A strong production day does not always mean a dental practice used its time efficiently. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt and Miranda Beeson, co-host of The Best Practices Show, explain why production per hour provides a clearer view of provider efficiency than production per day alone. You will learn how schedule design, procedure mix, capacity utilization, delegation, and provider hours influence productivity, as well as how to calculate and evaluate production per hour in your practice.
To better understand the efficiency behind your production numbers, listen to Episode 1081 of The Best Practices Show!
Main Takeaways:
- Production per day shows the total outcome, while production per hour reveals how efficiently provider time was used.
- A high-production day may still be inefficient when it requires extra hours, rushed appointments, fragmented procedures, or working through lunch.
- Intentional scheduling and an appropriate procedure mix can help practices maintain production while reducing clinical hours.
- Measuring schedule utilization helps practices identify lost production caused by unfilled provider and hygiene time.
- Comparing high-performing and low-performing schedules can reveal which procedures, workflows, and provider habits improve hourly productivity.
- Delegating tasks to trained team members allows dentists to focus on the clinical responsibilities only they can perform.
- Production per hour should be reviewed with curiosity and used to improve systems rather than punish or compare providers.
Episode Chapters:
00:00 Why production per hour provides a clearer view than production per day.
01:00 Introduction to Metric Mondays and production efficiency.
02:17 The difference between daily production and hourly production.
03:48 What inefficient production looks like in practice.
05:24 Why production per hour is the ultimate measure of efficiency.
06:34 Creating leadership time through more strategic scheduling.
07:26 What practices do differently when they measure time effectively.
09:22 Improving production through schedule and capacity utilization.
10:12 The financial impact of open hygiene appointments.
11:18 How to calculate production per hour.
12:01 Comparing provider schedules and procedure mix.
13:18 Delegation as a way to improve provider efficiency.
14:41 Asking the team how efficiently time was used.
15:17 Using production data to identify practice opportunities.
Guest Bio:
Miranda Beeson has over 25 years of clinical dental hygiene, front office, practice administration, and speaking experience. She is enthusiastic about communication and loves helping others find the power that words can bring to their patient interactions and practice dynamics. As a Lead Practice Coach, she is driven to create opportunities to find value in experiences and cultivate new approaches.
Miranda graduated from Old Dominion University, and enjoys spending time with her husband, Chuck, and her children, Trent, Mallory, and Cassidy. Family time is the best time, and is often spent on a golf course, a volleyball court, or spending the day boating at the beach.
Episode Resources:
- Capacity Tracker: https://www.actdental.com/blog/data-snapshot-capacity-percentage
- Weekly Production Scorecard: https://www.actdental.com/blog/data-snapshot-production-per-visit
More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:
