Dental Practice Business Plan Template

Move to the Revenue Forecast sheet and model your patient acquisition timeline. Most new dental practices start at 30–50% of target patient volume in months one and two (limited by word-of-mouth, referrals, and new patient appointment availability) and ramp to 70–85% by months four through six. By month nine to twelve, established practices reach 85–95% of target capacity. Input your fee schedule by procedure type: preventive care (exams $100–$150, cleanings $100–$150), restorative (fillings $150–$300, crowns $900–$1,500), endodontics (root canal $800–$1,500). Factor in your insurance mix—if 60% of patients are private insurance, 30% HMO, 10% cash, your average reimbursement is typically 70–80% of your fee schedule due to contracted rates with insurance companies. Build in a 5–10% no-show rate (common for dental practices) which reduces available patient slots.

The second key metric is clinical productivity—how efficiently you and your team turn patient time into revenue. A dentist who sees 8 patients per day with an average revenue of $200 per visit is producing $1,600/day in gross revenue. If that same dentist improves efficiency to 10 patients per day or increases average revenue to $250 per visit (through more restorative work, less preventive), revenue scales to $2,000–$2,500 per day. Hygienists are often more productive—a full-time hygienist producing $2,000–$3,000 per day in preventive services (exams, cleanings, fluoride) is common. Most dental practices use a producer-based compensation model: the dentist and hygienists are compensated based on what they produce, with the practice taking 30–50% as overhead recovery.