---
title: "What Is Benchmark? Dental Practice Glossary | Copeland Consulting Services"
description: "A benchmark is a reference figure, often drawn from similar practices or organizations, that an owner uses to judge whether the practice's own results are high..."
url: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/benchmark
publisher: Copeland Consulting Services
email: drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com
contact: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact
---

Practice management

# Benchmark

A benchmark is a reference figure, often drawn from similar practices or organizations, that an owner uses to judge whether the practice's own results are high, low or typical.

AHRQ describes benchmarking as a process of evaluating metrics or methods from other organizations and then applying them to your own. In dentistry the reference might be an industry average or a figure from similar practices. A benchmark helps only when the comparison is fair. Practices differ in size, payer mix, location and services, and report definitions vary. Owners should check how a source defines each number, such as [overhead percentage](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/overhead-percentage) or [net production](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/net-production), and what years and practices it covers. A benchmark is a starting point for questions, not a target the practice must hit.

[Next stepPractice consulting with Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact?topic=consulting)

## Related terms

-   [Key performance indicator](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/key-performance-indicator)
-   [Dental practice KPIs](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dental-practice-kpis)
-   [Overhead percentage](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/overhead-percentage)
-   [Practice analytics](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/practice-analytics)

## Sources

1.  [AHRQ Digital Healthcare Research, Benchmarking](https://digital.ahrq.gov/health-it-tools-and-resources/evaluation-resources/workflow-assessment-health-it-toolkit/all-workflow-tools/benchmarking)

## Talk with Dr. Copeland

[Contact Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact)[Email](mailto:drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com)