Measure dental practice success with these six KPIs

Amid the daily demands of patient care, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture—especially when it comes to measuring whether your practice is meeting its business goals. That’s where key performance indicators (KPIs) come in.

What Are KPIs?

KPIs are measurable values that show how effectively your practice is achieving its objectives. They help you move beyond “gut feelings” and anecdotal observations, giving you data-driven insight into performance.

Think of KPIs as your practice dashboard. Just as a car’s speedometer and fuel gauge tell you when to accelerate, slow down or refuel, KPIs help you identify when you’re on track — or when corrective action is needed.

The Right KPIs for Your Practice

While dozens of metrics could be measured, the key is to focus on those most relevant to your practice’s specific goals, patient base and growth stage. A pediatric dental practice may prioritize patient recall rates and new-patient acquisitions, while a prosthodontic practice might focus on case acceptance rates and lab cost percentages.

Six popular KPIs for general and specialty dental practices are:

1. Production. Measure productivity and identify scheduling efficiencies or gaps.
2. Collections ratio. See how much of your production is being collected—an essential metric for financial health.
3. Profit and overhead. Calculate how much positive income your practice is generating and the percentage of practice revenue spent on operational expenses.
4. Case acceptance rate. Track how many proposed treatment plans are accepted by patients.
5. New patient numbers. Get indicators of growth potential and the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
6. Hygiene reappointment rate. Evaluate preventive care engagement and patient retention.

How To Track KPIs Effectively

Practice management software is a genuine asset when it comes to tracking performance. Most modern platforms allow you to pull reports that track KPIs over time, giving you a month-by-month or even day-by-day view of performance. For best results:

1. Set a baseline. Review historical data to understand your starting point.
2. Establish clear goals. Define what success looks like within your practice for each KPI — whether it’s a 90% case acceptance rate or a 10% increase in new patients.
3. Monitor regularly. Monthly reviews allow you to catch trends before they become problems.
4. Engage your team. Share KPI data with your staff at morning huddles so they understand how their roles contribute to the practice’s success.

Refocus on KPIs When You’re Off Track

It’s not uncommon to start the year with ambitious goals only to find mid-year that things are falling short. Refocusing on KPIs can be a powerful way to course correct. By identifying which metrics are lagging, and why, you can make targeted adjustments.

For example, if new patient numbers are lower than expected, you might increase community outreach, refresh your website or train your front desk staff on converting inquiries into scheduled appointments. If your collections ratio has dipped, it may be time to revisit your billing processes or offer more patient-friendly payment options.

KPIs give you clear, actionable insights rather than vague “we should do better” objectives.

Resources From CDA

As a benefit of membership, members can access tools developed by CDA analysts to help identify, track and improve KPIs. Sign in to cda.org to leverage these benefits and more:

• Practice Health Check. How strong are your practice systems? Assess your practice’s operational systems by answering three quick questions. You’ll be directed to guidance and resources based on your answers, including detailed information on the top 10 KPIs for dental practices.
• Online resource library. Downloadable articles, guides, templates, checklists and forms to help streamline your processes so you can focus on implementing KPI improvements.
• Education and events. CDA offers a variety of learning opportunities for dentists and their teams that support personal, professional and practice goals.
• Dental Team Summits. Particularly valuable for helping practice teams implement effective tracking and improvement strategies.
• Practice support. Along with online resources,one-on-one consultations with CDA’s dedicated analysts can help you analyze your current performance and create a data-driven growth plan.

By selecting the right KPIs for your unique goals, tracking them consistently and acting on data-driven insights, you can drive meaningful growth and maintain a thriving, profitable practice.