Dental practices are clinical by nature, but they also need to function as strong, modern businesses. Achieving business excellence in dentistry requires attention to both patient care and operational performance.
The Oryx team is overwhelmingly made up of experienced dental industry professionals. We know how to deliver on both clinical outcomes and operational success. Based on decades of combined knowledge and hands-on experience, here are five things our team has seen top-performing practices do to elevate the business of dentistry.
1. High-Performing Practices Know Their Numbers
Top practices are led by owners and managers who emphasize data-driven decision making. After all, you can’t improve what you don’t measure. That means regularly monitoring and acting on key performance indicators (KPIs).
No matter the size of your practice, a culture of accountability, education, and team performance tracking is key. Practices with disciplined, recurring performance data reports and reviews are better set up for success and decision making.
A practice management solution with a real-time analytics dashboard can streamline this best practice. Real-time, automated dashboards can present relevant metrics all in one space, giving leadership the ability to constantly monitor key metrics and flag any areas that need improvement. With an all-in-one, customizable dashboard, teams can easily identify underperforming areas and intervene quickly.
Start by understanding your own average performance. Once you have your own baseline you can compare, as needed, to the industry-wide averages to see how your practice stacks up. To keep your team(s) striving for more, track KPIs among top-performing practices as well.
This concept is illustrated below using three of the most widely used industry KPIs: case acceptance rate, reappointment rate, and cancellation rate.
- Case Acceptance Rate: The national average case acceptance rate across general dental practices hovers between 50% and 60%. However, elite performers achieve 70-80% or higher for single‑tooth treatments or systematized care delivery. Per Henry Schein One’s 2024 report, the top 10% of practices deliver an 83% case acceptance rate.
- No-Show Cancellation Rate: The average cancellation rate industry-wide is around 15%. The best performers in this category experience a cancellation rate of less than 5%. Top practices stand at less than 1%, avoiding nearly all unproductive gaps in their schedule.
- Reappointment Rate: Average practices, collecting about $500,000 per year, reappoint about 60% of hygiene patients, whereas practices exceeding $1,000,000 in annual revenue often surpass 90% re‑appointments.
The highest performing practices aim for a hygiene re‑appointment rate of 90% or more, a cancellation rate of 5% or less, and a case acceptance of 75-80% or higher for healthy performance. These metrics translate directly to growth, profitability, and high patient satisfaction.
2. They Know Operational Efficiency is Not Optional
Top practices streamline workflows to reduce overhead and improve patient flow. In Oryx’s experience, taking time to optimize scheduling, billing, and operations leads to major measurable gains.
Efficient Scheduling
Inefficient scheduling is essentially a result of being overbooked or underbooked. To combat overbooking, try implementing block scheduling, syncing location calendars, or automating conflict checking and calendar overlaps. For underbooking or cancellations, try automated appointment reminders, online scheduling, or more segmented email targeting.
KPIs to Track:
- Chair Utilization
- Appointment Volume
- No-Show Rate
- Cancellation Rate
Billing & Collections
To improve collection rates, streamline the process with digital payment portals and multiple payment options. Pro tip: You may also want to try SMS billing reminders. Text messages have an excellent open rate (much higher than emails or phone calls!), and a growing number of practices are using them to get patients’ attention.
KPIs to Track:
- Bad Debt
- Days in Accounts Receivable
- Cost to Collect
- Patient Payment Collection Rate
Insurance & RCM Management
Dealing with payers can be tricky. Your best defense lies in real-time eligibility checks, fast, automated claim submission, and error-resistant, guided workflows. Above all, automation is key for reducing human error, flagging questionable claims, and speeding up the reimbursement process.
KPIs to Track:
- Clean Claim Rate
- First Pass Rate
- Denial Rate
- Claim Appeal Rate
3. They Deliver a Consistent, Elevated Patient Experience
Operational success feeds into patient satisfaction and retention. Top practices see an average of 86 new patients each month, with a 94% reappointment rate. Results like that don’t just happen. These practices are designing the best possible patient experience to keep people coming back through the door.
One report found that practices putting time and care into rethinking their patient experience increased case acceptance rates from 43% to 96%! This is a major revenue boost, considering the average practice carries $500,000 or more in unscheduled treatment plans at any given point in time.
For a better patient experience, high-performing practices:
- Automate patient communications.
- Allow online scheduling.
- Standardize care plans.
- Use one database and rulebook for multiple locations.
- Have an efficient check-in process.
- Create seamless payment processes.
- Personalize treatment plans.
- Never forget the follow-up.
Villagio Dental put this in action by investing in consistent communications, re‑care planning, and personalized follow-ups to build trust and drive retention. As a multi-location practice, they set up a centralized database and practice management platform to ensure patients receive the same high-touch experience, regardless of location.
The results? Enhanced treatment acceptance, improved recall, better staff training, and noticeable cost savings. It’s a win-win for Villagio and its patients.
4. Business-Minded Practices Standardize Clinical Protocols
Top practices achieve consistency by removing variability in treatment planning and delivery (AKA standardizing care). Consistency in clinical care leads to consistency in patient outcomes.
Oryx’s founder and CEO, Dr. Rania Saleh, has a long-standing partnership with The Kois Center, the standard for evidence-based protocols in dentistry. Over the years, the Oryx team has seen firsthand what clinical standardization can do for the average practice.
For example, Today’s Dental adopted cloud-based infrastructure to boost clinical standardization protocols across teams. Soon after, the practice improved consistency, reduced case leakage, and scaled care quality. The practice reported improved communication with patients and a clear runway to scale up operations well into the future. That’s the power of standardization!
5. They Embrace Technology as a Growth Asset
Technology is the bridge between where a practice currently stands and what it could grow to become. Embracing technology requires strong leadership focused on creating a culture that sees technology as a useful tool and not just another platform to be trained on.
Modern dental practices plan around technology rather than merely adopting it. Leading performers use centralized KPIs to compare and benchmark performance, replicate high-performing practices, and allocate resources strategically.
William Kohl, the founder of F1 IT, sees this play out every day in real-time. F1 iT focuses solely on outsourced IT for dental practices of all types and sizes. He has seen practices grow from start-ups to multi-location practices and DSOs, all with the help of high-performing technology.
“Investments in technology ultimately lead to a better patient experience,” says Kohl. But changing from an on-premise server or manual data entry into a tech-savvy operation doesn’t happen overnight. Facilitating this shift requires patience, training, and a strong workplace culture.
Set the Bar Higher—And Hit It
Practices that hit high-performance metrics aren’t just guessing. They’re engineering their own growth each and every day. Meeting these high standards and reaching top benchmarks is completely achievable with the right tools and mindset.
Oryx’s industry-leading practice management software gives you the capability to run a practice focused on clinical and business excellence. With real-time analytics dashboards, scalable automation, and embedded protocols that integrate clinical and business data, Oryx helps elevate business performance for practices of all sizes. Every day, we’re shaping the future of dentistry.
Looking to benchmark your practice or explore performance insights tailored to your needs? Contact us to schedule a personalized demo.
