Everyone you know will probably have an opinion on what to name your dental practice. How do you handle the suggestions and advice? Here are a few ideas other dentists have found worth considering.

Posted in Risk Management on Wednesday, August 22, 2018

What you name your business matters: It's going to appear on your sign, your business cards, your website and your social media pages. It will be on the back of the baseball jerseys of the little league team you sponsor. It will help patients identify your practice and tell their friends about you. It will be everywhere and it will represent you for years, if not decades.  It deserves thoughtful consideration.

As you can imagine, everyone has their own opinion on this topic. Here are a few things to consider:

• Are you returning to your hometown? Do you have a good reputation while there? This might be a great time to capitalize on your good name. 
• Do you dream of associates? Being employed by Sunshine Dentistry is much more appealing to the new hire than working for Dr. Smith's office.
• Do you plan to change your name, or have you recently? This is the where many dentists get lost. You’re working hard to build your reputation and identity, and you only want to do it once.
• Do you plan to offer other services or rent space to other dentists? Or, do you plan to work as a sole proprietor until retirement?
• Are you going to specialize? Feel free to say so in the name ala “Smith Orthodontics.” Are you going after a certain vibe? “Fear-Free Dental” lets everyone know where your focus lies.
• Make sure there’s not an existing practice with a similar-sounding name – Sunshine Dental Care and Sunshine Dentistry could easily be confused and both of you could lose patients! 
• Be sure you can claim a logical URL that isn’t too long but is easy to remember. “BestSunshineDentalCareofKentucky.com” might not be a good experience for your patients and neither would “BSDCok.com”. 

The name of your practice sets the mood, so make this decision carefully. It may be with you for the next 40 years!