Taking the stress out of practice installation and refurbishment

11 October 2024

Ready to renovate? Steve Kettle explains how to prepare.

Are you taking a leap into dental practice ownership and need to design a clinic for the first time? Or are you looking to refresh an existing surgery to elevate the quality of patient care you provide? Maybe you're adding a new team member or introducing a new treatment modality and want to upgrade your technologies to accommodate? Whatever your motivations for designing and/or installing a new practice, it’s important that you are sufficiently prepared.

Exactly what your preparation looks like will depend on a number of factors, including what you want to achieve, how much structural work you need to do, your budget and your timeframe. However, there are some steps that all practice principals will need to take.

Create a vision

Before you embark on a practice installation or refurbishment, you need to establish your goals. You need to be sure about why you are taking on this project, what you want to achieve from it and how you hope the new practice will support the kind of dentistry or patient care you want to provide. Is your vision a spa-like practice offering predominantly cosmetic dental solutions? Or are you looking instead to build a fun, family-friendly environment? Before you do anything else, you’ll need your vision clear in your mind to help keep the project on track in the coming months.

Make a plan

The first step of any practice project is to establish a budget. Whether you are using cash or a business loan for the project, you will have at least some restrictions on how much you can afford to spend. It is also important to balance this against how much income you expect the new surgery or practice to make. Someone preparing to expand services to meet existing or rising patient demand will have a different budget to someone creating a squat practice, who is yet to build a patient base. Being realistic about your finances is integral to making a sound investment.

The next step is to start designing your new surgery or practice. This is about much more than choosing a colour scheme and should maximise the space available, support ergonomics and optimise the patient journey. Particular attention should be given to the dental equipment selected, as this will be important for facilitating the delivery of high-quality clinical care.

Consider project management

From the planning phase to completion, choosing to appoint a project manager can make the entire process significantly easier. You can not only make the most of their design expertise, supplier connections and industry experience to create the very best practice but also benefit from the time-saving advantages of having someone else on-site. That means fewer complications, less stress and additional support to help you bring your practice vision to life.

Of course, who you work with will make a substantial difference to your experience and your final practice results. That’s why the team at Clover Dental Group provide a reliable full-service dental project management solution from conception to completion.

Clover Dental Group has years of experience helping dentists build and refresh their ideal practices. Our team of talented and friendly professionals will guide you through your project with confidence, taking on the responsibilities that you would rather not shoulder alone. Our comprehensive services cover every single step of any practice project. These include location-matching and property searches for brand new practices, access to architectural support, schedule of works and project management.

So, if you're looking to buy your own practice, or are considering a refurbishment, don’t be afraid to share some of the hassle, stress and responsibility.

For more information visit www.cloverdentalfitout.co.uk