Starting a pedodontic practice.

The membership committee of the American Academy of Pedodontics is endeavoring to provide information to new pedodontists about starting a practice. This article in,dudes several factors to consider in preparing a practice. They are: 1. Choosing a dental practice arrangement 2. Selecting and planning a solo practice 3. Choosing an area 4. Choosing a practice facility 5. Finding support services 6. Getting a practice off the ground y. Looking at alternate delivery systems 8. Finding information sources. In the early 1970s, when our current graduate students were preparing to enter college, many faced anxiety situations. What worried both the students and their families was not how to pay for college, but how to gain admission. Now that these students are concluding their advanced education, they again face anxiety situations. Their anxiety today is not so much how to enter practice, but how to arrange financing and whether or not they will have a successful pedodontic practice. As soon as a dental graduate has been accepted into an advanced education program, he should begin to think about future practice options; early preparation can reduce anxiety. Goals must be established and discussed with faculty members. This article suggests ways to develop a successful pedodontic practice. Choice of Dental Practice Arrangement The type of practice chosen and the success achieved will depend on your lifestyle and future goals. All dental practices are different and you must seek the type of practice with which you are comfortable -not one proposed by someone else. What avenues of practice are available? 1. Self-employed private practice -ownership 2. Employment by other practitioner -nonownership; partnership or shareholder possible 3. Group practice -combined general and multispecialty group, pedodontic group, capitation group, large advertiser or retail dentistry group 4. Employment by a corporation to provide services to employees and dependents 5. Institutional practice -schools and clinics on a full-. or part-time basis 6. Government employment -armed forces, public health service, state and local government 7. Faculty position -combination of fullor part-time teaching and practice 8. Research -usually in combination with a full-time appointment in a dental school or hospital. Selecting and Planning the Solo Practice Decisions about a practice should begin early, yet your goals should be established with the realization that changes occur; you must have the flexibility to adjust to these changes. The input of a spouse is extremely important in planning a lifetime occupation. Several questions must be considered in planning the practice. 1. What type of patient do you wish to treat (handicapped, adolescents, welfare)? 2. Will you perform orthodontic and endodontic services or refer children to other specialists? 3. Will you have a fee for service, a capitation program, insurance participation, and the inclusion of welfare patients in your practice? 4. Will you have room to expand your office facilities? 5. Will you eventually establish satellite offices? 6. Are you willing to offer weekend or evening hours? 7. Will you offer flexible terms? The type of practice you will have has to be determined. 1. If limited to pedodontics, what age children will you treat? 2. If pedodontics and orthodontics are combined, what are your training limitations? Will you associate with an orthodontist to provide orthodontic services? 288 STARTING A PEDODONTIC PRACTICE: Bernick PEDIATRIC DENTiSTRY/Copyright © 1983 by The American Academy of Pedodontics/Vol. 5, No. 4 3. Will handicapped patients be treated as part of your normal office routine or will you take them to a hospital or clinic where you are affiliated? Will homebound care be provided to the handicapped? Will you use general anesthesia or sedation in your office? 4. Will you be associated with a dental school or hospital permitting you to teach residents and graduate students? 5. What are the long-range opportunities for expansion? You must realize that a successful practice will outgrow the first facility in five to seven years. What will your goals be -to move and expand either into or another facility or to have multiple offices?