Break-Even Calculator
How many patients do you need each month to cover costs & hit your profit goal?
Every patient visit contributes $220 toward your $30,000/mo fixed costs. You need 137 visits to cover them all.
Break-Even Calculator — Frequently Asked Questions
The break-even point is the monthly revenue your dental practice needs to cover all fixed and variable costs — leaving zero profit or loss. Knowing your break-even figure lets you set realistic production goals, price services correctly, and determine how many new patients you need to recruit each month to stay financially healthy.
Include every predictable monthly expense: rent or mortgage, staff salaries and benefits, dental supplies and lab fees, equipment leases, software subscriptions, marketing spend, malpractice insurance, and utilities. The more complete your cost picture, the more accurate your break-even target will be.
You can lower your break-even threshold by renegotiating supplier contracts, optimising scheduling to reduce chair-time waste, reviewing discretionary expenses, and cross-training staff to limit overtime. Even a 10–15 % reduction in fixed overhead can meaningfully shift your break-even target downward.
Recalculate at least quarterly, and immediately after any major cost change — a new associate hire, a rent increase, or a new equipment lease. Practices that track break-even monthly are better positioned to spot margin erosion early and make proactive adjustments before cash flow becomes a concern.