If you have worked for countless dental practices throughout the years, you might believe you have the knowledge and experience to launch your own.
Yet, there are many challenges and pitfalls you could potentially face along the way, which can impact your success.
If you want to make an informed decision and avoid both big and small mistakes, read the following four steps to starting a dental practice in the UK.
Step One: Pick the Right Location
To ensure you can acquire many patients throughout the years, pick the right location for your potential practice.
If there are many dentists located in your desired neighbourhood, it could result in a lack of demand.
Instead, you should find an area that has a low dental practice to population ratio, which will ensure you experience high client numbers once you are ready to open the doors to the public.
If you want to practice in family dentistry, be sure to locate your practice near an environment, be it a village, town or city known for its family-friendly location.
Step Two: Effectively Equip Your New Practice
Launching a dental practice can be an expensive investment. While most businesses across various industries can grow and evolve over time, a dental practice must be fully-equipped and 100% ready to provide patients with professional, accurate dental examinations from day one.
You will also need to look beyond x-ray machines, specialised lighting and bespoke chairs, too.
It is the little things that will ensure your practice runs like a well-oiled machine each day, such as high-quality nitrile gloves, interdentals, composites, and infection control items.
Get in touch with the knowledgeable account team at Kent Express to find the best dental products for your new practice.
They are more than capable to offer their expertise.
If you fail to provide your patients with the best tools and treatment options they need, they will have no choice but to visit another practice, which can immediately damage your practice’s reputation.
For this reason, you should avoid rushing the process and secure the financial capital you need to effectively launch your practice.
Step Three: Market Your New Practice
Marketing is essential when launching a new dental practice, as it will inform the public that you are currently accepting new patients.
Thankfully, there are a variety of strategies you can adopt to increase your awareness and reputation.
For instance, you could:
- Develop a paid, targeted social media campaign to reach residents across a specific neighbourhood.
- Send leaflets or flyers to homes across an area.
- Sponsor local events to increase brand awareness and develop a positive reputation within a community.
- Offer discounts on treatments to attract patients.
Step Four: Hire a Specialist Accountant
Financial management is key for the smooth running and longevity of a dental practice.
To avoid financial challenges along the way, you would be smart to hire a specialist accountant to effectively manage your cashflow, as it will ensure the business can quickly overcome any obstacles that come your way.
For example, they will understand financial trends that can affect your practice and can provide expert advice on how to improve or grow your practice’s financial stability.
