What to do in your dental business this month, while the outside world looks as if it's falling apart

Nothing but bad news on the media

It's not much fun looking at the media at the moment, whether its a TV or a device.

When the news cycle is loud and unsettling, what people really want is not reassurance, they want evidence that somebody is in control. In a dental practice that means three groups are watching closely, your PAYE team, your self employed clinicians, and your patients.

Confidence is not created by a speech, it is created by visible leadership, calm routines, and numbers that are understood and acted upon.

Start with cash.

Every owner and manager should be running a rolling 13 week cash flow forecast, updated weekly, with a base case and a cautious case. That one habit changes behaviour, because it forces decisions early, it highlights risk before it becomes panic, and it stops you being surprised by predictable dips. The team do not need to see spreadsheets, but they do need to see you acting deliberately and consistently. This belongs in the wider discipline of monthly reporting, KPI analysis, and a fair pricing policy.

Next, replace opinion with a scoreboard.

Keep it simple, one page, the same set of numbers every week, measured on a 90 day basis so you spot trends rather than reacting to noise. Enquiries, conversion, utilisation, cancellations, average daily production, hygiene and plan retention. If you are not measuring, you are guessing, and guessing is contagious.

Then get clear on what a surgery day costs you.

Operating cost per utilised surgery per day is not a theoretical exercise, it is the benchmark for session viability, associate profitability, and pricing confidence. Once you know it, you can set realistic daily targets and manage performance fairly. Self employed clinicians become calmer when expectations are clear and support is real.

Operational confidence lives in the diary.

Run a daily huddle that protects today, not a meeting that discusses yesterday. You look at the pipeline, the gaps, the risks, the plans that must go out, and you finish with actions, owners, and times. If the huddle produces fewer surprises, people start to like it very quickly.

For patients, two things matter when money feels tight, clarity and choice.

That does not mean discounting. It means structured phased plans, clear finance options, and a consistent follow up system so nothing drifts. A TCO and a CRM are not luxuries, they are the plumbing of predictable conversion.

On the marketing side, uncertainty is not the time to shout louder, it is the time to be more useful.

Internal marketing, inbound marketing, and regular patient communication will outperform special offers every time, because trust travels further than price. Answer FAQs, share patient stories, publish weekly, and repurpose across channels. Your existing patient base is your best source of growth if you treat them well and ask properly for reviews and referrals.

Finally, make the business feel modern and well run.

Digital workflow reduces friction, improves understanding, and increases predictability, scanning, digital communication, guided processes, better audit trails. It also reassures patients that they are in safe hands, and it reassures clinicians that the practice is investing in quality.

Do all of that, and you are not trying to control the outside world, you are controlling what matters, the experience, the systems, and the numbers.

That is what confidence looks like. We need strong leadership right now - and that falls on you.