December 2, 2025
Welcome to another episode of The Dental CEO Podcast, where today we’re diving deep into the world of hygiene-led growth in dental practices. I’m Dr. Scott Leune, and in today’s post, I’m exploring strategies that can substantially impact the growth and retention rate of patients in dental practices, especially those operating on a fee-for-service model.
Introduction to Hygiene-Led Growth
Many dental practices face challenges scaling and retaining patients, particularly in the competitive fee-for-service sector. However, introducing hygiene-led growth strategies offers an opportunity to improve both retention rates and patient satisfaction. Let’s explore a scenario that highlights the importance of patient flow and retention in enhancing practice growth.
Understanding the Basics
If you’re unfamiliar with the hygiene-led growth approach, it focuses on making your hygiene department the central point for patient retention and growth. The core philosophy here is to grow your practice by increasing the number of patients considering your dental practice their home for hygiene services. The way your practice handles new patients plays a crucial role in whether these individuals become part of your loyal recare pool.
The Fee-for-Service Challenge
In many fee-for-service practices, there’s a tendency to schedule new patient visits initially through the doctor, rather than directly through hygiene appointments. While this might align with a practice’s high-touch approach to patient relationships, it can inadvertently create obstacles for integrating new patients into regular hygiene schedules—particularly when hygiene slots are fully booked.
Striking the Right Balance
Imagine a scenario where new patients are brought in, not for a cleaning on their first visit but for a detailed checkup by the doctor. If this checkup doesn’t include a cleaning and the hygiene schedule is already full, the next available cleaning appointment could be weeks away. This adds unnecessary friction for new patients to become active in your hygiene program.
Optimizing the New Patient Flow
To optimize new patient integration, consider a hybrid approach where patients still meet with the dentist first but their visit includes a hygiene session. This method can significantly reduce friction and make the patient’s first visit more comprehensive and satisfying, ensuring they immediately feel part of your dental family.
Long-term Health of Your Practice
For multi-location practices, aligning the operation of your practices with your vision is essential. The way you integrate new patients into your hygiene program, along with patient flow, must support the long-term sustainability and growth of your practice. Failing to do so can lead to stagnation or a decline in patient numbers, making it harder to scale effectively.
Embracing Change and Innovation
Change is challenging but necessary for growth. Whether it involves adjusting how new patients are introduced to your practice or enhancing your hygiene department’s capabilities, these changes can drive significant improvements in patient satisfaction and retention. Embracing innovation and adapting your strategies can be the key to transforming your practice into a thriving dental business.
In conclusion, integrating a hygiene-led growth strategy requires a forward-thinking approach and a willingness to adapt. By focusing on making it easy for new patients to join your recare pool, you can enhance your practice’s growth and provide better care. Here’s to making strategic changes that bring lasting benefits to our practices and our patients.