Group Dental Practices has revolutionalized the way we look at dentistry. Such practices are benefitting the dental profession and its professionals immensely in every sense, be it financially or socially. We as dentists, already know the pros and cons of dental practice. But, as soon as we complete our education we land into practices without even thinking whether the path taken by us would lead to our destination. Running a private dental practice comes with a lot of financial and social pressure along with a plethora of familial and personal expectations. Patterns that had been followed by dentists/dental practices all along is old and not productive for “every” dentist.

What are GROUP DENTAL PRACTICES?

According to ADA, Group Dental Practice is “A group practice that has contracted with a dental management organization to conduct all of the business activities of the practice that do not involve the statutory practice of dentistry, sometimes including the ownership of the physical assets of the practice. There are several types of dental management organizations and there can be significant variations in the nature of the agreements between the dentist and the dental management organization.”

Let us learn about a few advantages of Group Dental Practices

1. THE MANAGEMENT OF GROUP DENTAL PRACTICES

Managing a dental practice efficiently without compromising the emoluments is arduous. The doctor’s availability, patient’s availability and the time required for completing the appointment should harmonise. This can become quite a task when you are dealing with multiple patients every day. In order to solve such issues, private practices tend to keep separate assistants who manage all their side chores related to their particular practices. Not to forget, the dentist is the only one earning in that clinic and paying for everything related to his/her practice single-handedly. Payment includes lab work, assistant doctor’s remuneration, payments of nurse, hygienist and bills for maintenance of the clinic. When a particular dental clinic is run by private management, the costs for maintenance and management of the clinic is not on the practising dentist. The organisation owning the chain of Group Dental Practice will manage the clinics, taking loads of pressure off from the practising dentists. At most places, the dentists will be paid a fixed percentage of amount from the total revenue he/she generates. The fixed percentage will be yours without any stress of clearing dues.

2. THE MARKETING

In this modern age of social media, marketing is everything for your business. It is also the most expensive and time-consuming aspect of growing any business, which is why 90% of dental practices shy away from getting into any form of marketing, and in return struggle all throughout for the growth of their practices. The primary aim of group dental practices is “growth of their business/chain of clinics.” A set percentage of their revenue is invested in marketing, which in return increases the number of patients and ultimately the overall revenue which includes the amounts earned by the practising dentists.

3. THE REVENUE IN GROUP DENTAL PRACTICES

Speaking of revenue, the possibility of earning is immense in group dental practices, notably considering the fact that you have not invested a single penny in establishing the clinic. The increased number of patients through marketing and better management of patient circulation including their follow-ups increases the revenue that comes from every clinic. This benefits the practising dentist to a great extent and increases the procurement.

4. THE LOSS IS NOT SOLELY YOURS

As practitioners, we all are aware of the sudden plummeting of our practices once or twice a year because of festivals, holidays, or any other issues. In private dental practices, dentists usually bear the losses batching it. However, in group dental practices it is always a shared one. The practising dentist is not responsible for bearing all the losses, the management shares it equally, lowering the financial crisis.

Also read: Family Dentistry – 7 Benefits of Visiting a Family Dentist

4. YOU WILL STAY UPDATED AND TRAINED

When we are going private, the responsibility of every aspect of our practice is on our shoulders. Yes, there is something else as well for which we are completely responsible and it is our own personal growth regarding our dental knowledge and skills. It is not a secret for anyone that doing so is heavy on your pockets. When we are working in Group Dental Practices, there is an opportunity for continual growth. The management in most cases offers free training from experts to keep their staff updated with the latest trends in dentistry. The management wants to run the practice as per the latest norms and drifts and doing so will require them to train their group of dentists. The simultaneous growth of the organisation and the professionals associated with them is their primary motto. Group Dental Practices can turn out to be an awesome opportunity for dentists to stay updated with the latest dental trends without any personal expenditure.

6. SCOPE OF MAJOR EXPANSION

Group Dental Practices aim to expand in order to enhance their business. The number of clinics run by them will see a steady but continuous rise in numbers. Early association with a rising organisation is an opportunity for the dentist to see enormous expansion in terms of their practice. Dentists with specialisations offering treatment by visiting various clinics can treat more number of patients with the increase in the overall count of clinics in the organisation.

7. HUB OF YOUNG DENTISTS

It is not a secret in dentistry that the start of a professional career after the end of college is an admonition for every young dentist about the difficulties lying ahead. After stepping out from the dental college, keeping the next foot into the newly opened private dental clinic owned by the fresher dentist is not a feasible option for every dentist. Most of them need time because of the whole slew of issues which are primarily financial because of huge amounts of student debts. They need time to develop their skills. Many Group dental practices give an opportunity to young Dentists for developing their skills and remunerate them which is often better than what they get while working as an assistant doctor in Private Clinics. With thousands of young dentists passing out every year, employment is an issue like in every other profession. The trend of Group Dental Practices will ensure that the struggle for the young dentist to embark in dentistry is least, at the same time it will protect their mental and emotional well being too, ultimately preserving the future of dentistry.