The Dental Economics annual fee survey

Regional fees

The survey responses have been arranged into six regions across the United States. The states are subdivided into six segments based on regional characteristics and market similarities. The results of the survey have been presented for the 50th, 70th, and 90th percentiles. For example, the fee amount representing the 50th percentile means that 50% of the practitioners who participated in the survey charged that fee or less, and 50% charged a higher amount.

Using percentile ranges to present the data in subsets accounts for any possible outliers in the data set. Representing the data set in three percentile ranges provides a more meaningful range of data than the average fee for the user due to locale, market differentiation, and sample-size limitations. The sample size of data used in this study falls within a 95% confidence interval.

The data is constructed to give users a baseline to see where their respective fees fall in line within their regions. The data collected from the survey contains submissions from large cities, metropolitan areas, rural areas, and all locales in between. Therefore, users may need to tailor any fees to their individual markets using practice locations and local market differentiations as a consideration for a fee adjustment. The regionalized fees provide a great depiction of the significant market variations and changes within the dental industry based on locale.

Determine fees

Dental CPAs or dental practice management consultants are great resources to assist you in updating your fee schedule and ensuring that your fees remain competitive within your market. Using a dental professional such as this can help facilitate proper decision-making with regard to patient perception and the insurance implications of increasing fees. Dental CPAs or practice management consultants can be the biggest advocates in this area by capitalizing on the opportunities within a dental practice. This process provides an additional level of analysis that considers different market pressures and stimuli when making key practice decisions that have present and future implications for a dental practice.

Looking to the future

Dental practitioners are more than aware that the market is undergoing a shift from what was once called the cottage industry of dentistry to the growth of corporate dentistry and multilocation single-owner practices. As this shift continues, it is imperative for dentists to remain competitive with a current fee schedule for their region, paired with implementing excellent marketing strategies.

Be cautious with loss leader offers such as “$49 exam for new patients.” Specials such as these often continue to affect overhead costs while having the risk of new patients taking advantage of these one-time deals, never to return to the office for future services.

Fee procedure reminders

For dental practices participating with various dental insurance plans in their respective markets, it’s important to remember to always submit gross fees (usual, customary, and reasonable fees [UCR]) and not net fees after anticipating insurance plan write-offs. By doing so, the insurance company will remain current with fees by region.

Practices that offer fee courtesies to patients, such as senior citizen discounts, need to be sure to submit net fees to the insurance company as opposed to the gross fee. If the practice submits the gross fee, there should be a note on the insurance claim disclosing that a courtesy was passed on to the patient.

In conclusion, please meet with your dental CPA or practice management consultant at least annually to review and update your practice’s fees to make sure they’re competitive in your marketplace.

Allen M. Schiff, CPA, CFE, is the managing partner of Schiff Dental CPAs and the president of the Academy of Dental CPAs (adcpa.org). A dental CPA can minimize your tax liability, assist you in the accumulation of your wealth, and help you implement the internal accounting controls mentioned in this article. To locate a member of the Academy of Dental CPAs near you, visit adcpa.org or contact Mr. Schiff at [email protected] or (410) 321-7707.

Jeremy Goodwin is a staff accountant at Schiff & Associates LLC. Jeremy is a graduate of Towson University and a CPA candidate. He spent the first three years of his professional career specializing in accounting for the dental industry.