Live By Hygiene, Thrive By Hygiene!
- Spiro Leunes
- Dec 20, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
You’ve heard it countless times: hygiene drives the practice. If your hygiene schedule isn’t full, your practice is leaking revenue—even if the doctor’s schedule is full. A full hygiene schedule stabilizes cash flow, fills the doctor’s schedule, identifies potential cases, supports case acceptance, and protects the practice’s value. A consistent hygiene schedule also fosters patient relationships and builds trust with patients.
Understanding Hygiene Capacity
To determine your hygiene availability, you must first calculate hygiene capacity (HC). For example, if your practice has two hygienists and they each work 35 hours a week, that’s a total of 70 hours of hygiene capacity.
Know Your Hygiene Utilization
Hygiene utilization (HU) is the number of hygiene hours filled (HF) divided by your hygiene capacity. If you have 70 hours of hygiene capacity but only 60 hours are booked, your utilization is 85.7%. This is calculated as follows: 60/70 or HF/HC = HU.
Collections Per Hygiene Hour
Collections per hour (CPH) represent the hygiene collections (HCOL) divided by completed hygiene hours (CHH). For instance, if hygiene collects $16,900 over 52 completed hygiene hours, that’s $325 per hour. The calculation is $16,900/52 or HCOL/CHH = CPH.
Leakage: Understanding Lost Collections
Leakage refers to lost collections due to unfilled capacity. It is calculated as available hours (AH) minus completed hygiene hours (CHH), multiplied by collections per hour (CPH). If available hours are 70 but only 60 are filled, and the collections per hour is $325, the leakage is $3,250 per week. Annualized, that’s $169,000. The formula is ((70 – 60) $325 52 = $169,000) or (AH – CHH) = CPH * 52 weeks = Leakage. This represents hidden revenue in your practice.
Cancellation Rate: A Key Metric
The cancellation rate (CR) is calculated by adding your cancelled hours (CHR) and no-show hours (NHR), then dividing by your scheduled hours (SHR). For example, if you scheduled 60 hours but lost 6 hours, that results in a 10% cancellation rate. This is calculated as 6/60 = 10% or CHR/SHR = CR.
Strategies to Improve Hygiene Revenue
Optimize Scheduling
One effective way to increase hygiene revenue is to optimize your scheduling. Ensure that your hygienists are booked to capacity. This may involve adjusting appointment lengths or offering flexible scheduling options to accommodate more patients.
Enhance Patient Communication
Effective communication with patients can significantly reduce cancellation rates. Remind patients of their appointments through calls, texts, or emails. Providing clear information about the importance of hygiene visits can also encourage attendance.
Invest in Staff Training
Training your hygiene staff can lead to better patient interactions and increased case acceptance. Regular training sessions can help hygienists stay updated on the latest techniques and technologies, which can enhance patient care.
Monitor Key Performance Indicators
Regularly tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) related to hygiene can help you identify areas for improvement. By analyzing data on hygiene capacity, utilization, collections, and cancellations, you can make informed decisions to boost revenue.
Foster Patient Relationships
Building strong relationships with patients is crucial. Take the time to understand their needs and concerns. This personal touch can lead to increased loyalty and higher hygiene appointment attendance.
Conclusion: The Importance of Hygiene in Your Practice
If you calculate these statistics and proactively address the issues, you can significantly increase patient revenue. Addressing hygiene capacity is one of the best ways to increase patient revenue without adding doctor days.
By focusing on hygiene management, you not only improve your practice's financial health but also enhance patient care. Remember, a thriving hygiene schedule is key to a successful practice.
From your New Jersey Dental CPAs, New York Dental CPA, & America's Dental CPAs.
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