The practice transition library
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Practical guides, checklists, and calculators for the business decisions behind a dental practice transition.
Guides and tools
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Buy a Dental Practice
Buy a dental practice by defining your acquisition criteria, verifying its sustainable cash flow, and aligning financing, licensure, the lease, and patient continuity before closing. The best fit is a practice you can operate and afford under realistic assumptions.
Read the guide ↗citiesBuy a Dental Practice in Chicago, Illinois
To buy a dental practice in Chicago, test the actual patient catchment, clinical workload, lease and staffing plan before relying on metro-wide demand claims. Separate Illinois opening requirements from the broader metro statistics, which include Indiana.
Read the guide ↗statesBuy a Dental Practice in Illinois
To buy a dental practice in Illinois, match the practice to the care you can provide. Check who may own it and fund the full opening plan.
Read the guide ↗buyHow to Verify an Active Dental Patient Count
An active dental patient count measures people who meet a stated activity rule. Before buying a practice, define the date range, qualifying event and exclusions, then count each person once.
Read the guide ↗buyDental Practice Payer Mix: PPO, FFS and Medicaid
Dental practice payer mix is useful only when you know what the percentages measure. Separate patient counts, production, receipts and network terms before comparing practices.
Read the guide ↗buyHow to Review Dental Production and Collections
Dental production and collections describe different parts of practice revenue. Production records the work charged; collections record money received.
Read the guide ↗due diligenceDental Practice Due Diligence Checklist
A dental practice due-diligence checklist tests the facts behind the purchase you plan to make. Tie each price, earnings and operating assumption to evidence and a responsible reviewer.
Read the guide ↗buyDental Practice Lease Review Before You Buy
A dental practice lease review checks whether you can keep operating in the premises after buying the business. Read the lease and all amendments, confirm the transfer path, and model the costs that will apply to you.
Read the guide ↗deal structureDental Practice Letter of Intent: A Practical Guide
A dental practice letter of intent records the proposed price, what transfers and how the parties will move toward a sale. It gives the buyer and seller a basis for deeper review.
Read the guide ↗buyInsurance Credentialing After Buying a Dental Practice
Insurance credentialing after buying a dental practice requires more than completing a profile. Confirm the incoming dentist, billing entity, practice location, payer network and effective date together.
Read the guide ↗buyRetaining Staff After Buying a Dental Practice
Retaining staff after buying a dental practice starts before the first day of ownership. Confirm the proposed work arrangements, listen to the team, and build the opening schedule from available qualified hours.
Read the guide ↗calculatorsAssociate vs. Owner Income Calculator
The associate versus owner income calculator compares annual associate pay with estimated owner cash. It deducts practice costs, purchase loan payments and an allowance for capital and reserves from the owner case.
Read the guide ↗calculatorsDental Practice Loan Payment Calculator
The dental practice loan payment calculator estimates principal and interest for a fully amortizing loan with a constant annual rate and monthly payments. Enter the financed principal, annual interest rate, and term.
Read the guide ↗calculatorsDental Practice Overhead Calculator
The dental practice overhead calculator divides selected cash operating costs by annual collections. It also shows the amount remaining before owner compensation, acquisition debt, and income tax.
Read the guide ↗calculatorsDental Practice Valuation Scenario Calculator
The dental practice valuation calculator multiplies your adjusted annual earnings by the low and high multiples you enter. It intentionally supplies no market multiple.
Read the guide ↗calculatorsDSO Offer Comparison Calculator
The DSO offer comparison calculator compares closing cash with a private buyer's cash offer. It shows assumed future equity receipts and earned contingent payments as separate inputs.
Read the guide ↗compareDSO vs. Private Buyer: Compare the Complete Offer
A DSO versus private buyer decision depends on the full offer and the seller’s goals, not the buyer label. Compare cash at closing, future payment risk, required clinical work, decision rights, and the buyer’s ability to complete the transaction.
Read the guide ↗deal structureAccounts Receivable in a Dental Practice Sale
Accounts receivable in a dental practice sale need an explicit ownership and collection plan. Identify which balances transfer, which stay with the seller and how later receipts, reversals and writeoffs will be tracked.
Read the guide ↗deal structureDental Practice Asset Sale vs. Stock Sale
A dental practice asset sale transfers the assets named in the agreement. A stock or other ownership-interest sale transfers interests in the entity.
Read the guide ↗deal structureDental Practice Noncompetes: What to Verify
Dental practice non-compete agreements need review in the context of the sale, any future job and the state law that applies. A contract label does not settle whether a restriction is valid.
Read the guide ↗deal structureDental Practice Purchase Price Allocation & Form 8594
Dental practice purchase-price allocation assigns the deal's consideration to the assets that transfer. Form 8594 is relevant to qualifying asset acquisitions, not automatically every sale called a practice purchase.
