Dental Business

In this episode, I take a closer look at how contractual write-offs, insurance mix, and network leasing can quietly eat away at practice revenue and owner income, often without being obvious.

You’ll learn the five numbers every practice owner should be watching:

• Insurance mix
• Write-off percentage by plan
• Net collections
• Effective hourly rate by payer
• Patient concentration by insurance plan

I’ll break down how to calculate your effective hourly rate and why a procedure that looks profitable on paper may actually be costing your practice money once insurance adjustments, collections, and chair time are factored in.

But this isn’t simply a conversation about dropping insurance plans.

We’ll explore practical options for improving your payer strategy, including renegotiating fees, optimizing an in-network practice, adopting a hybrid model, or strategically transitioning away from certain plans. You’ll also learn how to approach timing, patient communication, front-desk scripting, membership plans, recall, and case acceptance so you can make changes without disrupting the patient experience.

Most importantly, you’ll walk away with a clear, data-driven starting point. We’ll identify three reports you can pull right now to better understand where your practice is making money, where it may be losing money, and which insurance relationships deserve a closer look.

• Learn how to calculate write-off percentages by insurance carrier using 12 months of production data.
• Identify two common traps that can hide profitability problems: outdated fee schedules and network leasing.
• Understand the five key numbers that should guide your insurance strategy.
• Calculate effective hourly rate by payer and compare collections against your cost per chair hour.
• Discover alternatives to simply dropping an insurance plan, including renegotiation, optimizing your in-network model, and creating a hybrid approach.
• Learn how to strategically transition away from plans when necessary while maintaining clear communication with patients.
• Get three actionable steps to complete this week: analyze write-offs by plan, identify active patients by insurance, and calculate effective hourly rates for your top procedures.

Your insurance strategy shouldn't be based on assumptions. It should be based on your numbers.

If you are looking to get some guidance for your practice, let us know! The KLAS Solutions Coaching team is here to help! Check out our website: klasdentalcoaching.com or klashealthcarecoaching.com to learn more!

A dental practice’s long-term success is driven by the quality of its team and the leadership behind them; not simply by having great systems in place.

In many practices, the owner sets the ceiling for what the team is capable of achieving. When the team isn’t performing at its potential, the solution often starts with the owner taking an honest look at their own leadership and being willing to change their behavior.

Two key tools can help raise that ceiling:

Everything DiSC helps team members understand their own behavioral styles and learn how to communicate more effectively with one another.

The Five Behaviors framework focuses on five building blocks of a high-performing team: trust, productive conflict, commitment, accountability, and results. Each builds on the one before it to create stronger teamwork and better performance.

These concepts need to become part of the practice’s daily operations. We recommend:

• Daily: A short, focused team huddle to align priorities and address immediate needs.
• Weekly: A leadership meeting focused on communication, challenges, and accountability.
• Monthly: A 90-minute paid team meeting focused on one shared practice scorecard and the behaviors that drive results.
• Quarterly: A strategic reset to evaluate performance, identify opportunities, and establish priorities for the next quarter.
• Ongoing: Clear roles, clear expectations, and a culture where team members hold one another accountable, not just the owner or manager.

The process doesn’t have to be complicated. Begin with a focused 90-day plan:

1. The owner completes the DiSC assessment and gains a better understanding of their leadership and communication style.
2. Identify one personal behavior to change and openly share that commitment with the team.
3. Rebuild the daily huddle so it becomes a meaningful communication and accountability tool.
4. Create an environment of trust and vulnerability where team members can have honest, productive conversations.
5. Establish one shared scoreboard so everyone can clearly see how the practice is performing and understand their role in the results.

When culture is turned into specific, teachable, and measurable behaviors, it becomes something a practice can intentionally improve.

The result is a stronger, more accountable team, less turnover, greater productivity, and a practice that can continue to perform well even when the owner steps away from the day-to-day operations.

Looking to try and implement these strategies in your own practice? Let's talk!

Visit: klasdentalcoaching.com -or- klashealthcarecoaching.com to learn more!

#DentalCoaching #HealthcareCoaching #PracticeTransitions #DentalEducation #KLASSolutions

Are you producing $1 million but only collecting $910,000? Where is the other $90,000 going?

In this episode, we take a closer look at one of the biggest financial issues facing dental practices: the gap between production and collections.

