Base pay plus commission seems to be the best and most popular system. This protects the hygienist if the front desk drops the ball on the schedule, but also gives the hygienist a reason to go the extra mile. Always use adjusted production or actual collections when calculating a hygienist’s bonus because this is the amount that can actually be collected. The general rule of thumb is that any commission kicks in when production (or collection) exceeds three times the hygienist’s base pay. Also, if the day does fall apart or there's an open hour, the hygienist on base pay can...

1. Time is money

It is the small things that add up to consuming vast amounts of time, and as we all know: Time is money.

Many dental practices can appear very busy, but over the years, when I have drilled down into my client's numbers (pardon the pun), I have found many were underproducing by as much as 40% or more based on their production capacity.

Statistics measure habits, good or bad. They’re like gauges on your car's dashboard. They can tell you and your staff in an unbiased way what's going on in a specific area of the practice.