There are many corporate-style dental practices cropping up, and plenty of advantages to being part of a large-scale dental service. But despite many smaller practices being scooped up, you can rest assured that privately practicing dentists aren’t going anywhere!

 

Why?

 

There is a lot to gain by remaining small! The freedoms that come with your own practice can benefit staff and dental patients alike.

 

1. Customer Service and Individualized Patient Care

Private dental practice has roots in the community. The smaller the practice, the more opportunities to create and maintain meaningful relationships with your dental patients. These connections are priceless and a huge advantage over corporate chatbots and AI customer service interaction.

 

While a corporation may push for quotas, introductory offers, and discounts ruled by their budgets, often at the patient’s expense—a privately practicing dentist will always be looking out for their patients’ best interests.

 

2. Human Resources

Having a solid, experienced team you can trust is key to delivering quality dental care. You have to rely on your team and be able to collaborate well in order to be successful.

 

As a practicing dentist running your own clinic, you have the ability to make any personnel changes you feel are necessary. It’ll be your responsibility to hire whomever you want to get a good group of team members that click together. You’ll have the freedom to implement your own policies, health benefits, bonus structure, and training programs.

 

3. Management

Nothing is more frustrating than having management make decisions that ultimately affect your patient’s care. As an employee of a large corporation, you would need to abide by the company’s rules, whether that means replacing your personal assistant or backing one brand of supplier exclusively over another.

 

However, the freedoms of owning a private dental practice do come at a price. There is all the hiring and firing, scheduling, insurance filing, accounts receivable, and other management decisions that go into running a business. To accomplish these tasks, you can hire an office manager that you feel is the most knowledgeable and who’s thinking is in line with your own.

 

4. Marketing

Being the master of your own marketing campaign offers huge rewards. You may be up against some large established dental corporations that have huge marketing machines, but you also have the freedom to share your own unique story. As a private practitioner, you can choose how to market yourself and stand out from the crowd.

 

5. Third-Party Vendors

The quality of dentistry you can provide is not always determined by skill alone. Dentistry skills rely on hardware, software, and a variety of consumables used to deliver high-quality dental care.

 

Running your own practice allows you to choose your own vendors by price and quality of service. It allows you to try out new cutting-edge techniques, equipment, and strategies. Additionally, you would not be constrained to a specific theory of dentistry and limited to only the techniques and treatment plans that the practice selects.

 

6. Your Goals as Privately Practicing Dentist

You’ve worked and studied hard to become a dentist. Becoming a cog in a large corporate dentistry wheel may not be your idea of success in your field. Starting your day with morning meetings reviewing financial metrics over delivering quality individualized dental care may not be in line with your goals.

 

As a privately practicing dentist, your focus is on making sure each patient receives the individualized care that they need, from taking the time to discuss brushing techniques to an after-hours dental emergency.