Dentistry has become one of the most recognized areas of the medical field in recent times. The growth and importance of Dentistry have witnessed an accelerated increase in the past fifty years. The way Dentists have set up their mark in the field has changed the way people look at dentistry today. Students aspiring to join the medical field, more precisely dentistry, are looking at it with promising eyes. People believe that there is a huge scope in dentistry in the coming years for young and youthful minds. Only the big name in medicine like gynecology, cardiology, neurology, and surgery is not the only ones entitled to success and fame; today, dentistry has the equal scope and chances of earning you the success you wish to achieve. Dentistry has everything for you, name, fame, and growth in the public as well as the private sector. You just have to make the right choices at the right time.

With every passing day, more and more people are becoming aware of the importance of good oral health. And that is not all. Although dentists are primarily believed to be responsible for good oral health, their role in the medical field is far more widespread. They are the first in-line medical professionals who detect simple oral infection to critical cases of hypertension & oral cancer. They are the first to recognize the symptoms and take up further diagnosis. Of course, dentists make sure your teeth, gums, tissue, tongue, lips & jaws are in good shape and that you have a beautiful smile plus a good bite. Dentistry has a lot of scopes these days in private practices, research institutes, teaching, as well as public administration. Needless to mention that it also promises to be a good and stable source of income.

Joining the medical field brings you this inbuilt advantage of earning respect in society. Since you are treating sick people and making their lives better, you gain a lot of regard and acclaim in society. Also, this profession allows you to come in contact with the different strata of society. You get a chance to make good relationships with people belonging to different fields who can be of benefit to you if you plan to move to entrepreneurship and open your clinic.

A dentist not only treats oral diseases and improves overall oral health but also lends a helping hand in making the general public aware of good oral practices & oral hygiene. They teach society as a whole to inculcate good oral habits. The scope of Dentist is enormous. If you are planning to move your work area from a dentist to a Dental Entrepreneur, the opportunities are vast, but so are the challenges. Before jumping into the decision of becoming a Dental entrepreneur you should properly consider the risks and benefits involved.

Raising your private clinic to the level of a full-fledged firm or Enterprise means that you have become a successful Dental Entrepreneur. This requires ample skills like good communication, updating knowledge, adopting new techniques, mastering the treatment skill, managing the staff, maintaining the finances, listening to society’s demands, and ensuring patient satisfaction. Once you have researched and understood the pros and cons of your decision to become a dental entrepreneur and made up your mind of becoming one, here are the 7 ways of making the grand transition:

