There is a lot of misleading information about how to increase the value of a dental practice. Some of the more believable myths include cutting staff salaries/lab costs/rent, looking for that ever-elusive magical marketing campaign, adding newer equipment or trying to do what other successful dental practices are doing. Some of these ideas seem reasonable at first. While these are an important part of a successful dental practice, most of these activities will cause you to shift your focus away from what really matters to maintain a profitable management strategy. So whether you are looking to sell your dental practice now or in the future here are some things to keep in mind.

Patients Are the Key to Increasing Practice Value

The key to building a successful and more profitable dental practice is attracting and retaining patients. Everything you do in your practice should support this premise. If you are not adding new patients and keeping your current patients happy, you’re fighting a losing battle. Patients are the single source for revenue and the best way to increase value of your dental practice.

In a typical dental practice, the goodwill of existing patients represents the majority of the total value of a dental practice. How patients feel about your dental practice, billing procedures, how people are treated, and their trust in you and your staff are all very important. Satisfied and happy patients and their families return to your practice again and again for years, sometimes for their entire lives.

There are two key benefits that current patients offer in increasing the value of your practice.

1. They already trust you, receive good service from your practice and are likely happy with that arrangement. These patients represents ongoing income from many years of future visits. They are most likely to receive and listen to your recommendations for treatment.
2. Happy patients also spread the word about your practice at no cost to you. Happy patients are the best form of advertising because what they say is credible and free.

Anything that you consider to help build your practice and make it more profitable should support maintaining current patients and acquiring new patients. For example, educating current patients about proper dental hygiene and care is much cheaper than paying for a marketing campaign to attract a few new patients. Besides, happy patients will bring other new patients into your practice at no cost to you.

Other Things to Consider

Other considerations are location, evaluating the local competition, arranging for an assignable lease in case you outgrow your current space and planning for long-term premises in the future. Of course, clean facilities, a friendly staff, loyal team of productive employees or partners will make your dental practice more valuable.

Offering more to your current patients and making the practice more attractive by adding more services like oral cancer screenings, same-day services, home care products, CAMBRA (Caries Management by Risk Assessment), etc. may make your dental practice more valuable. Weigh the cost of adding services against the additional revenue from existing and future patients.

Any activities in daily practice, hiring of employees, marketing or advertising efforts and offering additional services, etc. must all support maintaining current patients and attracting new patients, the primary source of additional and future revenue for your dental practice. ADS National offers the most accurate dental valuations in the industry. Contact us to get your valuation.