Production, Adjusted Production and Collections

Production is the amount of dentistry you complete at the usual and customary fee schedule (UCF). This is the easiest way to be paid because your pay is based on a percentage of production from one fee schedule.

Adjusted production is your production minus any write-offs, discounts, or coupons. Adjusted production is more difficult to calculate if the practice is in-network with multiple insurance plans or offers a lot of discounts.

Collections is the amount of money the practice collects. This is the most common way to be compensated because collections are adjusted production minus the amount of people who don’t pay their bills and denied insurance claims.

Hiring dentists will want to pay you a percentage of collections and you will want to be paid a percentage of production (UCF is the highest fee schedule). It is often a good idea to settle for a percentage of adjusted production unless the practice accepts HMOs or Medicaid. If the practice accepts HMO insurance plans or Medicaid, the fee schedules may be too low to make a living on a percentage of production without a daily guarantee.