAL 2026 EXIT PLANNING SEMINAR DATES SYDNEY MELBOURNE 26 September 17 October Thinking of selling your practice in the next 5 years? Learn how to get the best result when selling one of your greatest assets For more information, or to register visit www.exitacademy.com.au www.practicesalesearch.com.au
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