Financial Control: Profit With Purpose
By: Dr. David Rice
Most dentists don’t hate numbers … they just hate not knowing what they mean … and that sadly translates into pretending they don’t exist. If you want to know how to lead your practice … and life by the numbers … keep reading because it turns out data … drives our best decisions.
Friends … financial control isn’t about accounting. It’s about awareness, alignment, and action. Every number tells a story about where you’re headed … and if I’ve learned anything about success, it’s this … where you and I are headed is a trajectory.
Think about that before you keep reading … because trajectory means if you’re on track … you’re moving exponentially in the right direction toward success … and if you’re not … if you’re on the wrong trajectory … then 6 months from now … a year from now … you’re actually further away from where you want to be.
Step 1: Re-define Profit
Production means nothing if you’re not keeping it. Financial control starts when you stop asking, “How much did we make?” and start asking, “How much did we keep, and why?”
Take off your dentist hat and think the CEO you are … true financial success is margin … not motion.
Step 2: Know Your 3 Financial Levers
Every thriving practice masters these three:
- Collections — what you actually get paid
- Overhead — what you spend to keep the lights on
- Case Acceptance — what converts from diagnosis to delivery
Focus on incremental growth over giant leaps. A 3% lift in each of the above levers adds more to your bottom line than most dentists realize.
Step 3: Build a 90-Day Dashboard
Numbers only create stress when you look at them without purpose … and stress is never our goal for you. Here’s what we see working very well in the practices we coach … a 90-day scorecard:
- Monthly production goal … don’t make this random … begin with what you want to take home and consider …
- Your overhead % target. True tech, quality teams, and labs add to this. False, it’s not worth every penny …
- Hygiene & doctor hour benchmarks
- Case acceptance rate … FYI, the national average for complete care case acceptance is sub-35%! We want you to be north of 65%. Run your numbers. See where you are and if you’re average or below … CLICK HERE
Review it every month with your office manager.
❓ Ask: Where are we winning? Where are we leaking? And why?
When you make data conversational … it becomes motivational.
Step 4: Lead Financial Conversations with Transparency
Stop hiding your numbers from your team out of fear they’ll believe you’re banking millions … they think that already … so show them what’s real … and how all of your success at the practice … drives their self-determined future.
When your team feels that why … they’ll help you hit the what.
Example:
“When we increase case acceptance by 5% … that gives us bandwidth to invest in new tech, more CE … and affords us all more time off.”
Step 5: Profit with Purpose
Money’s not the goal. Freedom is.
Financial control gives you choices to invest in your team, your family, your growth, and your peace. Every decision, every system, every patient interaction is either compounding your freedom or costing it.
Leadership Lesson
Every dollar in your practice is a reflection of a decision you made … or didn’t make. Own your decisions, and you’ll own your destiny.
Your Ignite Next Steps
- Create your 90-day financial dashboard.
- Share your “why” for growth with your team.
- Schedule a free coaching conversation HERE to build a plan that turns numbers into momentum.
We can help your financial story align with your purpose. When we do … your future stops being reactive — and becomes self-determined.
From Clinical → Systems → Financial Control … the path to a self-determined future isn’t luck … it’s leadership.
If you’re ready to accelerate your journey — to grow with confidence, clarity, and control — IgniteDDS Coaching was built for you.
Together We Rise,
Dr. David Rice, CEO, IgniteDDS
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