Dental Practice Overhead Calculator
Calculate your overhead percentage by category and compare to ADA national benchmarks. Find exactly where your practice is overspending.
Enter Your Practice Numbers
Use net collections after insurance write-offs, not gross production.
Benchmark source: ADA Health Policy Institute Survey of Dental Practice. Benchmarks reflect general dentistry practices with 1–3 dentists.
Your Overhead Analysis
Enter your annual collections and expenses to see your overhead analysis.
Category Breakdown vs. ADA Benchmarks
| Category | Your % | ADA Benchmark | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Overhead | — | 59–62% |
Your expense % vs. ADA benchmark midpoint by category
Recommendations
How to Use This Overhead Calculator
Enter your practice’s annual net collections and expenses by category. The calculator instantly compares each category against ADA national benchmarks to show you where you are on track and where you may be overspending.
What is Dental Practice Overhead?
Overhead is the total of all expenses required to run your practice, expressed as a percentage of collections. The ADA Health Policy Institute reports that the average general dental practice operates at 59–62% overhead, meaning for every dollar collected, 59–62 cents goes to expenses. The remaining 38–41 cents is the dentist’s take-home compensation.
ADA Benchmark Data Used in This Calculator
This calculator uses benchmarks from the ADA Health Policy Institute’s annual Survey of Dental Practice. Key benchmarks for general practices:
- Staff payroll: 25–28% of collections (red flag above 32%)
- Dental supplies: 5–6% of collections (red flag above 8%)
- Lab fees: 6–8% of collections (red flag above 10%)
- Rent and facility: 6–7% of collections (red flag above 9%)
- Equipment and depreciation: 3–4% (red flag above 6%)
- Marketing: 2–3% (red flag above 5%)
- Professional fees: 1–2% (red flag above 3%)
- Insurance: 1–2% (red flag above 3%)
- Other / miscellaneous: 3–5% (red flag above 7%)
- Total overhead: 59–62% (red flag above 68%)
Why Category-Level Overhead Matters
Total overhead as a single number masks the real problem. Two practices with identical 65% total overhead can have completely different problems: one is overstaffed, the other is overpaying on lab fees. Fixing the wrong category wastes time and money. Category-level analysis tells you exactly which lever to pull.