The first blog of this series was about Stages of Dental Practice and in this post we will discuss some commonly faced problems at respective stages of practice and their solutions.

Stage 1 Introduction:

Some young doctors are worried because of low pattient footfall in initial days of practice. Actually they can take this as an opportunity & utilize the empty hours of practice to grow their network. The idea of network building is not to get direct patients but to tell the world that "You Exist!" Because Network is the Net Worth! Every practice will take its own course to establish, however some tiny steps can act as catalyst to curb this phase.

1. Interact with as many people as possible around your practice and create rapport by talking about their interests.

2. Keep your conversation generalized, however if you get a chance, push about your profession in a softer way.

3. Look to grow your online network by simply creating (free) business pages for your practice on Google and social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter etc.

4. Post content in regular intervals once the pages are ready.

Stage 2 Growth:

You can enjoy growth stage till the time you are competitive, ignoring this fact can sometimes damage the practice. Bellow are few things that you can implement in your practice for being competent.

1. Attend CDE programs/Courses regularly.

2. Invest in new equipment.

3. Start using practice management software for appointments.

4. Learn about financial management.

5. Doctors practicing in metros should also think in a direction to get Website for practice.

Stage 3 Maturity:

The most valuable thing in maturity stage is "Time". You will have to literally spend money for buying your own time. If you act smart then probably you won't have to  much efforts to save a lot of your time. Bellow are few things that you can incorporate in your practice.

1. Staff training right from doctors to front office staff.

2. Work delegation to respective person.

3. Investing in new equipments that can save you on your time.

Also this is the most appropriate stage to think about hiring an agency which can help you to boost your dental practice.

Stage 4 Saturation:

The most common complaint in this stage is "stagnated income". In order to overcome this situation you should first try to identify the problems. Some basic reasons that results in stagnated income can be, Decreased patient footfall, Low treatment charges, Absence of high end treatments or Combination of above problems. Solutions can be very simple to this problem..

1. Identify the problem factors.

2. Once you identify the problems; try to understand why the problems are occurring.

3. Evaluate all the possibilities to overcome them.

4. Make a strategy to get resolution and have deadlines for every task.

5. Spend more time in your practice as it can definitely improve your chances to find the solutions.

Stage 5 Decline:

You can't practice dentistry with stethoscope and green cloth. It is really difficult to run a successful practice without good clinical skills. Aging results in health issues such as backache, hampered vision or trembling hands etc. which sometimes makes the operator skills questionable. When one can't work because of such unavoidable factors, it's time involve fresh blood in practice. Nobody has a magic stick that can get a potential doctor like you for your practice in an overnight.

You will have to take efforts to groom young doctors by sharing your knowledge and experience which will keep the practice going, whereas you can take the charge of patient consultation and clinic management.

These are some of the important points which can bring a phenomenal change in you practice, however there are further deep aspects to every stage, which I'll share with you in my upcoming posts.

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