How to Take Home $1 Million as a Dentist – Dr. Scott Leune’s Webinar

Dr. Scott Leune, a leading expert in dental practice management, outlines a clear, structured path for dentists to achieve $1 million in take-home pay. He emphasizes that success in dentistry isn’t about working harder—it’s about making smarter business decisions that optimize dental practice efficiency, increase dental practice revenue, and ensure long-term sustainability.

Key Highlights:

1. The Full-Time Dentist Model

Dr. Leune believes that achieving $1 million take-home pay as a solo full-time dentist is highly realistic with the right structure in place. He outlines the essential steps:

Low Overhead = High Profitability

• Dr. Leune stresses that high take-home pay isn’t about producing more—it’s about keeping more of what you make.
• He recommends a 50% or lower overhead model, ensuring that half of the practice’s collections go directly into the owner’s pocket, a key principle in practice finance for dentists.

$2M in Collections is the Benchmark

• To take home $1M, a full-time solo dentist should aim for $2M in annual collections.
• The key to achieving this: Consistent daily production goals—$5,500/day in doctor production and $2,800/day in hygiene.

Smaller, More Efficient Practices Win

• A five-operatory practice is the ideal setup. Dr. Scott Leune explains that larger practices with excessive overhead dilute profits.
• A leaner team (one dentist, two hygienists, three assistants, and two front office staff) results in lower payroll costs and simpler management, increasing overall dental practice efficiency.

Focus on Efficiency, Not Hustle

• Dr. Leune debunks the myth that high earnings require high stress. Instead, he advocates for structured scheduling, strong case acceptance systems, and a trained team to meet production goals daily—without burnout.
• The key to success isn’t seeing more patients—it’s about optimizing every patient interaction through dental business strategies that maximize efficiency and revenue.

2. The Part-Time “Virtual Specialty” Model

Dr. Leune reveals a highly profitable alternative for practice owners who want to scale back clinical hours while maintaining a $1M take-home pay.

Own the Practice, Work Less

• Instead of practicing full-time, the owner brings in associates who handle general dentistry and hygiene exams, ensuring the business runs profitably without their direct involvement.
• This model creates passive dental practice revenue, allowing the owner to reduce clinical hours without sacrificing income.

The “Virtual Specialty” Advantage

• As the owner, Dr. Leune suggests focusing only on high-value procedures (implants, ortho, sleep apnea, facial aesthetics, etc.).
• By working just 1-2 days per week and performing only these high-ticket treatments, a dentist can easily generate $800K+ per year with 90% take-home margins.
• Since all overhead is already covered by associate-driven revenue, the profit margins are significantly higher than traditional models.

Case Acceptance Must Be Systemized

• Dr. Leune advises practice owners to remove reliance on associates for diagnosing specialty procedures.
• Instead, he recommends hygiene-driven screening protocols to automatically funnel implant and ortho cases to the owner, ensuring consistent specialty case flow.

A Smarter Way to Scale

• This model allows a dentist to maintain a high income while cutting back clinical hours, reducing stress, and freeing up time for personal life or business expansion.
• By implementing the right dental business strategies, dentists can increase their revenue without increasing their workload.

3. The “No Time” Model – Taking Home $1M Without Practicing Dentistry

For those who want to step away from the chair entirely, Dr. Leune explains how to build a multi-practice or associate-driven model that generates at least $5.5M in annual collections with a profit margin of 18%.

Managing People > Managing Patients

• Dr. Leune stresses that this is NOT passive income—owners must be actively engaged in leadership, management, and financial oversight to maintain profitability.
• The biggest challenge? Ensuring consistent patient flow and case acceptance without the owner’s direct involvement.

Learn more about Managing People as a Dental CEO

Lean, Scalable Operations Win

• To maximize profitability, Dr. Leune recommends a model with six associates and nine hygienists across multiple locations.
• Each doctor should aim for $50K/month in production, and each hygienist should generate at least $875/day—both realistic and sustainable numbers.
• Profitability depends on strict cost controls and optimized case acceptance systems, not on having superstar associates.

Growth vs. Lifestyle: Know When to Stop

• Dr. Leune challenges dentists to evaluate their long-term goals.
• While some may continue scaling into larger DSOs, others may find that $1M/year is enough to shift focus toward health, family, or personal passion projects.
• The key is to structure the business in a way that aligns with personal and professional goals.

Final Thoughts from Dr. Leune: Take Control of Your Financial Future

Dr. Leune urges dentists to stop waiting for success and take decisive action.

• He emphasizes that dentists don’t need to see more patients—they need to run smarter businesses by implementing efficient dental business strategies.
• Whether through better overhead management, implementing high-value procedures, or structuring a practice for efficiency, he insists that most dentists are closer to a $1M take-home than they realize—IF they make the right strategic moves.
• He encourages those ready to reset their financial trajectory to seek proper business training, mentorship, and systems implementation to achieve their goals faster.

“If you want to take home $1M, you need to stop thinking like a dentist and start thinking like a business owner.” – Dr. Scott Leune