Success requires calculated risk.

Success in any venture requires a certain amount of risk. However, success is also about taking the right risks. This requires understanding yourself, your practice, and your opportunities.

You can address these five important areas to build your dental practice success skills with a methodical approach.

1. Knowing Your Own Strengths

When developing your dental practice success skills, it’s important to note that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, you need to plan your approach based on your own unique strengths and weaknesses—and there’s no one better suited to evaluate those factors than you.

Building on your strengths and addressing weaknesses helps you move your practice forward. It can guide you to the right opportunities that can deliver optimal benefits for your practice.

To start, you can make a list of your strengths, as well as those of your practice. Base this on your own intuition and feedback from both patients and your staff. Identify the areas where your practice excels, whether that’s specific treatment options or other factors such as communication, a welcoming environment, or patient outreach.

Knowing your strengths can help you determine which area you can build upon to develop a successful practice. Building on what you’re already doing right can provide many opportunities, and attempting to expand those areas can be a direct path to success.

2. Examining Potential Weaknesses

You should also pay close attention to your weaknesses. Identify areas where you and your practice aren’t doing well. Find out what your patients are looking for that you don’t already offer.

That could be a variety of specialized treatment options. Many patients look for comprehensive care under one roof. Expanding your treatment options by investing in continuing education in orthodontic treatment or other specialties can help shore up this weak point for your practice.

3. Building Your Vision

Alongside the more direct dental practice success skills that go into providing treatment and running a business, there is also the matter of your vision. What is it that first sent you down the path to building your own practice? Identifying and understanding your vision can help guide you to the right opportunities.

If you take a closer look, you may find that your practice has drifted from those original values. If it has, that could be a major factor in any difficulties you’re having. Building your practice in line with your vision is fulfilling and meaningful and can prevent your practice from becoming a tedious and stressful venture.

Whether your vision is to provide the latest in dental treatment, comprehensive treatment options, or a warm and welcoming family dental practice, you should tie your goals to that vision. Consider what realizing your vision would really mean and develop practical goals that can take you there.

4. Setting Effective Goals

Being able to develop effective goals is one of the most important dental practice success skills. One of the most widely used methods for choosing the right goals is to develop SMART goals:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

SMART goals aren’t just dreams or ambitions. They’re concrete targets you can work toward, and you can measure their progress.

It can be difficult to know exactly what these goals should be. Don’t be afraid to set goals that aren’t quite right; you can adjust them as you move forward and gain new insight.

5. Taking Calculated Risks

Success involves taking risks, and evaluating those risks is one of the most vital dental practice success skills. You need to be able to assess the potential value that any opportunity can provide for your practice.

The specific benefits and risks will also vary depending on the individual practice and your own strengths and weaknesses, so only you can make this assessment.

Whether investing in new equipment, continuing education, or exploring other options, there is always some risk. You should target opportunities that take advantage of your strengths to help build success.

Continuing education in specialty treatments, such as orthodontics, is often among the most beneficial investments your practice can make. Not only does continuing education expand your horizons with more treatment options, but it also lets you provide better care in general with a more comprehensive understanding of dentistry.

Grow your practice with orthodontic treatment options.

Developing a successful practice requires investment in opportunities that help you grow and expand your potential. Orthodontic continuing education courses are one such opportunity. You can provide more comprehensive care and reach more patients by adding orthodontic treatment options to your practice.

The American Orthodontic Society delivers comprehensive orthodontic continuing education courses for dentists and their teams. You can invest wisely by choosing courses that leave you prepared to start offering orthodontic treatment with confidence. Browse our course selection to find the right opportunity for your practice.