Every dentist will strive to give treatment that is tailored to the specific needs of a patient. This approach is also applicable when looking to lease a property for use as a dental practice. Taking into account the very specific service that dentists offer, it follows that their practice will also require specific terms and conditions in the lease to support that service.

Standardised leases

The ability of a dental practice to function as smoothly as possible is of the utmost importance. Standardised commercial leases can often hinder dentists in their work, making them waste time and money unnecessarily. The pitfalls and problems are numerous with standard commercial leases, and it is best to avoid them at all costs.

There is a very real danger that the specific requirements of a dental practice can be overlooked and in some cases actually forbidden under the terms of the lease! For example, the need for practices to store X-ray machines and various drugs is clear. However, it is possible for a standard lease to prohibit the storage of these items. If a dentist does not adhere to the conditions of the lease there is a possibility of the lease being terminated by the landlord and the dentist being evicted from the property, which can lead to otherwise preventable high expense and hassle in order to resolve the situation.

In addition, dentists are often not required to register for VAT in respect of their supply of an exempt service. However a standard commercial lease can leave the landlord with the ability to charge VAT at any point should the landlord so chose. If this were to happen, it would mean an unavoidable and immediate 20 per cent rise in the rent of the property.

The restrictions that standard commercial leases enforce can not only cripple the financial position and functionality of a practice, but can also prohibit anybody from sharing the property.

This is particularly unfavourable when considering commonplace associate agreements. A term that associate agreements usually state is that the associate is given a license to use the property for dental purposes. With a potential restriction on who can occupy the property, an associate agreement can unwittingly lead to a breach of lease, and once again termination of the lease can occur.

The fact is that many general practice solicitors who draw up standard leases do not take into account the particular requirements of a dental practice, as opposed to the requirements of their other commercial clients. Whilst these general practice solicitors may be knowledgeable about commercial leases in the broad sense, it would be extremely advantageous to any dentist considering taking a commercial lease to employ a solicitor who has experience specifically in the dental industry.

In simple terms, the disadvantages a standardised commercial lease presents to a dentist can be overwhelming.

The benefits of bespoke commercial leases

Instructing a commercial lawyer with specialist dental knowledge will offer a solution. A bespoke lease will address the requirements a dentist has for his or her practice and amend the terms a standardised commercial lease overlooks or prohibits. This will provide a successful and hassle free lease, ultimately allowing for a dentist to focus on providing dental treatment, rather than worrying about legal matters.

Using bespoke commercial leases can be a sensible way to avoid time and money being wasted, and the complications that come with that waste. From ensuring that the storage of vital dental equipment is allowed to enabling associate agreements, and making sure there is no unexpected rise in rent, the benefits of a bespoke lease are clear.

 The key points to always bear in mind is not only the employment of a dental lawyer who understands the dental industry, but also the fact that where any legal matter is concerned it is important not to cut corners to save time. Bespoke commercial leases can be extremely beneficial in avoiding unnecessary complications and costs; their importance cannot be stressed enough.

Goodman Grant has a reputation of quality legal advice within dentistry. With this crucial and specialist knowledge, Goodman Grant’s team of solicitors are able to draw bespoke commercial leases to the specific advantage of dentists. Ensure you are not distracted from providing exceptional treatment by taking advantage of the huge benefits a bespoke commercial lease will provide. 

Nicola Lomas Goodman Grant Lawyers for Dentists

For more information call Nicola Lomas on 0151 707 0090 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.goodmangrant.co.uk

 

Dedicated to enhancing your practices’ daily processes for long-term success, 7connections is thrilled to announce an expansion in its services through its new partnership with US marketing giant, Infusionsoft.

Committed to increasing sales and marketing opportunities for small businesses, Infusionsoft combines everything your practice needs to promote itself successfully. With contact management, CRM, marketing automation and e-commerce all available in one single online system, it offers an easy, quick and cost-effective way to grow your business.

Lifecycle marketing plays a huge role in the growth and management of your patient-base, and so it will form an essential element to the services offered by 7connections and Infusionsoft. They will take you through all seven steps of the cycle, from attracting website traffic to capturing leads, nurturing prospects, converting prospects into sales, delivering customer satisfaction, upselling and acquiring business referrals. Each phase is as important as the next in order to not only attract new people to the practice, but to encourage them to become quality patients, and then keep them coming back.

Infusionsoft has already published some of the results it has achieved with small businesses, demonstrating a huge average increase in revenue of 400%![i] Enabling you to apply the theory to your specific business in a tangible way, 7connections and Infusionsoft will help you bring more patients through the door, while also reducing your costs. They will help you deliver a first-class experience to all existing and potential patients, use marketing automation in a personal way, enhance your patient communications and expand your business-to-business marketing for increased referrals, all helping your practice to truly thrive.

Working with 7connections and Infusionsoft you will not only discover the benefits of effective marketing, but you will also acquire new skills and tools to ensure you can move forward efficiently.

Watch this space for future innovative marketing solutions!

For more information about 7connections or the new partnership, call 01647 478145 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Alternatively, please visit the brand new website www.7connections.com.

There has been a lot of discussion of late surrounding a new event billed as a ‘Wealth creation day for dentists’. While opinion would seem split on whether there is really any need for this event, a number of colleagues have suggested that it gives dentists a bad name and that it doesn’t paint us in a positive light.

But then, why should we care? Why does it matter what anyone else thinks? Supposing opticians had a wealth creation day – or chiropodists, or osteopaths – would we all really be so up in arms about it then? Probably not.

As a profession, we seem to be suffering from a form of collective insecurity. We’ve been knocked one too many times in the press, and so our instinctive response is to reject anything that might make us seem greedy or rich as being completely out of hand. Which is strange really, when you come to think about it; surely it’s not unreasonable for anyone to want to sure up his or her financial future.

