Dental Assistant Buyers Guide

THE ROLE SMART PURCHASING CAN PLAY IN DENTAL OFFICE ECONOMICS

THE ROLE SMART PURCHASING CAN PLAY IN DENTAL OFFICE ECONOMICS

Working to control practice expenses is a high priority for any dentist. Overhead can be reduced by increasing productivity, revenue and reducing expenses. According to the American Dental Assistants Association, the DA is primarily responsible for maintaining and ordering dental supplies. The DA makes the sourcing decision in 60% of the cases and influences the choice of supplier in 35% of the more ‘technique sensitive’ supplies. The average dental office generates between $700,000 to $1,000,000 in revenue each year and dental supplies represent 7% of all operating expenses. In this example dental supplies represent $49,000 to $70,000 of office operating expenses. What would your dentist think if you could reduce his/her supply expenses by 25-35%? This would represent $12,000 to $24,000 in annual expense reduction. BUYER GUIDE TIPS: 1. Evaluate your methods of purchasing supplies. There are many vehicles for buying dental supplies today, and all suppliers/dealers want your business. Instead of purchasing from many different suppliers and multiple dealers settle on one dealer and limit the number of suppliers. 2. Seek out suppliers that provide FREE merchandise and are anxious to provide evaluation samples. 3. Find someone who is serving you well and serving you fast-you do not want excess inventory. 4. SET A SUPPLY BUDGET: look to see what percentage your office has spent on average over the last 12 months in supplies, then come up with a budget for supplies you are comfortable with. The Dental Assistants Buyers Guide will help you source ‘quality assured’dental supplies at real savings.

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