Data bites: 38% of dentists 'highly or extremely stressed'—analysis and solution from Levin

Are you stressed out? Unfortunately, the answer is “yes” for too many dentists. According to the 2014 Dental Economics / Levin Group Annual Practice Survey, more than 38% of responding dentists said they were experiencing high or extremely high stress.

As practice owners, dentists have a lot on their plate––interacting with and treating patients . . . leading the team . . . managing the practice . . . communicating with specialists . . . and ensuring their dental business is successful. While there’s a certain amount of built-in stress that comes with the position, no dentist should be dealing with high stress day-in and day-out.

Do you know what the No. 1 cause of stress is? The answer may surprise some readers. It isn’t patients or the team. Sure, they can be both sources of stress, but what causes the greatest amount of stress is the lack of efficient systems. Without strong, effective systems in place, practices face days of unending chaos.

Good Team, Bad Systems

You can have the greatest team in the world, but if all they have to work with are broken, antiquated systems, you’ll soon have a frustrated and disgruntled staff who will eventually leave your practice. The consequences of inefficient systems are numerous and far-reaching. Let’s look at just one example, the schedule.

With an outdated schedule, the practice is always running behind. Patients frustrated by long waits complain to team members, who are trying to do their best under trying circumstances. But constantly responding to extremely unhappy patients can wear down even an expertly trained staff. When talking with friends, patients will be quick to share their “horror stories” about the practice. Some will go on social media and blast their unhappiness to the wired world.

Any chance of getting referrals is lost. With the practice always playing catch-up, the doctor feels pressure to hurry through case presentations. As referrals and case acceptance decline, practice production goes into freefall, ratcheting up the stress on the doctor, who worries about paying monthly bills.

Some of you may think this is an exaggerated example, but I’ve talked with many dentists who have had practices just like this one. If you are dealing with extremely high stress, it’s time to replace your systems. Do it today!

If you think your systems are holding you back, call 888-973-0000 or click hereto schedule a 1-Hour No-Cost Practice Diagnosis… a powerful phone call with a Certified Practice Analyst, to assess and increase practice production, only from Levin Group.

Additional Data Bites:

Data Bites: Why are only 27% of practices asking for referrals?

Data Bites: Practice collections climb to 94.3% in 2014

Look for new Data Bites in future editions of the Apex360 newsletter.

More from Levin Group: Free Practice Production Tip of the Day newsletter available here.