1. Get Noticed—Fast

As a new practice in a new area, your top priority is making sure people know you exist. Your community needs to see and hear about you immediately.

One major advantage for our practice is its high-visibility location—a busy street with a low-speed limit, surrounded by three large, populated towns. Slow traffic means more eyes on our sign, and that visibility has accounted for about 23% of our new patient flow.

If your practice isn’t in a naturally busy area, you must redirect the money you save on rent into targeted marketing—both online and offline. Social media ads, Google campaigns, and direct mail (like postcards) can make a significant impact. In our case, digital and ground marketing efforts brought in 17% of new patients.

2. Leverage Internal Referrals

Your most powerful marketing tool? Happy patients.

Every single patient who walks through your doors should feel like royalty. This requires:

• A team trained in exceptional patient care
• An office environment that reinforces comfort and trust (more on this in another article)

Our number one source of new patients is internal referrals, accounting for a staggering 41.6% of our new patient flow. Quality patients bring in more quality patients—so create an experience worth talking about.

3. Focus on Quality Over Quantity in Marketing

You don’t need 100+ new patients per month to hit a million-dollar practice in your first year. We achieved it with an average of 50-60 new patients per month—and here’s why.

Initially, we invested heavily in a marketing company that brought in nearly 100 new patients per month, but our case acceptance rate was below 40%. We were attracting people to visit, but fewer than half returned for treatment.

The solution? We refined our marketing strategy.

By making our messaging more personal and authentic—more “us”—our patient acceptance rate shot up to nearly 80%. The takeaway? The right patients matter more than the sheer number of patients.

4. Negotiate PPO Insurance Fees Strategically

Let’s talk about everyone’s favorite topic—insurance companies.

Negotiating insurance reimbursements is one of the most tedious but crucial steps in launching a practice. We chose to go in-network with only nine PPOs and opted out of state plans, HMOs, and Medicaid.

Before signing any contracts, do your homework:

• Research the most common insurance providers in your area
• Ask local businesses, schools, and hospitals about their plans
• Compare fee schedules from your current associate position, if applicable

Pro tip: Never accept the first offer. Insurance companies start low, but negotiations can make a huge difference.

Example: One insurer initially offered $750 for a D2740 crown. After weeks of back-and-forth, we raised it to nearly $1,300—a $550 increase per case. In our first year alone, we billed that code 31 times, leading to $17,050 in additional revenue.

PPO patients (including those using out-of-network benefits) make up 60% of our practice, with insurance payments alone contributing 31% of our collections.

5. Offer a Membership Plan & Financing Options

For your fee-for-service patients, a membership plan is essential.

This plan serves as an in-house alternative to insurance, offering:

• A flat annual fee covering preventive and diagnostic care
• Discounts of 10-20% on restorative treatments

Some patients have even canceled their traditional insurance in favor of our plan to eliminate the middleman!

Additionally, financing options are key to closing larger treatment plans. We offer third-party financing through CareCredit and Cherry, which help:

• Cover treatment costs beyond insurance maximums
• Make comprehensive care accessible for fee-for-service patients

Focus on Success

Success as a dental startup isn’t about luck—it’s about strategy.

By focusing on these five key areas, you’ll position your practice for sustainable growth:

✅ Visibility & marketing to attract the right patients
✅ A referral-worthy patient experience that drives internal growth
✅ Smart marketing decisions that bring in quality over quantity
✅ Insurance negotiations that maximize reimbursements
✅ Membership plans & financing to increase case acceptance

Follow these steps, and you’ll be well on your way to building a million-dollar practice!