The year has ended. Most dentists and middle class Kenyans, have shipped out of Nairobi. An uneasy calm has been unleashed on the roads. However, the main arteries out of Nairobi are clogged with traffic. That's why we need more expressways! We who are left behind in the city are in Singapore. IYKYK.

Patients have enjoyed your dental services this year. Some have been loyal and keep coming back. Others have changed dentists.       

At the end of the year every dentist in private practice must ask themselves 5 questions.                                                                                                                                                                                   1. Did I make a pre-tax profit ?                                                                                                                                   2. Did I control my clinic's expenses to keep them within my budget (if I had one)                 3. How much money do I owe suppliers?                                                                                                               4. What is my bad debt in KES?                                                                                                                                     5. How much of my bad debt have I written off?

This speaks to the nature of Kenyan middle and upper middle class patients and their liquidity. Many cannot differentiate price from value. They don't realize it is more expensive, long term, to get braces for KES 30, 000 a jaw from a COHO in Githurai compared to somebody who knows what they are doing.

These "peculiar" middle class Kenyans are mostly asset rich and cash poor. One pay-check away from disaster and staring at higher taxation next year. Few can afford treatment plans in excess of KES 200,000 and if they do commit, 20% + may not pay all the installments they agreed to make. As a dental clinic you may not have the vigor to chase down these ageing debts, conclusively. You snooze, you lose 

How do you mitigate the risk of bad debt? Some dentists do not start on high ticket orthodontic and implant treatment until half the fee has been paid and then they do not complete the treatment until the other half has been paid .Other dentists insist on signed payment plans and promissory notes - you could take some defaulters to the small claims or regular courts. You could hire a debt collector.

As you bask in the fresh air of the coast or country-side you will be setting goals for your clinic in 2026. Let some of these goals centre around operations and finance with people, product and packaging at the core.

I work with dentists who are starting, growing or exiting dental practice. My coaching program is a great way of navigating a pre -election year like 2026