States are slowly lifting the shelter-in-place orders, meaning dentists can reopen their practice to see patients for elective care. Dentists and dental team members alike are ready for the flood gates to open. But, rest assured that the next few weeks will probably look much different than your life before COVID. How to schedule, understanding new PPE guidelines, and PPP loan forgiveness, there’s a lot on your plate in the coming weeks. Bryant Consultants wants to share a game plan for reopening your dental practice. Be prepared, and keep pressing forward as you reopen.
Supply and Demand
There will be an influx of patients going to the dentist after having put off dental care for several weeks or longer. Your schedule will need balance and time between patients to prepare safely and properly, given the post-COVID guidelines. The slower pace may also mean that you need to increase your fees, although this might not be the case for every practice. If you aren’t sure how or if you should adjust your fee structure, contact Bryant Consultants for assistance.
Understanding PPE Guidelines
Reopening guidelines vary across the U.S. Before reopening, be sure that you have researched the specific guidelines for your particular state. In a post-COVID world, dentists will undoubtedly spend more money on PPE than before. You may discover that purchasing additional PPE is going to cost you more than you realized. But, you can find out how to cover the cost of your practice’s PPE in our latest blog.
Rehiring Employees
Many practices laid off their employees at the start of the pandemic, as a result of shuttering their practice doors. While you may be ready to hit the ground running, understand that your team members may face challenges, such as childcare, or because they may be in a high-risk category. If you are not able to bring back all of your employees right away, consider hiring the ones that you can support as full-time staff again. This would mean that the others still qualify for unemployment benefits. Bringing back everyone part-time would not be the best game plan at this point.
PPP Loan Forgiveness
If you were fortunate enough to get approval for a PPP loan, it was probably the solution you were looking for to curb your anxiety. But, then there are the forgiveness guidelines that you must follow for the loan to be fully forgiven, instead of ending up as another debt. If you can’t bring back your previous employees, you can still hire new team members. As long as your staff count is up to what it was pre-COVID, you would fit this requirement for loan forgiveness. However, there are some other guidelines for ensuring that your PPP loan is forgiven.
Dental Consulting
Reopening may not be as simple as turning the lights back and opening the schedule. Remember, we’re all in this together! Bryant Consultants is here to help you and your practice when you need us the most. Want to learn more? Call (877) 768-4799, and ask about our one-hour complimentary consulting service. Are you on social media? We are too! Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
