The Most Expensive Assumption Dental Practices Make Why Solving the Wrong Problem Could Be Costing Your Practice Growth
- Sarah Beth Herman
- 19 hours ago
- 6 min read
By Sarah Beth Herman, MBA CEO & Founder, Dentistry Support
Abstract
Dental practices often invest significant time, energy, and resources attempting to solve challenges that appear obvious on the surface. However, many operational issues, including declining treatment acceptance, inconsistent patient retention, scheduling inefficiencies, team performance concerns, and stagnant growth, are symptoms rather than root causes. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience in dentistry, this training article explores the hidden costs of assumptions in dental practice management and examines how leaders can improve outcomes by asking better questions. The discussion highlights the importance of curiosity, communication, trust, and systems thinking while offering practical insights for practice owners, office managers, and dental teams seeking sustainable growth.
Introduction
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned after more than 25 years in dentistry is that the first explanation is rarely the complete explanation. That may sound simple, but it has profound implications for dental practice growth.
Over the years, I have worked with practices of every size, specialty, and stage of development. Some were thriving. Others were struggling.
Many fell somewhere in between. What consistently fascinated me was how often intelligent, capable leaders would identify a problem and immediately begin solving it, only to discover later that they had been addressing the symptom rather than the cause.
A practice owner believes they have a scheduling problem.
An office manager believes they have a staffing problem.
A doctor believes they have a treatment acceptance problem.
A team believes they have a communication problem.
Sometimes they are correct, often they are only partially correct.
The challenge is that assumptions can become expensive. When we solve the wrong problem, we invest time, money, and energy into solutions that never fully address the issue we are trying to fix. The result is frustration, inconsistency, and missed opportunities before we can improve outcomes, we must become better at identifying root causes that begins with curiosity.
Why Assumptions Are So Dangerous
Human beings are naturally wired to seek explanations. Our brains prefer certainty when we encounter a challenge, we immediately begin searching for a reason. The faster we can create an explanation, the more comfortable we feel.
Unfortunately, comfort and accuracy are not always the same thing. In dentistry, assumptions often develop because leaders are busy.
Schedules are full.
Patients need attention.
Phones are ringing.
Insurance issues are piling up.
The pressure to solve problems quickly can create a tendency to rely on surface-level explanations.
For example:
A patient cancels treatment and we assume cost is the issue.
A team member struggles with performance and we assume motivation is the issue.
Production decreases and we assume new patient numbers are the issue.
Recall systems underperform and we assume patients are disengaged.
The reality may be far more complex. When assumptions replace investigation, leaders risk making decisions based on incomplete information.
The Difference Between Symptoms and Root Causes
One of the most important distinctions in leadership is understanding the difference between symptoms and root causes.
Symptoms are visible.
Root causes are often hidden.
A missed appointment is a symptom.
A disengaged patient may be the root cause.
High employee turnover is a symptom.
A lack of training, accountability, or leadership may be the root cause.
A decline in production is a symptom.
An inconsistent patient experience may be the root cause.
The challenge is that symptoms attract attention because they are easy to see.
Root causes require curiosity.
They require questions.
They require a willingness to look beyond the obvious.
The most successful practices I have worked with are not necessarily the ones with the fewest challenges.
They are the ones that consistently investigate what is happening beneath the surface.
Curiosity as a Leadership Skill
Many people think leadership is about having answers. I have come to believe leadership is often about asking better questions.
Curiosity is one of the most underrated skills in business.
Curious leaders spend less time defending assumptions and more time exploring possibilities.
Instead of asking:
"How do we fix this?"
They ask:
"What is actually causing this?"
Instead of asking:
"Who is responsible?"
They ask:
"What can we learn?"
Instead of asking:
"Why isn't this working?"
They ask:
"What are we missing?"
These subtle shifts create dramatically different outcomes.
Curiosity opens doors.
Assumptions close them.
In dental practice management, curiosity often reveals opportunities that would otherwise remain hidden.
What Dental Practices Can Learn From Systems Thinking
One of the reasons assumptions create problems is because dental practices are systems. Every area of the practice influences another, patient communication affects scheduling.
