5 Important Steps for Managing Your Dental Office in the USA

Most people don’t know what it takes to run a dental office. They think it is all about seeing patients day in and day out. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the main focus of a dental clinic is treating patients, it is still a business and must be treated as such.

When new dentists across the USA hang out their shingles and begin practicing dentistry, they usually manage their practice themselves. However, they will soon realize that the minimal hours of lecture time they received in “practice management” while in dental school are not enough. They know they need someone who can manage their dental office—they need an office manager.

This article will highlight some steps necessary for managing a dental office and how partnering with Kwikly can provide support.

Who Actually Manages a Dental Office?

As mentioned, dentists usually initially manage their dental office but quickly realize they can only do some of it. Their focus needs to be providing quality care for their patients. If they are stressed out over trying to manage the staff (interviewing, hiring, or firing), ordering supplies, front desk tasks, financial arrangements, and most importantly, the schedule, they will burn out…  FAST.

The dentist needs to see patients to keep revenue coming in and the doors open. How can they do that, search for staff, and everything else involved in dental practice management? There are several steps to follow to achieve this.

Step 1: Hire a Dental Office Manager

Once it becomes apparent that help is needed to run the practice, the first step is to hire a dental office manager. Kwikly, the top nationwide dental staffing agency, can help.

Kwikly employs dental hygienists, dental assistants/orthodontic assistants, and front office personnel (e.g., receptionists and office managers). Our vetted professionals are ready to help you run your dental clinic.

If you want to hire a temporary office manager to ensure they are a good fit, Kwikly has temps available. If you do find someone who is a perfect fit, Kwikly can help with transition.

What Does a Dental Office Manager Do?

According to Kwikly’s article on the topic, ”dental office manager” is a single title that encompasses many duties. An office manager’s duties include patient-centered tasks, business operations, and HR duties :

• Hiring/firing staff
• Scheduling
• Finances/bookkeeping
• Treatment plan presentations and financial arrangements

Some dental clinics may even utilize office managers to market the practice, order supplies, and arrange continuing education for staff members to attend.

Step 2: Create a Calm Environment for Patients

It is no secret that many people have an undeniable fear of visiting the dentist. The best way to ensure they return for future visits is to make them feel calm, relaxed, and safe in your dental office. This can include things like:

• Playing calming music
• Adding an aquarium to the waiting room (watching fish glide through the water can be very relaxing)
• Providing headphones for patients to wear during a procedure for listening to music, audiobooks, etc.
• Installing televisions overhead so patients can watch their favorite show
• Filling the air with a calming scent like lavender using an essential oil diffuser (everyone knows how a dental office smells, and it often triggers intense fear in some patients)
• Employing staff members who have a friendly and calm demeanor

Step 3: Hire Well-Qualified Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants

Hiring competent clinical staff is non-negotiable when it comes to good practice management. An excellent dental hygienist or assistant can make even the most dental-phobic patients feel relaxed and nurtured while in the chair. When they have a caring chairside manner, patients are sure to return to complete their treatment plan or for re-care visits.

Kwikly, a 2023 Healthcare Heroes Award recipient, is an on-demand, nationwide dental staffing agency. We offer an intuitive web platform for office managers to utilize when hiring temp dental staff to enhance the clinical aspects of practice management. On the dental professional’s side of things, our cutting-edge app allows them to pick up shifts quickly and easily.

Kwikly hires all dental professionals as W-2 employees. That means that dental hygienists and dental assistants hired through us have already gone through a thorough interview process. Kwikly has removed the risk of hiring someone who does not have the proper training or education or who is unprofessional.

Step 4: Encourage an Atmosphere of Teamwork and Unity

It is imperative that the dental office team is happy, works well together, and is united in achieving practice goals. Those goals can be:

• Overall growth of the practice: A practice cannot be allowed to stagnate if it is to survive.
• Meeting production goals: It is important to remember that a dentist’s office is a business, and as such, monetary goals must be met; offices often reward staff with bonuses when production goals are met or exceeded.
• Working together to care for the patients: The entire staff and the dentist must work together to give patients the world-class care they deserve.
• Making work fun: According to research by Oxford University and the British telecommunications firm BT, when employees are happier, they are more productive.

Step 5: Embrace Technology for the Dental Office

Technology is not just important for playing video games, binging your favorite show, or online meetings with coworkers. Dentists must also embrace the available technology to help run many aspects of their dental office.

Tech for a dental office can include anything from same-day, in-office crown fabrication, scheduling, record keeping, and digital imaging to remaining HIPAA and OSHA compliant.

It can also include using technology to hire staff members. Kwikly allows an office manager to post a job opening and have many hygienists or assistants see it in real time—saving time and energy when filling an opening. Time tracking and billing are also handled through the web platform or the innovative Kwikly app.

After a position is posted and seen by temp dental professionals, they can use the app to accept a shift. This is all done seamlessly—and in real time.

Kwikly: An Important Tool for Managing Your Dental Office

Managing a dental office involves many moving parts: planning, hiring well-qualified team members, using technology to your advantage, and offering world-class patient care. By remaining focused on these things, dental offices across the USA can grow and prosper. Kwikly is the top nationwide dental staffing agency, and it was created to help you fill team openings quickly and efficiently. This ensures you can focus on providing top-notch patient care.

Join Kwikly today and learn how we can support you and the needs of your dental office.