Private prosthodontic practice: a status report

Prosthodontics as a Specialty Private Practice: Net Income of Private Practitioners

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to use data from a survey of prosthodontists in the US to examine average net earnings of prosthodontists in private practice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A survey of 2500 prosthodontists in the US was used to estimate the net earnings of practicing prosthodontists. The national average net earnings of prosthodontists in private practice was estimated along with average earnings for subgroups of prosthodontists. Estimates for private practitioners by age, gender, size of practice, full-time/part-time status, practice ownership, and by type of treatment procedures rendered by the practitioner were also included.

RESULTS

Average earnings for prosthodontists in private practice on a primary or secondary basis were estimated to be $215,300 and for prosthodontists who own or share in the ownership of a private practice, $233,920. Reported earnings estimates ranged from $96,160 for non-owners of a private practice and $103,350 for part-time private practitioners to $233,920 for practice owners and $275,170 for prosthodontists in practice with two prosthodontists. The average earnings of prosthodontists who are practice owners were estimated to be 35% higher than the corresponding general practitioners.

CONCLUSION

Average net earnings are often used to examine the current economic health of a profession. The average net earnings of prosthodontists in private practice exceed the average net income reported by the American Dental Association for all dentists and all general practitioners and they are competitive with earnings among all specialty groups. This evaluation of the net earnings of prosthodontists shows that prosthodontics offers a competitive career opportunity for the general dentist with a personal desire to pursue advanced dental education in a specialty as a profession.

A survey of private prosthodontic practice

The data from a survey of private prosthodontic practitioners are reported in this article. The author provides a brief look at employment status, number of employees, time spent in the office, number of patient visits per week, gross billings, net income, and practice expenses of prosthodontic practices. In addition, the author has developed a profile for a median prosthodontic practice and practitioner.

Practice and malpractice expenses in maxillofacial prosthetics

Recent changes in Medicare reimbursement methods have made the estimation of specific practice and malpractice expenses in maxillofacial prosthetics more important. New reimbursement models such as the resource-based relative value scale used by Medicare and an increasing number of private carriers require accurate and specialty-specific values for these parameters. The Health Care Financing Administration's estimates of practice expense values in all specialties of medicine are significantly lower than those suspected in maxillofacial prosthetics. There is concern that the assignment of erroneous values in maxillofacial prosthetics could lead to inadequate reimbursement. Because the American Dental Association provides only aggregate specialty values, a survey of the general membership of the Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics was undertaken to determine these values more accurately. Practice expense values were found to be significantly higher than those in medicine, whereas malpractice expense values were lower. In addition, practice expense values in the survey were found to be greater than the ADA's aggregate specialty calculations.

A survey of private prosthodontic practice

This article reports the data of a survey of private prosthodontic practitioners. It reports incomes, overhead expenses, staff size, and character of prosthodontic practices. The study also develops a profile for a median prosthodontic practice and practitioner.

Applying business principles to a prosthodontic practice

Determining the optimum fee for prosthodontic services is difficult. Most methods of determining fees are based on comparisons with other practitioners or with established fee schedules. However, comparisons alone are inadequate because they ignore the practitioner's underlying costs. Since it costs each individual practitioner different amounts to produce dentistry, dental fees should be highly individualized. This article presents a model for evaluating fees for prosthodontic services based on both underlying costs and intangible variables such as the dentist's skill, experience, and quality of care.