Running a dental practice requires more than providing quality patient care. Dentists who own practices also have to manage finances, employees, scheduling, operations, leadership, growth, and long-term business planning.
As a practice grows, managing all of these responsibilities can become increasingly complex. A dental consultant can provide an outside perspective to help practice owners evaluate their current operations, identify areas that need attention, and develop strategies for reaching specific business goals.
What Is a Dental Consultant?
A dental consultant provides professional guidance on the business and operational aspects of running a dental practice.
Rather than focusing on clinical treatment, consulting typically addresses areas such as practice management, financial performance, leadership, organizational structure, workflows, and growth strategy.
The specific services offered by a consultant can vary. Some focus on a particular area of practice management, while others provide broader strategic guidance across multiple areas of the business.
The goal is generally to help practice owners better understand how their organization is performing and determine what changes may support their objectives.
Why Might a Dental Practice Need Consulting?
A practice can be clinically successful while still experiencing business challenges.
For example, a practice may be generating strong revenue but struggling with staffing, inefficient workflows, inconsistent processes, or excessive dependence on the dentist-owner.
Growth can create additional challenges. Adding providers, expanding an existing location, or opening additional practices can require stronger financial systems, leadership structures, and operational processes.
Consulting can give practice owners an opportunity to step back from daily responsibilities and evaluate the business from a broader perspective.
Practice Management Consulting
Practice management is one area where consulting can provide support.
A dental practice relies on numerous interconnected systems, including scheduling, patient communication, billing, staffing, inventory, case acceptance, and daily workflows.
When these systems are not clearly defined, problems can develop. Employees may be uncertain about responsibilities, processes may vary from person to person, and the dentist may become responsible for solving too many operational issues.
A consultant can review existing systems and help identify opportunities to create greater consistency and accountability.
Evaluating Financial Performance
Financial information provides an important picture of how a practice is performing.
Revenue is only one part of that picture. Practice owners may also need to understand expenses, profitability, cash flow, production, collections, and other financial indicators.
A consultant can help owners examine these numbers in the context of their broader business objectives.
Better financial visibility can also help when evaluating major decisions such as hiring, purchasing equipment, expanding a practice, or considering another location.
Leadership and Team Development
The people working in a dental practice play an important role in its daily operations.
As a practice grows, the owner may need to delegate more responsibilities and develop team members who can take ownership of specific areas.
Consulting may address leadership structure, communication, accountability, and organizational alignment.
Developing stronger leadership throughout the practice can reduce the need for the dentist-owner to personally manage every operational decision.
Improving Operational Systems
Efficient systems can help a practice operate consistently.
Scheduling, billing, patient intake, inventory, recruitment, onboarding, and other processes can all benefit from clearly defined procedures.
A consultant may evaluate these systems to determine where inefficiencies or inconsistencies exist.
The objective is not necessarily to change every process. Instead, the focus can be on identifying which systems are working well and which areas may benefit from improvement.
Planning for Growth
Growth requires more than attracting additional patients.
A practice that wants to expand may need to consider staffing, finances, leadership, operational capacity, and whether its current systems can support additional demand.
A consultant can help organize these considerations into a broader growth strategy.
Expansion could involve increasing capacity at an existing location, adding providers, opening another practice, or preparing an organization for multi-location operations.
Each situation requires its own strategy.
Preparing for Multiple Locations
Managing multiple dental locations introduces additional complexity.
Owners may need consistent systems for financial management, staffing, leadership, patient experience, reporting, and operational oversight.
Processes that work well in one location may need to be standardized before they can be successfully implemented across several practices.
Consulting can help owners evaluate whether their organization has the structure and leadership capacity needed to support expansion.
The Consulting Process
The consulting process varies depending on the provider and the needs of the practice.
Tower Leadership describes an initial in-practice assessment that examines areas including leadership, team performance, scheduling, case acceptance, revenue cycle management, hygiene production, dental assisting, workflows, billing, and recruitment. The assessment is followed by an organizational review and development of a strategic plan.
This type of comprehensive assessment can help identify issues that may not be obvious when an owner is focused primarily on the daily operation of the practice.
Consulting vs. Coaching
Dental consulting and dental coaching can overlap, but they are not necessarily the same.
Consulting often involves evaluating a business or operational issue and developing recommendations or strategies to address it.
Coaching may focus more heavily on the development of the owner or leadership team, including decision-making, communication, accountability, and leadership skills.
Some providers offer both services because practice owners may benefit from strategic recommendations as well as ongoing leadership development.
The appropriate approach depends on what the practice is trying to accomplish.
When Should You Consider a Dental Consultant?
There is no single point at which every practice should seek consulting.
A practice owner might consider consulting when the organization is experiencing operational challenges, preparing for significant growth, adding another location, or trying to improve financial and organizational performance.
Consulting may also be useful when an owner feels too involved in daily operations and wants to develop systems that allow the organization to function more independently.
The decision should ultimately be based on the practice’s specific circumstances and goals.
Questions to Ask a Dental Consultant
Before entering a consulting relationship, practice owners should understand what the consultant actually provides.
Questions may include:
- What areas of the practice does the consultant evaluate?
- Does the consultant have experience working with dental practices?
- How is the initial assessment conducted?
- What does the consulting process involve?
- Will the consultant provide recommendations or implementation support.
