While the specific duties and roles played by a practice manager can vary from practice to practice, depending on the number of staff and the popularity of the practice, every practice manager will have a set of duties they do at the dental practice.

The base purpose of the job is a social one; liaising between the dentists and clinical team to check and maintain a positive, comfortable and smooth running of the practice; although, as with many managing positions, the job isn’t as simple as that and includes a number of other roles.

As well as working to a very high standard and setting a good working example to other members of staff, the dental practice manager is responsible for the nursing staff, dentists and hygienists at the practice. In many practices, the practice manager will be responsible for the records of the practice being kept in an accurate and easily managed way, although this duty is sometimes given to other members of staff depending on the dental practice in question.

While the dental practice manager is largely responsible for the relations of the team members of the practice, they will often come into contact with customers, either through phone calls or in the practice itself.  As such, a friendly yet professional manner is also needed, as well as knowledge of the roles carried out in the reception area, in order to assist customers themselves if the need should arise.

Finally, the dental practice manager is often responsible for “cashing up” before lunch and at the end of the day, as well as payment records and the income and outcome of the practice.

These roles are simply general duties that the dental practice manager typically takes on in a practice, however, different practices have different roles and, depending on the particular practice, the role of the manager can vary.