Keeping your fees up to date is essential; however determining what to base your fee schedule on is not necessarily a simple task. I rely on a variety of schedules available to dentists when setting my fees. The Dental Economics fee schedule is a great resource. I also rely heavily on the UCR table that’s available through Udell Webb Leadership. I think it’s important to use a variety of sources and to check them often.
I’ve found that there are many dentists out there who really aren’t confident about their fees. They worry that they’re pricing themselves too high or that their UCRs are being stifled by the insurance companies. I think that’s a real problem. You need to be confident in your fees. If you’re not, it’s a sign that you’re not evaluating them often enough.
As dentists we want to reach as many patients in need of dental care as possible. You cannot do this if your practice is not running at the optimum efficiency. Taking the time to evaluate your pricing and having the confidence to make the necessary adjustments will keep everything running smoothly, and ultimately lead to an increased capacity and growth of your practice.