The 4-Day Dental Practice Workweek: Should You Give It a Try?

The Appeal of a Shorter Workweek

Most dental practices stick to a fairly standard five-day schedule. However, alternatives such as the four-day workweek are becoming more popular. Many dental practices are exploring this model to improve work-life balance and increase efficiency. Could the four-day dental practice workweek be right for you too?

A shorter workweek can provide a wide range of benefits for your practice. One of the most notable is reduced stress and burnout. The shift in work-life balance can let you and your team better recuperate during off time. In turn, this allows for a boost in energy and productivity during clinical hours. Your team will be better positioned to fully throw themselves into their work during the day, which will, ultimately, better support your patients.

Team morale is another important area to consider. An extra day off each week can be seen as a massive benefit by your team. They’ll have more time for their families, friends, hobbies, and relaxation. This boost to morale can help you retain valuable team members.

What It Means for Your Schedule and Patients

Of course, it’s important to take a closer look at the implications a four-day workweek will have on your scheduling. This may mean either reducing total hours or having extended hours on those four days. Both cases require you to adjust your appointment blocks and team schedules.

Maintaining accessibility for patients is key to making the transition a success. Having one less day can have a larger or smaller impact depending on your current patient load and overall capacity.

While a four-day workweek may be a standard worth considering, there may also be a need for appointments outside that time. With an extra day, there is the potential to take on unexpected cases with greater flexibility.

Financial Considerations

Finances are another important area to consider. If you’re reducing your overall clinical hours, your production goals may shift. However, that doesn’t necessarily have to mean a reduction in revenue.

One strategy is to take advantage of higher-value services. You can look into comprehensive orthodontic courses to expand into these services, which can provide higher revenue and let you schedule more efficiently, thanks to their consistency.

With fewer days in the workweek, ensuring financial growth will require making the best use of all available time. That could mean striking the right balance between general dentistry and orthodontics, carefully planning blocks to minimize downtime, and paying close attention to how you schedule administration and other tasks.

Team Communication and Buy-In

When considering changing up your dental practice workweek, it’s essential to consider your team. Changes affect them more than anyone else, so you should discuss this shift openly and thoroughly before making any final decisions.

Depending on the specific approach you’re taking, coming to an agreement on working hours, salaries, and other details may be difficult. It’s important to keep a level head during negotiations and remember that you’re all on the same team.

Having a trial period before fully committing can help you and your team come to a decision. This can be an excellent opportunity to gather feedback and get some actual data on how the change impacts scheduling, production, costs, and revenue.

Determining What’s Right for Your Practice

There’s no single answer to whether a standard or a four-day workweek is better. Instead, you must consider the specifics of your practice. 

Patient volume, staffing, hours, and the specific services you provide are all details that can sway your decision one way or another. Just because another practice has seen success scheduling their cases a certain way doesn’t mean yours will. A lot of this comes down to your target market and the services that make up the bulk of your production.

Choosing Your Dental Practice Workweek

In many cases, a four-day dental practice workweek can be an effective choice for you, your team, and your patients. It improves flexibility and can reduce stress and burnout. However, it can also make balancing patient volume, staffing, and other factors a challenge.

Trying out this model and evaluating results can help you better understand whether this is the right fit for your practice. Seek opinions from other dentists who have tried changing up their dental practice workweeks. And consider becoming a member of the American Orthodontic Society for networking opportunities.