How establishing clear performance goals and tracking them weekly can help your team streamline operations and maximize production potential.
By Roger P. Levin, DDS
Without a structured management approach, many orthodontists focus strictly on day-to-day operations and fail to see the true production potential within their practices. Establishing clear and challenging performance goals is the first step toward overcoming this bottleneck, improving operations and reaching that potential. Without these benchmarks, a practice is often left adrift, lacking a unified sense of purpose and a clear way to measure success. To help practices align their teams and track progress, Levin Group recommends the following growth targets:
- Starts should grow by at least 10% annually
- The close rate for new-patient consults should be 85% or higher
- Patient referrals from dentists should increase by 10% or more
- The number of patients in observation should grow by at least 5% each year
- The overdue debond rate should not exceed 2%
- The collection rate should be 99%
- The number of patients overdue for retainer checks should be less than 2%
Once goals have been established, the next step is for practices to create the systems that allow them to reach those targets.
Each orthodontic practice has a series of major business systems, including:
- Scheduling
- Treatment coordinator process
- Patient financial management
- Insurance management
- Case presentation
- Office communication
- Referral marketing
Effective systems lay the foundation for superior customer service, outstanding productivity and increased production. The difference between high-performance orthodontic practices and others comes down to the efficiency of their business systems. Orthodontic practices with the best systems have managed—despite fluctuations in the overall economy—to meet their production targets and experience substantial growth.
Goal setting is critical to achieving professional success, but establishing targets is only half the battle. To ensure these business systems drive consistent growth, progress must be tracked weekly. This structured approach ultimately helps clinicians take control of their business — managing the practice, instead of being managed by it. OP
Photo: ID 89273023 © Sirinarth Mekvorawuth | Dreamstime.com
Roger P. Levin, DDS, is the CEO and founder of Levin Group, a leading orthodontic consulting firm that has worked with over 30,000 doctors to increase production. A recognized expert on ortho practice management and marketing, he has written 67 books and over 4,000 articles and regularly presents seminars in the U.S. and around the world. In 2025 Levin received the Fauchard Gold Medal from The Pierre Fauchard Academy for his contribution to dental practice management. To contact Levin or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit levingroup.com or email [email protected]
