What can hairdressers teach dentists?

locking Your Smile: The Dentist's Guide to Charging Bands Based on Qualifications and Experience

If we were to survey our patients, would they expect to pay the same fees for work completed by a newly qualified dentist as they would for another dentist with 10,000 hours experience and many 1000’s hour training?

I would wager that the answer would be an emphatic NO.

• Is it appropriate that in your practice you have a differential charging structure based on qualifications, experience?
• How in your practice do you convey differential charging in an open and transparent way?
• When you are recruiting how do you discuss charging structures with your candidates?

Dentistry, like many other service-based industries have professionals have varying degrees of experience and expertise. This diversity in qualifications and experience should be recognised and rewarded, yet it is seldom done in an open way.

Hairdressers, have for many decades embraced different fees for stylists with different levels of expertise and experience. When you book a haircut you can choose from Junior, stylist, senior stylist, salon manager, or salon director, and each will have a different fee to reflect their skills and proficiency.

Let’s explore the benefits of adopting different charging bands and the application within dental practices with possible metrics to differentiate roles.

 The Hairdressing Model: A Source of Inspiration

In the realm of hairstyling, it's common to see different fee structures based on the stylist's qualifications and experience. This model provides an interesting analogy for the dental profession. Just as clients may choose a senior stylist for their haircut, patients may prefer to be treated by a highly experienced dentist. Because this is a concept that interests me, and I believe has applications to dentistry, I discussed it with my hairdresser yesterday and these are some of the key benefits she thinks differential charging offers in hairdressing that could be cross-pollinated to dentistry.

1. Value-Based Pricing: Charging bands allows assignment of the appropriate value to the services provided. People are often willing to pay more for treatment by a person with advanced qualifications and years of experience, whether they are a hair dresser or dentist.

2. Reflecting Expertise: Differentiating between hairdressers or dentists, helps convey the expertise and experience each person brings to their clients/ patients in a transparent manner . This can instil confidence in patients and help them make informed decisions.

3. Motivating Professional Growth: Charging bands can serve as incentives for dentists to pursue additional qualifications and enhance their skills. Much like a hairstylist aims to become a senior stylist, a dentist may strive to attain senior clinician status.

4. Improved Patient Satisfaction: People have different needs and preferences. Offering varying charging bands allows them to choose the level of expertise they are comfortable with, enhancing overall satisfaction.

Metrics for Differentiating Charging Bands in Hairdressing

I asked my hairdresser how she evaluated her stylists and allocated which level they were at, she told me her metrics

• Courses attended
• Number of years of experience
• Quality of work, assessed over a week before formal job offer.
• Customer feedback and satisfaction rating
• Occupancy of the chair. The stylist needed to achieve a minimum of 80% occupancy before they can move up a level.

Metrics for Differentiating Charging Bands in Dentistry

If you wanted to introduce a similar fee banding effectively, you will need to establish clear criteria and metrics for each role. What you use will ultimately depend on your practice, the culture, demographics, and treatments offered. Here's a suggested framework to differentiate between roles in a dental practice:

1. Clinician: Entry-level position for newly qualified dentists.

• Qualification: Basic dental degree.
• Metrics: Proficiency in general dentistry and patient communication.

2. Advanced Clinician: Dentists with additional certifications and experience.

• Qualification: Postgraduate qualifications or specialty certifications.
• Metrics: Proficiency in specialised areas, patient case success rate, years of experience, patient feedback and chair occupancy.

3. Clinician with special interests: Highly experienced and skilled practitioners.

• Qualification: Extensive postgraduate training and years of experience.
• Metrics: Patient satisfaction, chair occupancy, complex case success, contributions to practice development.

4. Clinical Manager: Dentists taking on managerial responsibilities.

• Qualification: Leadership and management training.
• Metrics: Team performance, practice growth, and leadership skills.

5. Clinical Director: The pinnacle of expertise and leadership.

• Qualification: Advanced leadership and strategic management training.
• Metrics: Practice profitability, strategic vision, Patient and team satisfaction, chair occupancy, and professional development of the team.

Incorporating charging bands in your dental practice based on qualifications and experience can be a win-win for both dentists and patients. It not only reflects the diverse skill sets within your team but also allows patients to choose services that align with their needs and preferences. This approach will encourage professional growth,  foster a culture of excellence within your practice, much like the hairdressing industry's tiered pricing structure.

By using either using the suggested metrics or creating your own, to differentiate roles, you can create a transparent and fair system that motivates your team to continuously improve and deliver exceptional dental care. The  ultimate goal is to ensure that your patients receive the best possible treatment, at the appropriate price point, while recognising and rewarding the professional development, hard work, and dedication of your dental colleagues.

I would love to know what you think about these concepts, and how they will work and improve the professional standards of our profession. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.