Where to open a dental practice?

prettypoem said :

Can someone respond?

Have you checked out ABS data? YOu could probably glean heaps of demographic info? Would your professional body advise? I’d say a big issue is parking – people HATE paying for parking in Canberra, and because it’s easy to get around here, you might find that having a clinic where a parent can do some shopping or have a coffee while their kid is in the chair, one where there is easy free parking, and generally a pleasant atmosphere in the surroundings, would be as important as whether you are in an area where they have bad teeth or appear to want cosmetic procedures …

Can someone respond?

so far there’s ainslie, campbell, belconnen and gungaglin. is there any other surburbs that needs a dentist? there’s already dentist in those surburbs, i am interested to hear from riotors who live in those surburbs, are you looking to change dentist? also, what’s the waiting time to see a dentist in those surburbs.

i’m interested in family dentistry and i enjoy seeing kids which i understand is rare for canberra because lots of canberra dentist don’t treat children.

cobberas63 said :

Please please please open one in Ainslie!

We need a family dentist there, as the one we use in Campbell is only taking bookings 12m in advance!

🙂 C/

Isn’t the wonderful Chris Kwoy still there, at the Ainslie Shops? Best dentist ever!

Have a look at the 2006 Census data for gross individual income per week for ACT suburbs & you’ll get an idea of where you should open a practice (& who is likely to have major dental cover on their health insurance). The data is almost 5 years old but the trends should be OK. Go to http://www.abs.gov.au and find CDataOnline (you can call the help line if you get stuck).
In my opinion, Belconnen Town Centre would be OK – around 5,000 public servants earning about $80K each on average. Not much competition, the existing dentists are poor to really bad. A kickass practice would get all the business. & jazz up the surgery/reception – the current practices look like they’re from 1982.
I have a mate who had a practice in the northern beaches of Sydney – he can’t believe the stories I tell him about Canberra dentists.

prettypoem said :

I would prefer braces, crown, preventative. Is there any location where there is a shortgage. I don’t want to open in a surburbs where there is several practices

Let me clarify: Gungahlin is a town centre/suburb, but it is also the name of one of 7 districts in Canberra, and made up of 11 suburbs – 6 currently partially developed/occupied. Harrison where I mentioned is one of those, and currently has no commercial businesses at all. Plus another 4 whole new suburbs to come. In 4 years we went from 31,000 people to 42,000 people. We are on our way to 100,000 – so major client growth potential, and no competition issues.

The site I was talking about is here, one block from where the new high school is currently being built.

There is no dentist at the Jamison center yet it is one of the most popular shopping centres in the area. There’s new development as well: http://www.spacemacquarie.com.au/.

I would prefer braces, crown, preventative. Is there any location where there is a shortgage. I don’t want to open in a surburbs where there is several practices

Don’t bother with Charnwood, anyone who lives there dosen’t have teeth.

I’m not sure that getting into a dentist is quite the drama that getting into a doctor is. But there is an issue with very steep pricing, as Cross has alluded to.
One dentist in the Gungahlin town centre continues to grow quickly – from 3 to 4 now 5 dentists.

You could come to Gungahlin and get built-in client base growth as the population is among the fastest growing in Australia. The new “nappy valley”, but with very high proportion of dual income families and strong demographics. But the high property prices mean there is also a fairly high level of mortgage stress, so there is room for a practice with a family-friendly pricing model. Availability outside “normal business hours” would be a big plus for “working families”.

But tenancies are hard to find in the district and tend to be able therefore to get away with high prices.

However, there are some new apartments to be built very soon along Flemington Road in Harrison that will have commercial tenancies on the ground floor – maybe for sale so as to avoid the rent grind. Very busy road, so high exposure, and with good service roads in front guaranteeing easy access. They have a little sales office on site.

Please please please open one in Ainslie!

We need a family dentist there, as the one we use in Campbell is only taking bookings 12m in advance!

🙂 C/

How much for some root canal therapy?

cross said :

Any where as long as your not charging an average weeks pay per hour

I agree. I’m travelling OS soon and have delayed dental work till I get there. Dentists with same training and practices but a fraction of the cost. Even after the pitiful private health rebate.

So basically, if you can offer better rates than the other dentists around town you will be very busy.

Hi prettypoem

In my experience (14yrs in the dental industry) dental surgeries have never seemed to be quiet. Do you know any Canberra dentist? It may be worth talking to some people in the industry that can give you demographic and demand information.

Depending on where you set up your practice will depend on what sort of treatment people are seeking. In the outer suburbs people are more likely to be expecting family dentistry, in the city and areas such as deakin, the call is for more cosmetic. (Lots of young APS want teeth whitening) 🙂

If you are looking for a practice manager or consultant that has strong relationships with ACT dental professionals, let me know 🙂

Any where as long as your not charging an average weeks pay per hour

Jerrabomberra doesn’t have one.