Costs of Running Dental Practices on the Increase
Spare a thought for your local dentist – as reports indicate that the costs of running a dental practice in England and Wales has increase for almost ALL dentists (93% of respondents) over the last 12 months of operating.
According to a report on Dentistry.co.uk, the vast majority of dentists are experiencing a sharp increase in their operating costs which has made it much more expensive to facilitate the running of their dental practice compared to the same period 12 months ago. There are, of course, a number of factors that have contributed to this increase in running costs but the chief culprits are costs relating to things like staffing, material costs and energy bills.
A Multitude of Factors
It goes without saying that the increased costs associated with running a dental practice cannot be attributed to any one thing and it will vary from dentist to dentist. According to the research conducted by the Forum of Private Business, many of the dentists who took part in the survey believed that the cost of insurance and raising finance had stayed the same or increased and this contributed to their higher running costs year on year.
The heightened cost of running a dental practice has clearly had a detrimental effect on many dentists but David Brewer of Frank Taylor and Associates believes that the findings come as a surprise and states, “In the current financial market, we have actually seen a lot of competition in the finance sector. This is probably due to dentistry being seen as a “green light” sector for lending. There are great opportunities for practices to reduce the cost of finance.”
Dentists offer a pivotal service and the fact that the costs of running a practice are continuing to increase may a cause for concern for many practicing dentists. It is important that the costs associated with running a dental practice don’t spiral out of control to the point that many can no longer afford to continue practicing.