How to Determine an Appropriate Fee Schedule

How to Determine an Appropriate Fee Schedule

May 13, 2026 · 45 min

About this episode

Gary Takacs and Naren Arulrajah discuss how dentists can determine an appropriate fee schedule and the factors influencing dental pricing.

Gary Takacs and Naren Arulrajah dig into why dentists underprice their work, how the UCR percentile system sets fee ceilings in your zip code, what insurance companies actually pay (and where they downgrade), and why only 0.24% of dentists — 1 in 400 have fees set at the 80th percentile of their market. You'll also learn the annual fee-increase rhythm Gary recommends, how to handle the patient conversation without ever "announcing" a fee increase, and when value pricing works in a dental practice. Essential listening for any practice owner reviewing their dental fee schedule in 2026.

People in this episode

Host: Gary Takacs

Guest: Naren Arulrajah

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: insurance companies

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