6 Ways to Increase Orthodontic Practice Efficiency

From maximizing delegation to tracking observation patients, these six actionable strategies will help streamline your practice, eliminate bottlenecks and boost profitability.

By Roger P. Levin, DDS

Orthodontic treatment has become more efficient in the last 15 years with the onset of new technologies and better treatment planning. In past decades, many doctors spent 90 minutes bonding patients, children were seen usually every four weeks, and most patients wore braces for 24-36 months. Today, aligners are popular, many doctors bond brackets and wire patients more quickly, appointment intervals are longer, and an increasing number of patients are debanded in much less time.

Even with these positive changes, most practices still have opportunities to increase efficiency. These six tips will help your practice streamline processes, eliminate bottlenecks and achieve greater success:

The Seven-Day Rule. New patients should be seen for consultation within seven days after contacting the office. Once treatment is accepted, patients should be scheduled within 7 to ten days if possible. This approach will help the practice maintain a steady flow of new patients. If parents or patients have to wait a long time for treatment to begin, many lose motivation, postpone treatment or they decide to shop for another practice.
Treatment Coordinators. Levin Group recommends using a treatment coordinator to handle the administrative aspects of orthodontic care, including scheduling consults and appointments. This approach allows the doctor to focus on providing excellent patient care and remain productive. For case presentation, the treatment coordinator often serves as “the set-up person” for the doctor. The majority of Levin Group clients with treatment coordinators experience high orthodontic case acceptance rates as well as patient satisfaction.
Tracking Success. The treatment coordinator should track new patients’ starts, observations, and rejections. By analyzing the percentage of each category, the practice can build an efficient schedule that ensures certain levels of annual production and profitability.
Maximum Delegation. In an ideal world, each chair should be staffed with a full-time orthodontic assistant. The most efficient way to practice orthodontics is for assistants to perform the maximum amount of treatment allowable by law. While each doctor has to make his or her own decision regarding the level of delegation to team members, this does follow the medical model of having the lowest-compensated person provide any service that he or she is completely trained to carry out.
Tracking Observation Patients. Observation patients play a critical role in the productivity of the practice, yet they are often not well managed. These patients will contribute to future productivity and should be seen at least once every six months. When these patients are overdue, many practices simply ignore them or send out an email or postcard. My suggestion is that the treatment coordinator should contact any observation patient who is one day overdue. The treatment coordinator should then begin a sequence of phone calls and letters to create patient awareness of the importance of orthodontic care and the observation process.
Debugging Debanding. The debanding process represents one of the best opportunities to increase efficiency. Some practices have many patients who are overdue for debanding. This leads to extra patient visits without additional fees and an inefficient use of appointments that eventually clog the schedule. Practices should constantly evaluate which patients are due for de-anding, keep them on track, get them scheduled, and have the right number of deband appointments available on an annual basis. By correctly managing this process, practices can ensure that 98% of patients are debanded on time. This increased efficiency allows the practice to schedule additional new patient appointments while maintaining the highest quality of patient care.

Almost every practice can grow by 30% or more by further increasing efficiency. By evaluating practice systems and processes, doctors can discover better methods to run their practices. These tips will help practices operate more efficiently and profitably and create an even higher level of satisfaction. OP

Roger P. Levin, DDS is the CEO and founder of Levin Group, a leading practice management consulting firm that has worked with over 30,000 practices to increase production. A recognized expert on orthopractice 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. 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]