What’s the Purpose of a Dental Office Mission Statement?

A dental office mission statement captures the essence of your practice's values, priorities, and unique offerings. It guides your team and sets expectations for patients, helping your practice stand out. Clearly expressing your core commitments and differentiators helps create a strong sense of unity among staff and attract patients who share your value.

The elements of an effective mission statement include: 

• Addressing your practice’s core values and goals 

• Emphasizing your commitment to quality and customer service

• Aligning with your purpose and passion

• Ensuring daily operations align with your mission

7 Steps to Creating a Dental Office Mission Statement

Here's a simple guide to help you craft a mission statement that resonates with your patients and your team:

1. Define What Your Dental Office Does

Start by clearly outlining the main services your dental practice offers, such as preventive care, cosmetic dentistry, pediatric services, or specialized treatments like orthodontics or periodontics. Identify what makes your practice stand out, whether it's your use of advanced technology, experienced and friendly staff, or a focus on personalized patient care. 

Highlighting these unique offerings in your mission statement helps potential patients understand the services you provide and sets the tone for the type of care they can expect.

2. Explain How You Provide Your Services

Describe the core values and methods that make your dental practice stand out. This might include using cutting-edge technology to ensure the best care, offering exceptional customer service with a friendly and approachable team, or being actively involved in the community to make a positive impact. 

Highlighting values like integrity, excellence, and compassion shows your dedication to going above and beyond basic care. Patients should feel confident that they’re not just receiving treatments, but are in a practice that truly cares about their well-being. 

3. Clarify Why Your Dental Office Exists

Share the passion and motivations behind your practice to give patients a deeper connection to your values. Reflect on why you chose dentistry, whether it’s your love for helping others, improving smiles, or the desire to make a positive impact in the community. 

Talk about the specific community you aim to serve and the ways you’re committed to improving their overall health and well-being.

This personal touch helps build trust and creates a sense of loyalty with your patients, who will feel they’re being cared for by someone with genuine passion.

4. Incorporate Inspirational and Accessible Language

Write your mission statement in clear, simple language that everyone (patients and staff) can understand and connect with. Avoid technical jargon and instead use words that are friendly and engaging.

5. Keep it Concise

Keep your mission statement short and sweet. Aim for a message that’s easy to remember, ideally between 20 to 100 words or just 2-4 sentences. A concise statement makes it simpler for your team and patients to understand and connect with the values of your practice. 

6. Review and Revise Regularly

Your mission statement should evolve as your practice grows. Regularly update it to reflect changes in your goals, patient needs, and industry trends, keeping your practice in tune with the latest developments in dentistry. 

Real Examples of Dental Office Mission Statements

As you draft your mission statement, it helps to get inspired by real examples from dental offices and dental support organizations (DSOs):

• Heartland Dental: “To support doctors and their teams as they deliver the highest quality dental care and experiences to the communities they serve while providing exceptional careers and creating value for our stakeholders.”

• Smile Brands: “To deliver Smiles For Everyone!® We do this by providing free dental care to those in need at home and around the world. Our Smiles For Everyone mission includes delivering smiles to patients, affiliated providers, team members, and the communities we work and live in.”

• Cordental Group: “At CORDENTAL Group®, we have developed a dentist-centric philosophy that allows our dentists to experience the freedom to care for their patients while we take care of managing the day-to-day business. With our comprehensive resources, you can be assured your office will be positioned to grow and thrive all while maintaining the individuality that makes your office unique. Collaboration, Optimization and Respect is an integral part of our success and we bring that focus to every affiliate relationship and practice.”

• Premier Dentist Partners: “Our mission is to improve the lives of our dentists and their teams so they can focus more on patient care.”

Integrating the Mission Statement into Daily Practice and Long-Term Strategy

Integrating a mission statement into daily operations and long-term goals is important for small practices and larger DSOs. Here are tips on how you can implement your mission statement into regular practice:

Small Practices

In small dental practices, the mission statement often reflects the owner's vision and personality, making it an integral part of the practice’s identity. To bring it into practice, it's important to align your team with regular discussions about shared values.

Larger DSOs

For larger DSOs, integrating the mission statement means maintaining consistency and care quality across all locations. Standardizing procedures that reflect the mission and aligning staff training with its core values helps maintain a unified approach.

Take Your Patient Care to The Next Level

A strong dental office mission statement is a fundamental component of your dental practice, guiding everything from your team's daily efforts to the care patients receive. It reflects your core values and goals, creating a unified sense of purpose that enhances the patient experience with consistent, high-quality care. 

With Teero’s dental staffing platform, you can go an extra mile in improving the patient experience by filling your staffing gaps with high quality hygienists. The platform allows you to find pre-vetted hygienists in your area for temporary or free permanent placements. Give us a call to learn more.