Dentaltown February 2022 - 51

by Dr. John A. Wilde
After working through eight years
of higher education, paying 100%
of all costs, Dr. John A. Wilde
spent his next two years in the
U.S. Army Dental Corps before
beginning a practice from scratch
in Keokuk, Iowa. He was debt-free
at 30 years old, owning his home
and the practice he'd designed
and built outright. He was
financially able to retire at 40 and fully retired when he was
53. He has published six books and written more than 200
articles. Contact: 309-333-2865 or jwdentist@hotmail.com
A
llow me to offer a trilogy of ideas that help me
increase profitability while simultaneously making
my professional and personal life more rewarding.
I'm eager to share these concepts with motivated younger
dentists who aspire to develop extraordinary offices, as
well as those nearing career ends who wish to reduce
chair time while avoiding income decline. But I'd
especially like to communicate with midcareer dentists
who take pleasure in their chosen profession but grow
weary of giving injections and cutting teeth and desire
to amplify and diversify their careers and lives without
suffering financial loss.
Having been a wet-fingered dentist for 40 years, I
have little interest in generalizations or abstract theory,
but great enthusiasm for candid lessons shared by those
who regularly treat patients and have walked their talk.
But information not acted upon is mere entertainment,
and for these concepts to meaningfully improve their
quality of life, readers must believe my assertions.
To increase the likelihood of that transfer of trust
occurring, I've interpolated factual data from my office
to demonstrate and enumerate concepts.
1
Associates
Having employed five associates over a
25-year span, I know the pros and cons of small
group practice are complex and multifaceted. For our
purposes, I'll limit the scope of our discussion to how
such relationships can permit owner-dentists to reduce
hours while increasing profit.
Because of steadily increasing overhead, unrelenting
third-party pressure to reduce fees, unmanageable student
debt and escalating supply, equipment and labor costs,
few offices can continue the egotistical and inefficient
luxury of treating patients 32 hours a week for 48 weeks
a year. No Walmart or McDonald's restricts itself to
such limited hours, tolerates lost weeks or closes over
lunch, evenings and weekends, which are peak consumer
convenience hours.
In light of these considerations, contemplate the
following scenarios: In my final year as a solo practitioner,
the office collected $400,000 with a 65% overhead to
yield a net of $140,000. (As a steadfast net-profit guy,
I focus on collections, not production, because I can't
spend uncollected money.)
During my first complete year working with one
full-time associate, we collected $700,000 with 45%
overhead for a shared net of $385,000. I was able to
double my past net, while a first-year dentist earned a
salary almost as high as mine had been the previous
year. (I'd suggest doubling both sets of figures to adjust
to today's dollars.) Other factors being equal, which
situation would you prefer?
How did we reduce overhead from 65% to 45%?
Because many expenses are fixed, multiple doctors
treating patients within the same facility significantly
reduce overhead percent (but not total dollars). For
example, our rent and facility insurance remained
unchanged, while salary and utilities increased only
25% as collections nearly doubled.
dentaltown.com \\ FEBRUARY 2022 51
http://www.dentaltown.com
Dentaltown February 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown February 2022
