Keeping Costs Down

04 June 2025

For the last few years, the bombardment of news stories about the UK’s economy have left many feeling anxious. Whether its high interest rates, increased levels of debt or fragile consumer confidence, the financial strength of the UK has been walking a tightrope for a while. In April 2024, over 550,000 businesses were in significant financial distress, a jump from the year prior.[i] In January 2025, this rose to 650,000 – hard times are ahead.[ii]

Dental practices are not exempt. Maintaining a successful business is vital, not just for the continual care of patients but for the economic security and wellbeing of the dental team. One reason for the financial distress is HMRC’s more aggressive recovery of overdue taxes, meaning that businesses must find more ways to increase income.[iii] This can be achieved in several ways, from offering more treatment options and taking on referrals to running courses and training sessions. But these revenue streams may not always be viable and finding ways to save money can be just as essential for the protection of your revenue and the business as a whole.

 

What’s necessary?

When it comes to cutting costs, the important question to consider is ‘what is necessary?’ Once these have been identified – supplies, power, uniform, insurance etc. – then the next step should be investigating whether there are more cost-effective alternatives. Contacting the providers and negotiating a better deal each year is a great way of fighting the inflated costs, ensuring that money isn’t spent unnecessarily on things that are needed.

Similarly, finding better bulk-buying options for supplies (such as a monthly delivery instead of a weekly one) can produce better deals. Failing a new deal, keeping an eye open for what other companies are offering is crucial. Not only may this help with negotiating a more suitable deal, but practitioners may find excellent discounts or sales that better serve the business. These cost-effective solutions are simple yet invaluable and can make it easier to invest in other parts of the business.

 

Marketing

Dental practitioners should invest in marketing to spread awareness and attract new patients. However, this comes at a cost. Whether taking out adverts or printing promotional material, practitioners should assess the time and money they are putting into marketing and how effective it is. If more patients are joining due to word of mouth, rather than from seeing marketing material, then practitioners may decide to better invest marketing costs in other avenues – this is very important for those promoting dental implant treatments. With more patients, there is more economic stability, but a broader marketing push must be weighed up against how many new patients stay on as regulars, with the crucial caveat that personalised digital marketing approaches can build a loyal patient base.[iv]

Social media is one of the cheapest marketing avenues: the main cost is time. Whether cultivating a loyal audience through personalised videos or reaching new patients by jumping on trends, there is a limitless potential with who is reached via social media – but it does demand regular attention.

 

Tidy up on tech

Sometimes spending money can save money: investing in newer, more efficient technologies may keep costs down in the long-term. This can be split between direct and indirect results. Examples of the former include 3D printers, which produce dental equipment quickly and precisely, reducing error and the amount of labour needed. Whilst a large investment, the benefits can be enormous, with stronger long-term savings from a more streamlined workflow. For technologies that indirectly help manage costs, consider the growth of AI services for functions like transcription and note-taking services. These make the workflow more efficient, taking tedious tasks away from the practitioner and freeing them up to treat more patients. This keeps the business moving.

The Association of Dental Implantology (ADI) supports its members with a range of exclusive offers. This includes savings on professional indemnity insurance via All Med Pro, free access to CPD journals,  and discounts on services like Kiroku and Dental Audio Notes. These offers don’t just keep costs down – they ensure that dental professionals with a passion for implantology have the best products and services to achieve continual clinical excellence.

When faced with mounting costs and financial turbulence, being able to identify areas to save on is essential for the long-term survival of the dental practice – and the continual maintenance of your patients’ oral health. Cut costs and improve the workflow.

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