Is the 1% Practice Failure Rate In Dentistry A Myth?

Dental practices only fail 1% of the time.

Define Failure For Me Please? This is unique to each person…..

I define failure in private practice as owning a practice that does not afford the dentist both Money and the Free Time they desire.

With respect to the 1% failure rate thrown around quite often, I suspect that while they may not go belly up and close their doors, they may face other problems such as the following:

• Is the dentist working 80 hours per week to keep their doors open?
• Is sustaining the practice causing so much stress the dentist is numbing themselves with food, drugs or alcohol?
• Is the dentist able to spend time with their family? Are they divorced? Do they have time for the most important people and partnerships in their life (kids and spouse)?
• Is the dentist dipping into their personal income in order to pay their business expenses and amortize debt? Are they taking as much money home as they would like or are they working for basically three times minimum wage?
• Has the practice exchanged hands multiple times or is the dentist holding the debt/note while someone else has stepped in to run their office?
• Is the dentist mentally and physically healthy?

The point is, I don’t know how this stat was calculated. It doesn’t matter, because even if it is true that less than 1% of offices close their doors and the failure rate is in fact that low, it depends on your definition of failure.

What I want for You is a practice that gives You Both Time and Money…..

I am not saying they You won’t have to put in the long hours and make sacrifices…..That’s the nature of business.

But I am saying that a strategic approach to running your business will result in achievement and success as I have defined it once you have a well-oiled machine.