By: Angela Holland, Founder of Preferred Dental Solutions
Insurance Expert and Strategy Consultant for Dental Practices
PreferredDentalSolutions.com
Starting your career as a dentist or as a new practice owner is thrilling – new patients, new relationships, and new possibilities. But there’s one factor that quietly shapes your financial trajectory more than most realize: insurance credentialing.
From day one, the way you enter insurance networks can determine how much you take home, not just in year one, but in every year after. Strategic credentialing isn’t simply filling out forms; it’s building a foundation for revenue growth.
Here’s why getting it right from the beginning can make you so much more money over the course of your career:
1. Higher Reimbursements, Year After Year
Each PPO plan has its own fee schedule, and not all are created equal. If you join the wrong network without properly negotiating or without considering how it integrates with other plans, you may lock yourself into years of underpayment.
Strategic credentialing identifies the best networks and negotiates fees upfront so your practice isn’t losing money with every procedure.
2. Network Synergy and Smart Sequencing
Some PPO networks are linked, leasing access through umbrella agreements. If you join one, you might unknowingly join several others, and always at lower rates.
A strategic approach ensures that your participation is intentional, avoiding overlaps and protecting your fee integrity across all networks.
3. Improved Practice Valuation
Your revenue is directly tied to your practice’s value. Whether you plan to sell in five years or thirty, higher reimbursement rates and optimized network positioning translate into a more attractive practice valuation.
Strategic credentialing is an investment not only in today’s production but in tomorrow’s exit strategy.
4. Reduced Administrative Stress
Poorly planned credentialing leads to chaos, mismatched fee schedules, confusing write-offs, and frustrated patients.
Strategic credentialing creates clarity from day one, which means fewer headaches, smoother workflows, and a team that can focus on patient care instead of untangling insurance puzzles.
Final Thoughts
Think of credentialing as setting the financial GPS for your entire career.
With Preferred Dental Solutions guiding the process, you start off in the right networks at the right fees, setting you up for a more profitable, less stressful journey in dentistry and making the PPOs work for you!
Photo by RDNE Stock project
