{
  "slug": "hygiene-department-profit",
  "title": "Hygiene Department Profitability Calculator",
  "heading": "Dental Hygiene Department Profitability Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/hygiene-department-profit",
  "summary": "Net margin of your hygiene program after wages, supplies, and lab costs.",
  "description": "Hygiene departments are often treated as a loss leader that feeds the restorative schedule, but they should still be profitable on their own. This calculator subtracts hygienist wages, dental supplies, and any outsourced fees from hygiene production, then expresses the result as a dollar margin and percentage so you can see whether the department is pulling its weight or being subsidized by restorative work. A well-run hygiene department typically nets 35-50% after direct wage and supply costs, since overhead like rent and front-office staff is usually allocated separately across the whole practice.",
  "formula": "Hygiene net margin = (hygiene production − hygienist wages − supplies − lab/outsourced costs) ÷ hygiene production.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=hygiene-department-profit",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "production",
      "label": "Monthly hygiene production",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 32000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "wages",
      "label": "Hygienist wages (incl. payroll tax)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 12500,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "supplies",
      "label": "Supplies & disposables",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1800,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "outsourced",
      "label": "Outsourced/lab costs",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 600,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "hygieneHours",
      "label": "Hygiene hours worked",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 160,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "netProfit",
      "label": "Monthly hygiene net profit",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "margin",
      "label": "Net margin",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "perHour",
      "label": "Production per hygiene hour",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "wageRatio",
      "label": "Wages as % of production",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Monthly hygiene production: 32000 $",
      "Hygienist wages (incl. payroll tax): 12500 $",
      "Supplies & disposables: 1800 $",
      "Outsourced/lab costs: 600 $",
      "Hygiene hours worked: 160"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Monthly hygiene net profit: $17,100",
      "Net margin: 53.4%",
      "Production per hygiene hour: $200.00",
      "Wages as % of production: 39.1%"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter monthly hygiene production ($).",
      "Enter hygienist wages (incl. payroll tax) ($).",
      "Enter supplies & disposables ($).",
      "Enter outsourced/lab costs ($).",
      "Enter hygiene hours worked.",
      "Read your monthly hygiene net profit on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "production": 19000,
        "wages": 7500,
        "supplies": 1100,
        "outsourced": 350,
        "hygieneHours": 95
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "production": 32000,
        "wages": 12500,
        "supplies": 1800,
        "outsourced": 600,
        "hygieneHours": 160
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "production": 51000,
        "wages": 20000,
        "supplies": 2900,
        "outsourced": 950,
        "hygieneHours": 255
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What margin should a hygiene department produce?",
      "a": "35-50% net of wages and supplies is typical. Below 25% usually means the hygienist's schedule has too many gaps, appointment lengths are too generous for the procedure mix, or perio and fluoride add-ons aren't being consistently offered and billed."
    },
    {
      "q": "Should I count the hygienist's benefits in wages?",
      "a": "Yes — use fully loaded labor cost including payroll tax, health insurance contribution, and any retirement match. Using base wage alone overstates margin by 12-20% depending on your benefits package."
    },
    {
      "q": "Why doesn't this include rent and admin overhead?",
      "a": "Those are typically allocated at the whole-practice level rather than per department since hygiene doesn't require dedicated square footage or front-desk staff beyond what the practice already has. Adding a share of overhead is reasonable for a full P&L, but the wage-and-supply margin is the number hygienists and doctors actually manage day to day."
    },
    {
      "q": "How does perio therapy change this?",
      "a": "Scaling and root planing and periodontal maintenance carry higher fees than a routine prophy for similar chair time, so shifting a higher share of the schedule toward diagnosed perio patients raises production per hour without adding hygienist hours."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/dental-chair-production",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/dental-hygienist-productivity",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/lab-fee-margin"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Hygiene Department Profitability Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/hygiene-department-profit)"
}