How much of the diagnostic visit time should the dental doctor actually be present versus delegated to the team?
Anywhere from 25 to 50 percent of the visit in a mixed-flow practice, and 50 percent or more in a pure complex-case practice. The remainder is handled by trained team members. In a mixed practice running both routine and complex work, the doctor’s time is the scarcest resource and gets allocated across many patient flows. Diagnostic visits in this environment typically have multiple assistants handling imaging, photography, charting, paperwork, history collection, and other workup steps in parallel, with the doctor stepping in for the focused clinical examination and the key patient conversation. That works out to roughly a quarter to half of the appointment time. In a practice that has migrated to pure complex reconstruction work, the doctor’s time allocation shifts upward because the diagnostic complexity is higher and the patient relationship matters more. The doctor may be present for half the visit or longer, with team members still handling the parallel workups. Either configuration works. The principle is to delegate everything that can be delegated to trained team members, reserve doctor time for what only the doctor can do, and ensure the appointment runs unrushed in both halves.
If the answers you are finding here resonate with you, my team and I work with a small group of clients each year. The next step is a complimentary Discovery Consultation and Practice Review with Dr. McAnally.