When Was Your Last Financial Cleaning?

When Was Your Last Financial Cleaning?

By Amber Weber-Gonzales, RDH and Alyssa Kimmins, RDH, CFE

Alyssa Kimmins and I both practiced as dental hygienists before joining Prosperident as investigators. Recently, while discussing financial safeguards, we found ourselves reflecting on how much our hygiene backgrounds influence the way we approach practice finances. As hygienists, we were trained to focus on prevention, monitor trends over time, identify risk factors, and encourage patients to maintain regular recall appointments.

Today, we apply those same principles when helping practices protect their financial health. The more we talked, the more we realized that financial oversight isn't much different than preventive dentistry—both are designed to identify small concerns before they become larger problems.

Think about what happens during a hygiene recall appointment. We don't simply look for cavities. We evaluate periodontal health, compare findings to previous visits, assess risk factors, and identify changes that may indicate future concerns. Our goal isn't just to treat disease—it's to prevent it.

The same concept applies to practice finances.

Too often, practice owners review financial systems only after something feels wrong. Collections begin to decline, accounts receivable increases, cash flow becomes tighter, or year-end reports reveal unexpected surprises. By that point, the practice is no longer performing preventive financial care—it's treating the equivalent of a financial cavity that has progressed to the point of requiring a crown.

Just as regular hygiene appointments help maintain oral health, financial recall reviews help maintain the health and integrity of your practice.

One of the most common misconceptions we encounter is the belief that strong production automatically equals a healthy practice. Production is important, but production alone doesn't pay payroll, rent, supplies, team compensation, or loan obligations. Collections, cash flow, and operational efficiency ultimately determine the financial strength of a business.

A practice can appear healthy on the surface while hidden financial vulnerabilities quietly develop behind the scenes. Much like periodontal disease, financial issues can progress silently until they become significant challenges.

That's why mid-year is the perfect time for a financial cleaning.

A financial recall review should include evaluating key indicators such as:

• Collections versus production
• Accounts receivable aging
• Insurance aging reports
• Collection percentages
• Credit balances
• Adjustment trends
• Refund activity
• Deposit reconciliation
• Unscheduled treatment opportunities

These reports often reveal trends and opportunities that may otherwise go unnoticed. Outstanding insurance claims, increasing patient balances, delayed claim follow-up, billing inefficiencies, excessive write-offs, and declining collection percentages can all affect profitability long before they become obvious.

A financial review isn't about finding fault. It's about gaining visibility. The goal is to identify concerns while they're still manageable and verify that systems are functioning as intended.

And just as brushing and flossing help prevent dental disease, regular financial reviews help prevent small issues from becoming major problems.

If you don't know your collections percentage, haven't reviewed your aging reports, or aren't sure whether production is translating into collections, now may be the perfect time to brush and floss your numbers.

One phrase we often emphasize when discussing financial safeguards is "Trust But Verify." Most dental teams are made up of dedicated professionals who genuinely want the practice to succeed. Financial reviews should never be viewed as an exercise in distrust. Instead, they should be viewed as a standard part of responsible practice ownership.

Healthy outcomes rarely happen by accident. Whether we're discussing patient care or practice finances, success is usually the result of consistent monitoring, early intervention, and a commitment to prevention.

As you encourage your patients to schedule their next recall appointment, consider asking yourself one important question:

Ask yourself as an owner when was your last financial cleaning?

Financial Recall Tip: Start with a First Look

Not sure where to begin? Consider starting with a First Look Financial Review.  

Just as a comprehensive examination provides a baseline for a patient's oral health, First Look provides a snapshot of the financial health of your practice. By reviewing collections, aging reports, deposits, adjustments, and key financial trends, practice owners can gain valuable insight into opportunities, vulnerabilities, and areas for improvement.

The goal isn't to find problems—it's to establish visibility, strengthen systems, and create a routine financial recall process that supports long-term profitability and financial integrity.

Because healthy practices, like healthy patients, benefit from regular checkups.

Amber Weber-Gonzales is a Supervising Proactive Specialist and Alyssa Kimmins is a Senior Fraud Examiner at Prosperident.  Both are former dental hygienists.