A 91% collection rate may sound good, but on $1 million in production, that means $90,000 is not being collected. Year after year, that gap can turn into hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

We discuss why practice owners need to understand the difference between what their practice produces and what it actually collects, how these financial leaks happen, and why uncollected revenue is not an investment—it’s money your practice has already earned.

Most importantly, we share practical strategies to help you close the collection gap, recover lost revenue, and improve the financial health of your practice.

Because producing more isn’t always the answer. Sometimes, the biggest opportunity is collecting more of what you’ve already produced.

Takeaways:

• The significant disparity between production and collections indicates a serious financial leak within a dental practice.
• Practices that consistently collect only 91% of their production incur substantial losses over time, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• Effective collection strategies focus on recovering money already earned rather than creating new income streams through increased production.
• Monitoring both the collection percentage and adjustments provides invaluable insights into a practice's financial health and operational efficiency.

Looking for guidance on how to run your practice effectively? Visit: klasdentalcoaching.com to see how we can help set your practice up for success!

In this week's episode, Phil Cole, CEO of KLAS Solutions, talks through the critical role of the hygiene department, which is often misperceived as a "cost center" when, in fact, it serves as the vital engine propelling the entire dental practice forward. Through a comparative analysis of two practices within the same area, we look at one practice's hygiene department merely meets payroll while the other exhibits a remarkable threefold production increase, effectively optimizing the doctor's schedule. The distinction does not stem from talent, but rather from a systematic approach that encompasses mindset, clinical protocols, and operational efficiency.

Throughout the conversation, Phil leaves some essential strategies, including an actionable 90-day implementation plan, to transform the hygiene department into a robust profit center. By the conclusion of this episode, Phil aspires to equip you with the requisite insights to elevate your practice's hygiene performance to unprecedented heights.

Takeaways:

• It is imperative to recognize that the hygiene department serves as the engine driving overall practice production, rather than merely a cost center.
• A significant discrepancy exists between two similarly equipped dental practices, where one excels in hygiene productivity, highlighting the importance of systems and standards in practice management.
• The success of a hygiene department hinges on the belief of its purpose, as viewing it as a profit center fosters investment and growth.
• Implementing a comprehensive periodontal program can dramatically improve patient outcomes and practice profitability, addressing the substantial gap in necessary care that many practices currently overlook.

To learn more about how KLAS Solutions can set your practice up for success, visit klasdentalcoaching.com!

In today's podcast, Phil Cole, CEO of KLAS Solutions, discusses the critical importance of case acceptance in dental practices. We dive into the financial implications of patient treatment refusals result in significant losses, as the expenses incurred prior to a patient's decision to decline treatment remain with the practice while the anticipated revenue dissipates. By emphasizing that case acceptance is fundamentally a communication issue rather than a mere financial one, we argue that enhancing understanding and urgency among patients can improve acceptance rates. Ultimately, this episode aims to equip dental professionals with actionable strategies to maximize the acceptance of treatment plans already established within their practice.

Takeaways from today's episode:

• The practice of case acceptance is critical, as it directly influences the financial viability of a dental practice.
• Patients often decline treatment not due to cost, but rather due to misunderstanding or lack of urgency regarding their dental needs.
• Effective communication and the use of visual aids can significantly enhance patient understanding and acceptance of proposed dental treatments.
• Scheduling accepted treatment immediately is essential, as this prevents the likelihood of a patient changing their mind before actual treatment occurs.

To learn more about KLAS Solutions, visit www.klassolutions.com!

In this week's episode, our discussion centers on the implications of patient retention within dental practices, wherein we assert that the most financially burdensome patients are those who are new, while the most cost-effective and lucrative are those who are already familiar with the practice. We explore the troubling phenomenon of patient attrition, and look at how practices often inadvertently allow existing patients to depart without securing their return, thereby incurring unnecessary marketing expenses to attract new clientele.

Our analysis reveals that many practices are unaware of the significant patient loss occurring quietly, often masked by seemingly stable production numbers. We emphasize the necessity of measuring and addressing this attrition through effective systems and practices, particularly focusing on the last moments of a patient's visit. We provide actionable strategies to enhance reappointment rates, which are essential for fostering a sustainable and profitable practice.

