Running a dental office can be challenging. You have to balance your professional dental knowledge and skills with business how-to in order to run all the other aspects of the business.
You may have already known that before you went into dentistry. Most dental students are passionate about entering the field and using their dental knowledge to serve patients and make a difference in their lives.
It is this passion to make a difference that makes all the inevitable struggles of running a dentist office worthwhile.
Then work and reality sets in.
The years of doing the same thing over and over again can gradually sap away that youthful fire and passion.
It is the passion and the often talked about, but underappreciated work-life balance that are key components to preparing your dental practice for success.
Prepping for Success
Are You Living Out Your Passion?
If you’re passionate about something, you’re excited to do something. If you love your work and are happy doing it. Are you happy doing dentistry?
If you are, work will not seem like work, but something fun. You will be passionate about learning new techniques and advances in the dental field through continuing dental education so you can serve your patients even better.
The dental profession has changed significantly since its beginnings. Advanced technology and better knowledge has allowed dentists to treat more dental health issues than ever before while making the procedures safer, less painful and more comfortable and quicker for the patient.
Dentists who are not happy and have lost their initial passion find it hard to break away from the routine and monotony. They will keep doing the procedures they’ve always done in the same way they always have.
The lack of furthering their education will do both their practice and their patients a disservice. As they won’t be up on current dental technology or offer additional services, patients will take their business elsewhere. Patients who do stay will be limited to what services they can have done for their dental health problems.
A Balanced Life Equals a Successful Dental Practice
You’ve probably heard that you can’t have too much of a good thing. Conversely, you’ve also heard that everything is good in moderation. In dentistry, you need a combination of both. It is called balance. Being too involved in your profession can negatively impact your personal life and vice versa. Doing a little bit of everything can leave you exhausted and ineffective in any area of your life.
Running a successful dental practice means you have to balance your dental knowledge and expertise with business savviness and empathetic patient relations.
People are scared and feel vulnerable when going to the dentist. Having a dentist who knows everything there is to know about dentistry but never smiles, engages the patient or acknowledges the patient by name can add to the patient’s dislike of the dentist.
Conversely, a dentist who is only familiar with the most basic, standard dental procedures, but who is beloved by his or patients will also find it hard for their practice to succeed. Patients expect their dentist to be knowledgeable, especially when they are using needles and drills inside the patients’ mouths.
A third, problematic scenario is where the dentist is knowledgeable and personable, but knows nothing about running a business. If he or she doesn’t know anything about accounting and having a budget or how to hire the right people, the dental practice will likely be short-lived.
It is important to balance work and life. Difficulties in one area can easily spill over into the next with negative consequences. This is why it is important to balance them equally. A dentist with a positive personal life will work harder and treat and serve the patients better. A dentist that loves his or her work will have better relationships in his or personal life.
Dentists who want a successful practice retain their passion for service to patients and maintain a healthy balance between their professional and work lives.
For dentists who love their work and are looking for ways to make their practice more successful by providing better service to their patients, Arrowhead Dental Lab offer dentists continuing education seminars, videos and courses on the latest dental procedures, technology and best practices.
Our dental lab also provides dentists with quality dental products to their patients, furthering to assist dentists in their commitment to their patients.