• Set up A Strong Foundation: A strong foundation is where everything starts. If the backbone of your business is good, the first step is done. For this, you require proper planning and research. Before moving to entrepreneurship, gain a lot of experience in practicing with a public or a private firm. This will help you master your treating skills, understand the needs of society, calculate the factors responsible for patient satisfaction, and understand the market. Make a detailed analysis of the dental markets, what brings in more patient inquiries, the percentage of conversion from calls to appointments, the ratio of cancellations, revenue generated with first-time appointments, percentage of confirmed second-time appointments, number of major procedures performed per month, etc. These are the areas that will help you build a strong backbone for your enterprise. All these parameters will give you an insight into how to set up your entire business. They will teach you about initial investments, running costs, and everyday expenditures that you need to take care of when you start your dental practice.
• Build A Good Team: Any company or business is not just one person, his luck and hard work but the combined effort of a great team. You alone cannot run your business. You need a highly qualified group of dedicated staff that will make sure to enhance the satisfaction of every patient walking in. Hire people that are well qualified and experienced, and make sure they are hardworking, dedicated, and devoted towards making the lives of other people better. Dentists are a great combination of science and arts. They create beautiful smiles. To bring their amazing skills into practice they need a learned and dedicated team. Having quality and skills is one thing and bringing it into practice with an entire team is another. You have to set a great example. You have to be the role model of your team, and make sure to imbibe the same vision, mission, and thoughts in the people behind you. Be a great leader along with being a skilled dentist. The way you behave in times of success and failure, the same attitude and mindset will be adopted by your team. After hiring make sure you believe in the learning and growth of your entire team, not just yours. Appreciate everyone’s effort and let them grow and learn. When the team believes you take care of everyone’s success, they will stay, learn and follow you.
• Learn & Grow Together: Learning and growing is an evergreen process. Many big businessmen and entrepreneurs have time and again emphasized the importance of learning. When starting a new company, many people promise their team never-ending learning and growing processes but fail to provide resources and an environment for their team to do so. Make sure once you start your enterprise, your team is continuously motivated to learn and enhance their knowledge in the field. Learning should not look like an extra burden, it should rather be fun, and rewarding and prove to be beneficial for everyone. Only then your team will invest time and effort in it. Try to analyze the performance of every member of your team and make sure they are improving on their abilities from time to time. It is very important to see that they are being rewarded and appreciated for their learning and implementing the new skill and technology. Only when they will be rewarded will they take more and more interest in increasing their arena of work.
• Co-branded Dentistry: When it comes to setting up your work, there are two options with the dentist. They either open their clinic or join corporate dental chains. Both these options come with their pros and cons. If you open your clinic, you have to take care of the initial investment, running costs, managing the team, infrastructure, overall patient experience, etc. So your time, energy, and resources are divided into multiple fields. If you join a big corporate chain, you get associated with a big brand, you are entitled to name & fame but you work there as an employee. You get a fixed salary and there are limitations to your growth. While opening your clinic comes with a lot of responsibilities, you are your boss, everything is under your control. You can enhance the level of your skill and ensure the growth of your team which will further improve the overall experience of your clinic. So the best decision is to go for a co-branded dentistry model. This is a mixed setup. Here the infrastructure & administrative support is provided by the dental chain and you take care of all the dentistry practice. It is a franchise set-up. Everything related to medical practices, procedures, skills, and technology is taken care of by you and the management of the structure & team is done by the Corporate house. This is the perfect setting where you are not burdened by other fields and can focus on your part of the performance. You decide your growth and learning.
• Connect with Experts: Be it IT, electronics, social media, architecture, medicine, or even dentistry, connecting with experts in your field is a great idea. It is a great learning experience for everyone, no matter which field they belong to. People who have already established themselves in any of the areas have been able to do so after a lot of learning, experimenting, and good & bad experiences. They have worked hard through thick and thin and have reached the top where they are today. They can be amazing teachers for everyone who has just started their journey and wants to make a difference. Once you talk to them you get to understand the typical problems and challenges of the field. You also learn the techniques and tricks to handle such situations.
• Continuous Learning: Remember that great scholars have always emphasized the importance of learning. It should go on throughout life at every age and every stage. You should always keep attending seminars, conferences, and training for raising the standard of your knowledge and skill. Make sure your team does that too, Let them follow you. Set up a good example. If you create high standards for yourself, your team is bound to follow. Create an atmosphere that supports continuous learning and upgrading skills. Understand the markets and the needs of the patients that are not being met. What is it that needs to be addressed and improved? It is growth and service in this arena that will make you stand out in the crowd. You have to bridge the gaps that exist in the market between demand and supply.
• Introduce Innovation in Service: Like your knowledge, you should keep upgrading your technology and techniques. Keeping up with the market trends is a need these days. If you do not update your machinery and procedure, you will fall back into the competition of the markets. Innovation can be done in small as well as big things. Try improving your patient management techniques, better handling of patient records, keeping details of patient feedback, and trying to make improvements suggested by them. Apply techniques to ensure patient retention, build relationships of a lifetime, and provide a satisfying experience more than just a treatment. Keep an eye on what’s going on in your field in your country and world, the discoveries, inventions, and researchers being made. Learn from your competitors. Make changes whenever and wherever necessary.

So here are seven detailed steps that will help you shift your field from a dentist to a dental entrepreneur. Gone is the era when becoming a successful dentist entrepreneur was a far-fetched dream for dentists. The markets and trends have changed. This is a favorable time for everyone who wishes to take the big step. Of Course, there will be challenges, failures, and bad experiences but that is a part of any shifting and growth. You need to take that leap of faith and the first step to move ahead. Business is an art you master with experience and time. If you have decided to make a mark in the field of dental entrepreneurship, get up and start today. Do your research, study, and then start your business. Do proper planning of how much time, energy, and resources are needed in which area. Make a strong base and hire an enthusiastic team. Build up a strong and clear vision. Stick by your principles, grow, and learn every day. It won’t be long before you will have a name in the field of the successful dental business. You will become a great example for others to follow in the time to come.