Average Production of GP per Day

[DentalFuture6]

Hi everyone,

I would love for guys to give me some insights on this issue- what is the usual average production of a single practice dentist is able generate per day? A quick search resulted in nearly a dental operative production of $3500-4000 day average (not counting hygiene), which is awfully high when I consider that most private practice dentists only take home a very small share of his/her production. I'm also wondering if such production average is more common in a FFS/PPO office, or a high volume medicaid office?

In addition, do any of you recommend on starting/buying a practice immediately after a year of a GPR? Or do you think further associateship will be needed in order for one to adjust to the business side of running a private practice? Much thanks!

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[Cold Front]

This is a loaded question. The short answer is, it depends!

It depends on the office; the insurances patients have, the location of the office (city vs rural), even Medicaid fees vary from year to year and state to state. Without knowing more specific information on all of the above factors, it’s difficult to answer the question or say what a reasonable daily production should be.

 

[setdoc7]

Production is a buzzword from practice management folks that is somehow supposed to be meaningful. It is not. A dentists income is based on fees charged against the cost of running the practice. Therefore, the office charging $2000 for a crown which nets $500 after expenses is for all purposes the same as the office that charges $1200 and nets $500. The production may be higher at the first office, but the actual profit is the same. Making money in dentistry is all about running a business. Unfortunately the schools only teach how to do procedures. In order to own and manage a successful practice, you must be both a clinician and a business person. Not everyone can do both, which is why so many dentists work for others and do not run their own office. Nothing comes easily.

 

[DentalFuture6]

Thank you all for the great answers, just to add some clarification about my situation. I am likely going to work in the DMV area( north of DC ), this area is known for some saturation (though I will definitely stay away from DC), but perhaps not as bad as Cali or NYC. I guess I am a little taken aback by how many new graduates and dentists on SDN claiming how difficult dentistry has been for them in the current market. But a quick google search suggests that many practices in my area still grosses a lot, and I see a lot of practices are for sale that are grossing well above 700k, and many more than a million. To be honest, I am very tempted to dip my toes into private ownership asap if these opportunities are still there in a few years as I am (very fortunately) graduating with a very manageable amount of debt. But I am also worried that these practices are painting a picture that is way too good to be true (eg, who would want to let go of a 1million dollar practice if it was doing well financially- obscene levels of overhead/ lease issues)

 

[ToothJockey]

eg, who would want to let go of a 1million dollar practice if it was doing well financially- obscene levels of overhead/ lease issues

They might just be retiring. My dentist has a $2 mil + practice with 4-5 associates working under him, and when he retires he will probably sell it maybe to one of his associates if they can afford it. He's close to retirement now (I think he's 70+), I'll be sad when he does he has been my dentist pretty much my whole life, and he's irreplaceable in the community. Some of his patients come to see him from other states, not kidding!!

Just because a huge practice is for sale doesn't mean it's doing bad, but I'm guessing if you do take over for such a big practice then you will risk losing a lot of patients who were loyal to the previous doc. Some of these docs are actual legends in the community. FWIW my dentist told me practice ownership is the most fulfilling path in dentistry. YMMV

 

[pubhealthdent]

Hi everyone,

I would love for guys to give me some insights on this issue- what is the usual average production of a single practice dentist is able generate per day? A quick search resulted in nearly a dental operative production of $3500-4000 day average (not counting hygiene), which is awfully high when I consider that most private practice dentists only take home a very small share of his/her production. I'm also wondering if such production average is more common in a FFS/PPO office, or a high volume medicaid office?

In addition, do any of you recommend on starting/buying a practice immediately after a year of a GPR? Or do you think further associateship will be needed in order for one to adjust to the business side of running a private practice? Much thanks!

My daily goal is $4250, but I would say I only meet that goal about half the time. But this is in public health, so my production is coming predominantly from operative, oral surgery, and removable. I do a fair number of crowns and endo every month but probably nowhere near what I could in private practice.