Things to Takeaway:

• The most expensive patient in your practice is a brand new one, highlighting the importance of retaining existing patients for profitability.
• Practices often fail to recognize the significant loss of patients leaving unnoticed through the back door rather than gaining new ones.
• The hygiene reappointment percentage serves as a critical metric to gauge patient retention and overall practice health.
• The last 90 seconds of a patient visit are crucial for ensuring a follow-up appointment is scheduled, directly impacting retention rates.
• A proactive approach to patient reactivation can yield substantial financial benefits, as many former patients simply need a reminder to return.
• Effective communication during the scheduling process is paramount; using assertive language can significantly increase the likelihood of follow-through on appointments.

Want to learn more about how KLAS Solutions can coach your team? Contact us at: [email protected] or 844-552-7100 or visit our website to learn more: klasdentalcoaching.com

Today's episode revolves around a critical yet often overlooked metric for dental practice owners: the cost of an open chair. This expense, although invisible in conventional financial statements, can significantly impact the overall profitability of a practice.

In this episode, we look at:

• The cost of an open chair in a dental practice can lead to significant lost revenue.
• Practices must calculate their daily production goals to effectively manage scheduling and productivity.
• Block scheduling is essential for optimizing a dental practice's operational efficiency and maximizing production.
• Effective appointment scheduling requires a proactive approach, ensuring patients leave with their next appointment booked.
• Managing broken appointments is critical, as they directly impact a practice's profitability and resource utilization.
• The hygiene department plays a crucial role in driving overall practice production through effective patient engagement.

Looking to learn more about our coaching program or just about KLAS Solutions? Learn more at:

• klassolutions.com -or-
• klasdentalcoaching.com

How well do you really know the health of your dental practice? In this episode, Phil Cole challenges practice owners to look beyond production totals and ask a fundamental question: Do you know the numbers that truly drive your business?

While most dentists excel clinically, many rely on intuition rather than data when making business decisions. Phil explains why this reactive approach can limit growth and introduces the concept of the practice "instrument panel"—eight essential key performance indicators that provide a clear picture of financial and operational performance.

You'll learn why tracking metrics such as production by provider, collection percentage, overhead, new patient flow, case acceptance, hygiene reappointment rates, active patient count, and accounts receivable is critical to understanding what's really happening inside your practice. More importantly, Phil explains how these numbers work together to identify opportunities, uncover challenges, and support smarter decision-making.

This episode serves as the foundation for the series, giving you a practical framework for measuring your practice's performance. Phil encourages listeners to begin tracking these key metrics now, setting the stage for future episodes that take a deeper dive into each one and show how consistent measurement can lead to greater profitability, efficiency, and long-term success.

The objective of today's discussion revolves around the critical nature of the transition phase following a dental practice acquisition, which is often overlooked by both buyers and sellers.

Upon the closing of a deal, it is important to recognize that this event signifies the start of a new chapter, rather than its conclusion. We dive into the intricacies of ensuring that the operational integrity and value of the practice are preserved during this delicate handoff.

Effective communication during the initial hundred days is paramount; it is during this period that trust is established among staff and patients alike. We will explore best practices for both buyers and sellers to ensure a seamless transition that safeguards the legacy and vitality of the practice.

This episode is centered around an exploration of the fundamental principles of transitioning dental practices, with a particular focus on the critical elements that contribute to a successful sale. The host, Phil Cole, describes two distinct narratives of dentists who, despite operating under similar conditions, experienced vastly different outcomes upon their retirement. This situation serves to illustrate the importance of diligent preparation in the months and years leading up to a practice sale. One dentist, who invested time and effort into preparing for his exit, was able to secure a transaction that not only ensured his financial future but also preserved the integrity of his team and the continuity of care for his patients. In stark contrast, the other dentist, who reacted to his burnout with haste, accepted a lowball offer that resulted in significant losses and the disbandment of his practice staff.

Throughout the episode, Phil emphasizes the consequences of initiating the selling process without adequate insight and planning. The ideal moment to commence preparations for a sale is no less than two to three years prior to the intended transition. This advance planning allows for the optimization of key factors such as the practice’s cash flow, financial documentation, and the reduction of owner dependency, all of which are instrumental in maximizing the eventual sale price. The conversation further elucidates that a seller's position of strength is crucial in navigating the market and selecting the right buyer, as it affords them the luxury of choice rather than the necessity of accepting the first offer that arises.