Hygiene compensation has always been a hot topic. In light of current hygiene staffing challenges, it has become a critical element in securing and retaining hygienists. In addition to incentivizing hygienists, for a compensation model to be sustainable, it must provide structure to ensure the hygiene department remains a profitable part of the dental practice.
For the last 20 years at Inspired Hygiene, we’ve contributed to the development of healthy hygiene compensation plans for hundreds of practices. One of my dental CPA friends recently reminded me of this piece I did a few years ago and these principles still hold true.
A long standing industry benchmark for hygiene profitability is that hygiene production should be at least 3 times the total hygiene compensation and that hygiene produces 25-30% of total practice production. Of course there are variables that affect this such as insurance participation and doctor procedure mix. In this article, we will explore several hygiene compensation models that dental practices use to incentivize their hygienists and a few pros and cons of each model.
If you’re interested in more, click HERE to read the rest of my blog.
P.S. Inspired Hygiene is holding a Virtual Forum on Hygiene Compensation: Partnership and Pitfalls. In this collaborative event, the Inspired Hygiene Team discuss exploring hygiene compensation models, tying compensation to quality care, potential pitfalls, and sharing your own experiences.