Could be wrong but I'd think it'd be pretty easy to make that $3500-4000 in private practice where patients are more reliable (more apt to show up and be on time for appointments) and you're able to do more of those higher earning procedures

 

[Rambunctious]

Hi everyone,

I would love for guys to give me some insights on this issue- what is the usual average production of a single practice dentist is able generate per day? A quick search resulted in nearly a dental operative production of $3500-4000 day average (not counting hygiene), which is awfully high when I consider that most private practice dentists only take home a very small share of his/her production. I'm also wondering if such production average is more common in a FFS/PPO office, or a high volume medicaid office?

In addition, do any of you recommend on starting/buying a practice immediately after a year of a GPR? Or do you think further associateship will be needed in order for one to adjust to the business side of running a private practice? Much thanks!

like many others have said it depends on location, type of practice and insurance. i typically produce $5K-7.5K per day as an associate in CA. ill be looking to own soon, but i do recommend you work as an associate for a few years because you need to build speed.

 

[Cold Front]

like many others have said it depends on location, type of practice and insurance. i typically produce $5K-7.5K per day as an associate in CA. ill be looking to own soon, but i do recommend you work as an associate for a few years because you need to build speed.

One more wrinkle in the production numbers... what really matters is the “collection” number. So, $5-7.5k at (let’s say) 85% collection could translate to “adjusted production” of $4.25-$6.3k. Insurances are pain in the neck and always try to hustle dentists/offices. Reimbursement can also take anywhere between 1 week to 3 months, depending on the case and documentation the insurances request.

 

[321931]

The question is flawed to begin with.

It doesn’t matter what you produce, it’s more about what you collect and what percentage you take home at the end of the day.

 

[ToothJockey]

Isn't 4k a day pretty high anyways? The avg dental practice according to ADA bills around 700k a year and that includes hygiene. That translates to around $3000 a day including hygeine, and if hygiene is 30% then the doc is producing about 2k a day.

 

[setdoc7]

It’s SDN. Nothing is real.

 

[PeterJuice]

production can vary day to day, in general dentistry, depending on number of scheduled patients and scheduled procedures. My daily goal is 8-10K a day. I work out of multiple Ops and do a broad spectrum of procedures. Honestly, the production will come if you stay ethical and do quality work. build your speed and perform a broad spectrum of procedures.

 

[Daurang]

I'm a solo dentist that built my own practice as soon as I graduated. In the first year I netted $175k. In 10th year I netted $800k. Now in 20th year, I'll probably net $250k on 20hrs workweek. Overhead is consistently around 40%. Some days I produce $1K some days I produce $5k. That's the beauty of owning your practice...you do as much or as little you want.

 

[SoftGel]

I'm a solo dentist that built my own practice as soon as I graduated. In the first year I netted $175k. In 10th year I netted $800k. Now in 20th year, I'll probably net $250k on 20hrs workweek. Overhead is consistently around 40%. Some days I produce $1K some days I produce $5k. That's the beauty of owning your practice...you do as much or as little you want.

Netted? That's wonderful. And that type of flexibility is what has drawn me to dentistry. I wonder in what geographic region you practice, urban/suburban/rural? Thanks.

 

[OhioDMD]

My actual averages the last 5 years I practiced was 15,000 per week, 60,000 per month usually about 700,000 annually with 45% overhead and 99% collections. That was with two full time hygienists and a bread & butter PPO practice in a small (30,000) city.

 

[Daurang]

Netted? That's wonderful. And that type of flexibility is what has drawn me to dentistry. I wonder in what geographic region you practice, urban/suburban/rural? Thanks.

I'm in extremely saturated urban area, with numerous other practices opened and gradually took away most of my patients over the years. I don't care, though, cause my dental income is just bonus money on top of passive income.

 

[charlestweed]

I'm in extremely saturated urban area, with numerous other practices opened and gradually took away most of my patients over the years. I don't care, though, cause my dental income is just bonus money on top of passive income.

That's your reward for working hard early in your life, keeping the overhead low, investing wisely (instead of spending the money on cars like me), and making sacrifices (ie giving up the beautiful CA weather to live in the cold....Boston, right?, working long hours and on the weekends).