Raising Your Fees: Why It’s Essential for a Healthy Dental Practice
Raising Fees Isn’t Greedy—It’s Smart
In the world of dental practice management, setting the right fees is crucial to the health of the business and the quality of care provided. Many dentists struggle with the decision to raise their fees. Maybe it’s fear of losing patients, the worry of appearing money-driven, or simply not knowing how to approach the topic. But here’s the truth: regular, strategic fee increases are a sign of a healthy, forward-thinking dental practice.
In today’s economic landscape—with rising costs, inflation, and increasing demands on your time and team—raising your fees isn’t just a good idea. It’s essential. Hemmen & Associates’ goal is to assist you with continuous improvement of your practice. We now include a geographic-specific fee review as part of our practice valuation analysis or a practice fee analysis is available.
Your Costs Are Rising—Your Fees Should Reflect That
You’re not running the same practice you were five years ago:
- Supply costs have surged
- Staffing costs have increased
- Equipment, maintenance, and tech subscriptions have gone up
If your fees have remained stagnant while your overhead grows, you’re shrinking your profit margins and undervaluing your services.
Raising fees ensures your practice remains financially sustainable—without needing to overbook or overwork.
Perceived Value = Actual Value
Fees communicate more than economics—they reflect the value you place on your work. Patients often equate price with quality. If your fees are below market average, it may signal that you’re behind the times or undervaluing your expertise.
Conversely, reasonable increases show confidence in your services, your team, and the patient experience you deliver.
Insurance Reimbursement Doesn’t Tell the Full Story
Yes, many patients are in-network or on plans with fixed reimbursements—but not all of them. Even within insurance constraints:
- UCR fees matter for out-of-network patients
- Your usual fees can influence negotiations
- Raising fees allows you to better track and compare collections
Don’t let insurance define your value—set your fees based on your business model, not theirs.
A Small Increase Makes a Big Difference
Consider this: A 5% fee increase across your procedures may not even be noticed by most patients—but it can significantly impact your bottom line.
If you:
- Generate $1 million annually
- Raise fees by just 5%
- You add $50,000 in gross revenue—often with no increase in costs
That’s extra profit that can be reinvested in technology, staff bonuses, marketing—or simply help maintain work-life balance.
You Train. You Invest. You Deserve It.
You’ve spent:
- Years in education
- Thousands on CE
- Countless hours managing a team and business
You deserve to be compensated fairly—not just for your clinical skills, but also for the leadership and care you provide every day. Fee increases reflect the ongoing value you bring to your patients and community.
How to Do It Right
You don’t need to raise fees drastically or across the board. Try:
- Annual or biannual small adjustments
- Reviewing and benchmarking your fee schedule
- Adjusting high-value procedures first
- Communicating transparently with your team (and patients if needed)
Most patients won’t leave over a $3–$10 increase. But if your fees stay the same for years, the compounded loss adds up quickly.
It’s Time to Stop Feeling Guilty
Raising fees isn’t about greed—it’s about growth, sustainability, and self-respect. Your patients trust you with their health. You should trust yourself to run a business that supports your team, your family, and your future.
Ready to review your fee schedule and find out where you stand? Hemmen & Associates can help!
Dental Practice Appraisals are a necessary and powerful tool to be used for the following:
Selling your Dental Practice
An experienced dental practice appraiser is needed to determine the Fair Market Value of your business before it is placed on the market. From the appraisal, the correct information is extracted to prepare “Marketing Packets” to provide to prospective buyers. The eventual buyer will provide the lending institution with the practice details to obtain financing.
Financing a Practice
Financial institutions require specific information about the subject practice to determine the feasibility of a loan to the buyer. The information provided must show that the practice will “make the payments.”
Estate Planning
To protect your practice and estate an appraisal is required by your financial advisor/estate planning Attorney. Without this guidance, estate taxes could become a burden and in the event of your death or disability it is very possible your personal advisors would have no idea of the practice’s market value. A delay in determining where to obtain a professional opinion could result in heavy losses to your family/estate.
Divorce
An amicable divorce is typically an oxymoron. Proper preparation, depending up on the home state of the practice, may require a complete Practice Appraisal. Confirm this with your attorney.
Entity Formation/Dissolution
A Practice Appraisal is normally required for each practice. It is impossible to fairly create or effect a merge or partnership of some sort without complete financial and operational details of the parties involved. Obviously, the need for a Practice Appraisal is required for the same reason with a dissolution.
Buy/Sell Agreements
Entity formations require a dental practice appraisal. Opinions of Value are typically used every few years, if not annually, to be assured the Buy/Sell Agreements within an entity are fair and true to market value.
Request an Appraisal
To request a Practice Appraisal, complete the form below or call Hemmen & Associates at (309) 517-3023.