This article was written by the Planet DDS staff and originally published on DrBicuspid.com. This is the third article of a five-part series with DSO leaders at the Dykema Conference in 2024.
The economic uncertainty has many dental practices seeking ways to increase same-store growth without burning out their team. Navigating this challenge requires a careful balance of operational efficiency, patient satisfaction, and revenue management. To help you achieve this, we reached out to DSO dental industry leaders who have successfully implemented changes that streamline operations, increase capacity, and boost same-store revenue.
10 Operational Tips to Improve Same-Store Growth
To achieve sustainable same-store growth, consider implementing these ten actionable ways to improve your dental practice operations:
1. Schedule new patient appointments within five days.
When somebody finally remembers they need to make a dentist appointment, they typically want to get seen quickly. “Ensuring you have reserved new patient slots within five days reduces no-shows and starts the patient off on the right foot,” said Bree Elliott, senior director of Project Management for InterDent, a DSO with more than 150 affiliated practices.
2. Offer extended dental practice hours.
Another way to increase same-store revenue is to increase capacity. “We’ve been hyper-focused on our scheduling templates and the goal is to have multiple teams in the same practice. Right now, the average dental practice runs Monday to Thursday, the good ones are open five days, and the most productive practices are working six days. We do a lot of emergency dentistry and a lot of walk-in patients, so we have to be available,” said Dr. Alap Choksey, vice president of clinical services of North American Dental Group, which has about 300 affiliated practices.
3. Fill dental patient scheduling gaps.
Practice management technology can help fill gaps caused by last-minute cancellations. “We use QuickFill in Denticon to identify patients who meet certain criteria—such as they recently had a missed or canceled appointment, or those who would like to come in sooner than they are scheduled for—and then sent a mass text letting them know we have an opening available,” said Bree Elliott. “The first patient who responds is then booked in that timeslot, and all other respondents receive an automated reply to let them know that opening has been filled, which is very efficient.”
Many dental groups include their phone number in the automated reply, with a request to call the practice to schedule another time that is convenient.
Check out this video as DSO executives and dentists share what they’ve implemented to increase same-store growth at their practices:
4. Use well-trained dental treatment coordinators.
Many DSOs, including Dental Care Alliance, send new hires through a specialized training program designed to teach soft skills, psychology, and case acceptance techniques. Treatment coordinators learn how to take patients on the journey from insurance verification and welcoming them to the office, to treatment plan presentation and financing options.
5. Increase payment collections.
There are many ways dentists and DSO executives are achieving same-store growth through a tighter focus on revenue cycle management (RCM). Dee Fischer, CEO of Fischer’s Professional Group, ensures teams know how to use new RCM features that have been added to their practice management system, such as automated text-to-pay reminders with links that allow patients to pay online.
She also trains team members on the soft skills needed to politely and effectively discuss the fees associated with treatment, overcome concerns, and collect payment. Using simple phrasing like, “We have a lot of options to help you fit the cost of the healthcare you need into your family budget,” can make people feel more confident about accepting treatment.
6. Customize dental patient payment plans.
Retailers including Amazon offer monthly installment payment plans, and people expect the same convenience for big-ticket items in healthcare. Advanced practice management systems have built-in or add-on features that allow you to create a customized payment plan for patients.
“We recently lost our payment coordinator and we didn’t need to replace her because everything can be done through the Automation Suite in Cloud 9,” said Allison Hale, the COO of Parks Orthodontics, a private practice in Virginia. “We start patients with $200 down and then a monthly payment plan.”
7. Offer third-party financing options.
“It’s crucial to facilitate patient acceptance of treatment plans by providing them with financing options that break down the total cost into affordable monthly payments,” agreed Bree Elliott with InterDent. “There are several third-party financing partners who can assist you in offering solutions that meet your patients’ needs, including those with sub-prime credit scores.”
8. Use card-on-file dental technology.
Sophisticated practice management systems offer encrypted card-on-file capabilities, which enable practices to securely save a primary method of payment and a secondary method of payment for automatic payment plan withdrawals. “We set up an automated process in Cloud 9 so if the payment doesn’t go through, it automatically sends a text message and email to the patient to let them know there was a problem with the primary payment method and we’re charging the backup method we have on file,” said Hale.
9. Renegotiate insurance reimbursements.
When was the last time you negotiated fees with insurance carriers? “We focused on getting a PPO rate adjustment for our providers,” said Thomas Passalacqua, director of business development of The Smilist Management, which has almost 100 affiliated locations.
10. Offer dental membership plans.
Many dental practices and organizations have driven same-store growth by introducing a membership plan. “We have a really solid membership model with Subscribili; it’s now our second highest segment of commercial payors, and our per visit output on our membership model is much higher, by 20% to 25%,” said Dr. Himesh Kana, CMO and managing partner for Dental Depot DFW. Dental Depot has 37 doctor-owned practices.
Innovative Strategies for Same-Store Growth
Dental practices and groups have many levers they can pull to increase revenue. The secret is to measure where you are currently, set a reasonable goal, ensure everyone knows what they need to do in order to obtain it, and then track the impact of the changes you implement. If they achieve the desired impact, then keep them. If they don’t, then receive feedback on why they didn’t work and make the necessary adjustments.