The most important number in your dental practice

Numbers! As a dentist, this may not be your favorite thing to focus on. Focusing on some numbers for the business side of a practice is necessary, but which ones will give you the biggest bang for your buck? Focusing on the three top numbers that will impact the growth of your practice the most. On the top of that list is your Active Patient Count. 

Let’s get familiar 

Your active patient count includes all the individual patients that came into your practice. For our purposes right now, we will look at those that came into your practice in the last 12 months (we don’t include how many times each patient visited, just that they came at least once). You can find this number within your practice management software. 

Why does this number matter? 

 In general, if you have 800 active patients that have visited your practice in the last year, you need to provide 3 doctor days and 4 hygiene days to meet the needs of your patients. You can accomplish this by being open only three days a week but have two hygienists working on one of the days (there are many options for making this work for your situation). If you have 1,200 active patients, you will need at least 4 doctor days and 5.5-6 hygiene days. Now, I ask you this question – are you providing enough doctor or hygiene days to meet the needs of your patients? If your answer is no, then you’re leaving additional revenue on the table.

Some other things you can learn about your practice from these numbers?

• Does my practice need to be open to additional days?
• Should I hire an additional Hygienist?
• Do I have enough patients to hire an associate?
• Am I retaining my existing patients?
• …and so many more

About DrillDown Solution

At Drilldown Solution, we are your one-stop-shop for all financial management and business consulting for your dental practice. When you partner with Drilldown Solution, you gain access to exceptional accountants and CPAs who can give you expert guidance and advice on all tax planning and tax preparation issues.

We know how to devise a tax strategy aimed at reducing liabilities and maximizing profits for your dental practice. Our team of tax experts will analyze your full financial picture and design a personalized tax plan to preserve your income.

Drilldown Solution offers a full suite of financial services that include bookkeeping, accounting, tax preparation, and dental consulting. We have the expert team to help any dental practice thrive, even under the current COVID-19 pandemic circumstances. We accomplish this with a three-part system comprised of patient-experience excellence, financial focused operations, and accountability.

Our goal at Drilldown Solution is to put your dental practice in the best financial position possible, utilizing proactive processes and personal care!