The practices outperforming their market right now aren't bigger or better-staffed. They have one thing most practices don't: a fixed review cadence. Specifically, a Friday ritual that tells them exactly where they stood before the week closes.
Most practice owners manage by feel. Revenue feels okay. Production feels solid. Then the end-of-month report hits and the numbers disagree with the feeling. The gap between what you think is happening and what's actually happening is where margin disappears.
The fix isn't more data. It's the right data, reviewed consistently.
The 6 KPIs to pull every Friday — and what to look for:
Are you on pace for the month? Divide your MTD production by business days elapsed, multiply by total business days in the month. If you're running more than 5% below pace, you still have time to adjust. At month-end, you don't.
Completed treatment value divided by total treatment presented. The industry average currently sits at approximately 54% — and it has been declining since 2019. *(Source: Dental Intelligence State of Dentistry 2024)* Top-quartile practices run 65% and above. Below 50% means case presentation is the bottleneck, not chair capacity.
How many new patients were seen this week? A healthy GP practice should target 20–50 new patients per month depending on size and capacity. *(Source: Dental Intelligence benchmark data)* Fewer than 4 per week consistently signals a recall or referral gap worth addressing now.
What percentage of patients left with their next appointment already scheduled? The industry average is 55–65%. The target is 85% or above. *(Source: multiple industry benchmarks including eAssist, DrillDown Solution)* The correlation between reappointment rate and revenue is direct: practices generating $1M+ annually reappoint roughly 90% of patients. Practices generating under $500K reappoint roughly 60%.
Collections divided by adjusted production. Target: 98% or above. *(Source: Veritas Dental Resources, Adams Brown CPA)* Below 97% means dollars are leaking somewhere — write-offs, insurance lag, or A/R mismanagement. This number should barely move week to week. When it does, something changed.
How to use this:
Print the one-page snapshot from the 6-KPI Dental Practice Snapshot we sent when you subscribed. Fill it in every Friday before you leave. Twenty minutes. No spreadsheet, no consultant, no dashboard required.
After four Fridays, you'll see your patterns. After 12, you'll have the data to have a real conversation with your team about where the business actually stands — not where it feels like it stands.
What we're watching:
Regional markets vary. A rural single-doctor practice running 18 new patients per month may be outperforming its market. A suburban multi-op practice running the same number is likely underperforming. Use these benchmarks as directional signals — not verdicts. The value is in your trend, not one week's snapshot.
— The Operatory HQ