Bursting the bubble

At the heart of the issue here is the matter of business. As dentists, we’re all very good at dentistry, but not very good at business. Indeed some colleagues could be described as being financially very naïve. Unfortunately get rich schemes play on this naivety, as well as our innate human desire to want to make a secure future for ourselves and for our families.

The problem occurs when you consider how most of these schemes work. In this particular case we see that the idea is to try and gain maximum leverage from property; you simply get as much out of the bank as you can, put it on a house that goes up in value, sell it quickly, and take the profit. Yet experience tells us that all this does is fuel the housing bubble! Enough people have got their fingers burnt by this in the past for it to be completely financially reckless.

Chasing the fast buck

Generally speaking, as dentists we’re not very entrepreneurial, and we’re not inventing anything so we’ll never be ‘rich’ by most modern day standards. Of course I don’t for one moment want to sound disingenuous – as a profession dentists do very well – but not well enough that ‘get rich’ schemes don’t hold some sort of appeal. This is because traditionally the way a dentist earns money is to keep overheads down and work a marathon, slowly and steadily building up over time.

Needless to say this wasn’t always the case. Traditionally, when property prices were cheap and the NHS was lucrative, many people went into dentistry as it was an extremely financially rewarding career. But in recent times this has reached something of a lull. While there are certainly a number of ‘super dentists’ who are doing very well in the cosmetic market, most people are struggling, and with the ever-present burden of regulation, most dentists are seeing their standard of living decrease. We shouldn’t be surprised then that some people are attracted to the promise of a ‘get rich’ scheme, even if the concept is for the most part, fundamentally flawed.

The changing profession

In many respects what this debate highlights more than anything is just how much the dental profession has changed. Obviously there have been many positives in terms of new materials, technologies and treatments, but the very nature of the job is not the same as it once was. We are now business people as much as we are healthcare professionals, and though the concept doesn’t sit well with some people, there can be no escaping this undeniable fact.

So should we be embarrassed about wanting to make money? I really don’t think we should. After all, what we do with our money outside of work is our own business, and would you really deny anyone the chance to build a sound financial future?

If you want to go out and earn more money then I say good luck to you. However, I do urge caution. If the recession has taught us anything it’s that great financial rewards only come with great risk. When I look at many of these ‘get rich’ schemes, I fear the only people who will really make any money from them are the people running the courses themselves.

Naturally, I don’t really blame anyone for wanting to make money, but I do think we need to recognise that we are dental professionals first and foremost, and business people a distant second. While the profession may have changed a great deal over the years, patient care is still the thing we’re best at. In this sense at least, dentistry hasn’t changed very much at all!

For further information please call EndoCare on 020 7224 0999

Or visit www.endocare.co.uk

Dr Michael Sultan BDS MSc DFO FICD is a Specialist in Endodontics and the Clinical Director of EndoCare. Michael qualified at Bristol University in 1986. He worked as a general dental practitioner for 5 years before commencing specialist studies at Guy’s hospital, London. He completed his MSc in Endodontics in 1993 and worked as an in-house Endodontist in various practices before setting up in Harley St, London in 2000. He was admitted onto the specialist register in Endodontics in 1999 and has lectured extensively to postgraduate dental groups as well as lecturing on Endodontic courses at Eastman CPD, University of London. He has been involved with numerous dental groups and has been chairman of the Alpha Omega dental fraternity. In 2008 he became clinical director of EndoCare, a group of specialist practices.

The work of a Dental Care Professional (DCP) largely centres around helping other people – treating patients, perhaps helping them to overcome dental anxiety, contributing to the daily running of the practice and assisting colleagues. The term Dental Care Professional is not misleading – ‘care’ is central to the role and in many ways is synonymous with ‘help’.

But who helps the helpers and cares about the carers? And where do we go when we need advice or support in our professional lives?  There are many sides to our work which extend beyond the usual demands of daily duties. These can range from problems with meeting the CPD requirements to acquiring appropriate insurance or understanding and complying with the seemingly endless Standards and regulations.

CPD is seen as a positive for many, although of course it is a mandatory element for all dental professionals throughout their careers and not something that can be avoided. The many hours dedicated to CPD and the costs involved can be considerable, particularly as tax relief is not available despite the recent BADN campaign. For DCPs who have to fund CPD themselves, it can be an additional and worrying burden.

Another essential aspect for DCPs to think about is appropriate indemnity insurance. The GDC Guidance on indemnity insurance effective from 30th September 2013, states: “If you are relying on arrangements made by your employer, you must check the indemnity position with them. You must not make any assumptions about whether or not you are covered by their arrangements – you must always check ...”[1]

Ensuring adequate and appropriate insurance is not only vital for your own personal protection in the case of a patient complaint, it is also a requirement of the GDC Standards for the Dental Team which declare that you “must have appropriate arrangements in place for patients to seek compensation if they suffer harm”.[2] Further stressing its importance, in the 2012 GDC Annual Report, the fourth most common reason for a hearing with the Professional Conduct Committee (PPC) was lack of indemnity insurance[i].

These are just some of the important professional obligations that need our careful attention as DCPs, and they can add to the considerable demands already placed on our time and resources. Fortunately, help is available through various organisations who can offer guidance and assistance on various areas, including training, compliance and insurance. One such provider is DBG, the UK’s largest outsourced healthcare provider, who’s annual membership provides access to help and support, with a dedicated member’s area and discounts on a variety of services.

The smile on the face of a grateful patient can make all the difference to the working day, and when you know there is somewhere for you to go for help and advice too, it will make that day even better.

For more information call DBG on 01606 861 950

Or visit www.thedbg.co.uk