Scheduling affects production.
Production affects team morale.
Team morale affects patient experience.
Patient experience affects retention.
Retention affects growth.
When leaders isolate a problem without considering the broader system, they often overlook critical factors contributing to the outcome.
For example, a practice may believe it needs more new patients. However, a closer examination might reveal that patient retention has quietly declined. The issue is not acquisition, the issue is retention. Without understanding the system, resources may be invested in marketing while the underlying challenge remains unresolved. Strong leaders learn to evaluate patterns rather than isolated events.
The Role of Trust in Practice Growth
If there is one factor that consistently influences every aspect of a dental practice, it is trust.
Trust affects patient relationships.
Trust affects team culture.
Trust affects leadership effectiveness.
Trust affects communication.
Trust influences every interaction that occurs within the practice.
When trust is strong, challenges become easier to navigate.
When trust is weak, even small issues can create significant disruption.
Building trust requires consistency.
It requires transparency.
It requires listening.
Most importantly, it requires understanding. People want to feel heard before they are willing to be influenced. This applies to patients, team members, and leaders alike. Practices that prioritize trust often experience stronger retention, healthier cultures, and more sustainable growth.
Why Better Questions Create Better Results
One of the exercises I often encourage practice leaders to use is remarkably simple. The next time a challenge emerges, resist the urge to immediately solve it.
Instead, ask:
What evidence supports our assumption?
What information are we missing?
What else could explain this outcome?
Who has a different perspective?
What questions have we not asked yet?
These questions slow down the decision-making process just enough to improve clarity.
And clarity is often the beginning of better outcomes.
The goal is not to avoid decisions.
The goal is to make informed decisions.
There is a difference.
The Future of Dental Leadership
The dental industry continues to evolve.
Technology is advancing.
Patient expectations are changing.
Workforce dynamics are shifting.
Economic pressures remain a reality.
As complexity increases, leadership becomes even more important.
The practices that thrive in the coming years will not necessarily be the practices with the most resources.
They will be the practices that learn fastest.
The practices that remain curious.
The practices that ask better questions.
The practices that avoid the temptation to oversimplify complex challenges.
In my experience, growth is rarely the result of finding better answers.
More often, growth begins by asking better questions.
Final Thoughts
One of the reasons I remain passionate about dentistry after all these years is that it continues to teach me lessons about people.
Every challenge contains information.
Every frustration offers insight.
Every obstacle creates an opportunity to understand something more deeply. The next time your practice encounters a challenge, I encourage you to pause before accepting the first explanation that comes to mind.
Look deeper.
Ask another question.
Challenge the assumption.
You may discover that the problem you thought you had is not the problem at all. And sometimes that realization changes everything. This week, I will be expanding on this concept in an upcoming podcast episode where we explore how decision-making, uncertainty, trust, and human behavior influence outcomes in ways many leaders overlook. If today's training sparked your curiosity, I think you'll find that conversation especially valuable.
References
Argyris, C. (1991). Teaching smart people how to learn. Harvard Business Review, 69(3), 99–109.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization (Rev. ed.). Doubleday.
Stanier, M. B. (2016). The coaching habit: Say less, ask more & change the way you lead forever. Box of Crayons Press.
Topol, E. (2019). Deep medicine: How artificial intelligence can make healthcare human again. Basic Books.
Disclaimer:
To learn more about Sarah Beth Herman, the author of all free training content you can read her bio here. These materials are intended to provide helpful information to dentists and dental team members. They are in no way a substitute for actual professional advice based on your unique facts and circumstances. This content is not intended or offered, nor should it be taken, as legal or other professional advice. You should always consult with your own professional advisors (e.g. attorney, accountant, or insurance carrier). To the extent, Dentistry Support ®has included links to any third-party website (s), Dentistry Support ® intends no endorsement of their content and implies no affiliation with the organizations that provide their content. Further, Dentistry Support ® makes no representations or warranties about the information provided on those sites. You can view our privacy policy and terms and conditions by clicking those pages in the footer of our website