by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine
The end of the year is upon us and for many dentists
it is a time to make an equipment purchase. In
fact, many businesses will make large purchases at the
end of the year, when they have a clear picture of their
expected profits or losses and prior to closing their
books. For those motivated by tax benefits like Section
17 9, they can realize some tax savings very soon
after the purchase, if they file their returns in the first
quarter of the New Year. Let me be clear, you should
never make a purchase decision solely for perceived tax
benefits. If this is a strategy you depend on, read the
collected works of Dr. Doug Carlsen, a regular contributor
to Dentaltown Magazine.
This year, I was one of the thousands of dentists that
made a large purchase at the end of the year. I can assure
you it was not for a tax break. At the time of this writing,
the Section 179 deduction has been reduced to its original
limit of $25,000. I spent something in the neighborhood
of $200,000. So what did I buy? I purchased
seven new operatories worth of equipment: chair, light,
delivery unit, stools and assistant’s station. In the four
doctor ops, I added electric handpieces.
I know many of you reading this have been using
electric handpieces for many years, but this is a first for
me. I never wanted to bother having something tacked
onto my existing unit and quite frankly, the units I have
seen were heavy, bulky and expensive to maintain. Now
that I have been using the new equipment for a few
weeks, I don’t know how I survived without an electric
high speed for so long. If you are still sitting on the sidelines
with this technology, please give electric handpieces
a serious look. The current options are smaller, lighter
and better than ever. Y ou will love the added torque and
smooth operation of these handpieces.
Let’s get back to the big stuff,
the seven rooms of equipment.
Why now? I have been a dentist for
20 years and started my own practice
from scratch nearly 13 years
ago. Some of my equipment was
starting to show its age and I had
become a bit frustrated with repairs
and design flaws. I reasoned that
this was a great time to buy because the right equipment
could carry me for the remainder of my career
and I would have an opportunity to enjoy it. I have
seen too many dentists slave away in shag carpet with
wood paneling only to remodel their office so it can be
sold as soon as possible to a young dentist. I wanted an
opportunity to enjoy the remodel, be more productive
and maybe find the energy to practice a few more years.
My bit of advice for anyone reading this story
who is contemplating a similar project: take time to
plan ahead. The first step is selecting the equipment
you want to purchase, and depending on the scope
of your project, this single step can take months. I
know some of you will make a decision much faster,
but you will be surprised at how the time flies. Especially
when you are trying to find the time to meet
with equipment reps, visit showrooms or travel to a
dental meeting. Once the purchase was set, I had a
meeting with the installation team. This was critical
to our success with this project. We identified a number
of installation challenges that could be solved in
advance and developed a plan that would minimize
the down time for my practice.
When the equipment was delivered the installation
went very smoothly. Let me be clear, every project
has a few bumps, but having an installation team that
can handle the unexpected makes a big difference. I
would also say that the doctor needs to be involved in
the project to some extent. Too often, dentists tell the
installation crew to call them when they are done, and
then the dentist is upset when they discover something
was not done according to their preferences.
If you are contemplating some new equipment
in 2015, start by reading the Townie Choice Awards
in this issue. Make your wish list and start planning.
Finally, for those interested, I purchased A-dec equipment
because I have visited their facility and learned
first-hand about their attention to detail. My equipment
was installed by a terrific team from the local
branch of Patterson Dental Supply.
If you have a question or comment to share, please
post it online at Dentaltown.com. I’m available via email
at tom@dentaltown.com or on Twitter @ddsTom.
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