To Nebula D?

Re: Why is Dental procedures so expensive. That is easy for you to say. Some people can't afford to go on vacation, let alone pay for dental procedures. It is easier said then done.

To Nebula D?
I'm not Nebula, but I feel your pain. When you come to the dental office, you expect certain standards to be met. In fact, if they are not met, you might just decide to sue the dentist. We have an office to pay for, a staff to pay and various other expenses to pay for. When it's all said and done, the typical dentist gets to keep about 35% of the fee collected and then he/she gets to pay about 35% of THAT to the IRS and another 3-5% to state income tax. This means we get to actually live off of one dollar out every five in the fee collected. For me, this means that my net pay is about $60.00. Okay, this is clearly more than most people make, but...





I had a service call to "clean my pipes" when our sewer line was sluggish. The gentleman was here for FIFTEEN MINUTES. I mean, from the time he rang the doorbell until the time he slammed his van door on his way out of the drive was FIFTEEN MINUTES. He took one cap off a pipe and did the plumber's equivalent of opening up a tooth for root canal with a 3 foot snake. That was all it took. He charged $169.00 for this, which was his minimum charge for a service call. Let's say that was all he could make in an hour, because he has to drive from one location to the next. This money is HIS money, as he answers his own phone and handles all of his own business. He has no salaries to pay. As far as I can see it, he had to pay for gas to get to my house and that was his only variable expense involved in the call. His fixed expenses are for his equipment. In my case, he used a snake that is exactly like one I saw at Home Depot for thirty bucks. Depreciate that over a 7 year period....... Nevermind. You understand what I'm saying.





Personally, after 8 years of higher education, I'd like to have a net income close to what the man who opened up my sewer pipe makes per hour.





I'd like to go on vacation, too, but you know what? When I close the office to go on vacation and pay my staff for THEIR vacation, there are no services being rendered to patients. No services mean no income. I have to make just a little bit extra every week through the rest of the year so I can afford to close the office for a week of vacation. My boss gives the STAFF paid vacations, but he doesn't give me paid vacations, because I am the boss.