With baby boomers reaching the age of tooth loss and a society where looks and fashion are every bit as important as skill sets, opportunity is everywhere and will continue to grow! When starting a cosmetic practice, you have to make sure you have a good business plan in place and understand the dynamics of the area where you are planning to open your practice. On the other hand, if you think of purchasing a practice, you have to carefully analyze all the legal and financial aspects of the business. Working for that practice for several years and establishing a rapport with the existing patients is, of course, the best method to ensure patient retention and success.

That being said, delivering excellent comprehensive and restorative dentistry is expensive. The comprehensive dentist first must be more expensively trained, then must have a more costly and experienced dental laboratory, have the latest technology available and must take more time to complete cosmetic and restorative procedures. Furthermore, payment for cosmetic dentistry is really challenging, especially in this economy. Practices must become more innovative regarding collections.

When practicing in a tough economy, most dentists, when they experience a slowdown in activity and a drop in revenues, tend to believe that the best solution is to reduce overhead. However, you always have to keep in mind that the best way to grow your practice is by implementing strategies that will increase production instead of cutting trained staff. Strategies such as building a stronger referral base, initiating pay for performance bonuses at the front desk, renewing the passion within your team through education and re-energizing, injecting fun into the everyday for your staff and taking advantage of all the resources you have available such as the Journal of Cosmetic Dentistry and AACD’s Annual Scientific Session, to your exclusive eLearning benefits, will all be of help. With a little more initiative, you will build your brand by making yourself a more credible practitioner! That doesn’t necessarily translate into working more hours; overall, the main goal is to find a way to balance the productivity with profitability and quality lifestyle.

As a financial advisor for dentists, we are here to help define your current and future practice needs to ensure your success. For a complimentary consultation on how to increase the financial success of your cosmetic dentistry practice, please provide the "Quick Contact" information on the sidebar, and we will contact you to schedule a free consultation, including financial planning for dentists and dental practice bookkeeping services. We serve the communities of Manhattan, New Hyde Park, Manhasset, Hauppauge, Syosset, New York, Garden City, Great Neck and nearby areas.