Forget your hourly rate

Even though I graduated from dental school in 1980 I still remember my early years in practice. As a new graduate you are not very polished and everything takes a long time.

Over a period of years you gradually get better. You learn and you become more adept. Your work becomes smoother, more consistent and the time to complete procedures comes down — you get faster.

All this is quite natural. But, I see that many dentists charge an hourly rate for their work.

That means that instead of benefiting financially from their improved treatment times they have no incentive to work more efficiently.

Of all the dentists I’ve observed, the slowest dentists are the ones who charge an hourly rate. It’s almost as if they are stringing the treatment out to be able to justify their fee. The expression: “Like watching paint dry comes to mind.”

Here’s an interesting story.

A lady was once telling me how bad it was having a crown prepared because it took so long. I asked her a simple question:

“If you could have the procedure done faster, with the same end result, would you like that?”

Her reply was very instructive:

“I’d actually pay more to have it done quicker.”

Many dentists think the exact opposite way to patients. Dentists think: “The longer I take the more I should charge.” Patients think: “I just want this over and done. The quicker the better.”

If you are one of the dentists who charges an hourly rate I suggest you rethink.