The latest Dental Economics–Levin Group Annual Practice Survey outlines a practice environment that is steady on the surface but increasingly difficult to manage. Production is holding flat, while overhead continues to rise. Staffing shortages persist, reimbursements are under pressure, and practices are being pushed toward more system-driven operations.

These challenges do not exist in isolation. They show up most clearly in the day-to-day flow of the practice, especially in how patient communication and scheduling are handled.

Production Is Steady but Feels Harder to Maintain

The survey shows that average production per doctor sits at $1,001,807, essentially unchanged from the prior year. [dentaleconomics.com]

On the surface, that looks like stability. In reality, it creates a constraint. When production is not growing, practices cannot rely on increased volume to offset other challenges.

That puts more weight on day-to-day execution. If a practice misses opportunities that are already coming in, there is no underlying growth to compensate for it. Maintaining production becomes dependent on consistency.

What Unique can add
Unique Dental Scheduling answers calls and schedules patients directly into the practice’s system. In an environment where production is flat, that consistency helps ensure that patient inquiries are turned into appointments rather than being lost in the flow of the day.

Staffing Shortages Are Impacting More Than Hiring

The survey highlights staffing as a major driver of overhead, but the real impact shows up in how the office functions hour to hour.

Front desk teams are operating in a constant balancing act:

• checking in patients
• answering phones
• coordinating schedules
• managing administrative tasks

Even veteran front office members can get overwhelmed. Phones start to ring longer and calls get missed. Scheduling becomes reactive rather than controlled, and the patron experience suffers.

This is not just a hiring issue. It is a capacity issue. You can’t schedule staff for just the 10 minutes you need when calls come in.

UDS picks up the slack
Unique provides live staff who answer calls on behalf of the practice and book appointments in real time. We are there when you need us, and UDS steps in seamlessly to schedule patients. It supports the front desk during high-demand periods and after hours, helping maintain coverage without requiring additional hires.

Rising Overhead Changes What Efficiency Means

As overhead rises faster than production, efficiency becomes more important, but also more specific.

Practices are not just looking to reduce costs. They are trying to make sure the work they are already doing leads to results. This puts attention on areas that may have been overlooked before:

• how quickly calls are answered
• how consistently appointments are booked
• how often opportunities fall through

In a tighter financial environment, these small breakdowns carry more weight. What used to be manageable inefficiency now directly affects performance.

Where Unique fits in
Rather than adding to overhead, UDS focuses on improving how existing activity converts into production. Ensuring calls are handled and appointments are booked consistently helps reduce avoidable losses without increasing fixed costs.

Declining Reimbursements Add More Pressure to Each Interaction

The survey also notes declining reimbursement as part of the current landscape.

This shifts the economics of the practice. Each appointment contributes less margin than before, which increases the importance of maintaining volume and minimizing inefficiencies.

In practical terms, this means:

• fewer missed opportunities can be absorbed
• each scheduled patient matters more
• operational consistency becomes more valuable

The front end of the patient journey, especially the initial call, becomes more important in protecting that volume.

Where Unique helps
Ensuring that patient inquiries are consistently handled and scheduled helps practices make the most of each opportunity, which is critical when margins are tighter.

The Bigger Picture

The survey reflects a profession that is not declining, but tightening.

Production is holding steady, but the costs around them are rising. Overhead, staffing, administration, it’s all going up. There is more pressure on maximizing new patients than ever before. Missing calls is no longer an option.

These are not new problems, but they carry more impact than they used to.
By supporting scheduling at the point where demand enters the practice, Unique helps reduce those small but compounding gaps. It does not change how dentistry is practiced. It helps ensure that the operational side keeps up, so the clinical side can stay the focus.