Read the guide ↗deal structurePatient Records in a Dental Practice Sale
Dental patient records need a custody and access plan when a practice changes hands. Name the responsible custodian, confirm the legal basis for transfer and define how patients and authorized clinicians will obtain records after closing.
Read the guide ↗valuationDental Practice Valuation: Earnings, Buyers & Terms
Dental practice valuation estimates what a specific buyer can reasonably pay for the earnings and assets that will transfer. Collections, owner labor, staffing, the lease, patient continuity, and payment terms all matter.
Read the guide ↗dsoDSO Rollover Equity: Evaluate the Second Bite
DSO rollover equity is an ownership investment retained or received as part of a practice sale. Its value depends on the entity, security rights and later business results.
Read the guide ↗dsoWhat Is a DSO? Dental Practice Buyer & Seller Guide
A DSO is a dental support organization that provides business support connected with dental practices. Its name alone does not define who owns the practice, controls clinical decisions or employs the dentist.
Read the guide ↗financingDental Practice Financing: Compare Your Options
Dental practice financing can use a dedicated practice loan, an SBA-backed loan, property funding, seller credit and buyer cash. Compare those paths against the actual assets, earnings and cash needs.
Read the guide ↗financingDental Practice Loan Underwriting: Prepare the Evidence
Lenders underwrite dental practice loans by reviewing both the buyer and the practice that will repay the debt. They assess earnings, existing obligations, funding uses and the proposed transition.
Read the guide ↗financingDental Practice Working Capital: Plan Your Closing Cash
Dental practice working capital should cover the gap between cash you can use after closing and bills due before collections arrive. Start with a dated cash forecast, then test delays and funding restrictions.
Read the guide ↗guidesDental Practice Exit Planning: Build a Transferable Business
Dental practice exit planning connects your future role and cash needs with the practice's readiness for a successor. Define what you want to leave, what work must continue and which barriers need attention.
Read the guide ↗citiesSell a Dental Practice in Chicago, Illinois
To sell a dental practice in Chicago, show which patients, earnings and operating arrangements a buyer can retain. Keep disclosure controlled while the deal develops.
Read the guide ↗statesSell a Dental Practice in Illinois
To sell a dental practice in Illinois, prepare evidence of transferable earnings, qualify the buyer and coordinate the legal, payer and premises handoff. Protect identifying information while the deal develops.
Read the guide ↗coreSell My Dental Practice
Sell your dental practice by preparing a defensible earnings picture, choosing a confidential buyer process, and negotiating both the purchase price and the transition. Jason Taken at HedgeStone Business Advisors helps frame those decisions.
Read the guide ↗sellDocuments Needed to Sell a Dental Practice
The documents needed to sell a dental practice should let a qualified buyer understand the earnings, assets and transition duties. Build an index, preserve source files and separate reported results from your analysis.
Read the guide ↗sellPreparing Your Dental Practice for Sale: Action Plan
Preparing your dental practice for sale means turning goals, records and operating issues into a clear action plan. Reconcile the financial story, identify transfer dependencies and assign responsibility for unresolved questions.
Read the guide ↗sellSell a Dental Practice Confidentially: A Disclosure Plan
Selling a dental practice confidentially means controlling who receives each piece of information and when. Start with a reviewed blind summary, qualify recipients and use an NDA before identifying disclosure.
Read the guide ↗sellSelling a Rural Dental Practice: Buyer Fit & Continuity
Selling a rural dental practice requires a workable plan for who will provide care, how the practice will be staffed and why the location fits the buyer. Local service need alone does not prove acquisition demand.
Read the guide ↗specialtiesMulti-Specialty Dental Practice Sale: Group Diligence
A multi-specialty dental practice sale needs a clear picture of the whole group and each part within it. Buyers should reconcile patient overlap, shared costs, internal fees and clinician coverage before using combined results.
Read the guide ↗specialtiesPediatric Dental Practice Sale: A Transition Guide
A pediatric dental practice sale requires a close look at patient ages, family relationships, payer participation and continued access to care. Buyers should test whether the proposed team and operating arrangements can serve the existing population.
Read the guide ↗specialtiesPeriodontal Practice Sale: Maintenance and Handoffs
A periodontal practice sale depends on more than procedure revenue. Buyers need to understand continuing maintenance, shared care with general dentists, implant records and the team needed after closing.
Read the guide ↗specialtiesProsthodontic Practice Sale: Lab Work and Case Handoffs
A prosthodontic practice sale needs a clear account of cases already started, lab work still owed and records the next clinician can use. Fees collected before closing may support work that continues afterward.
Read the guide ↗specialtiesEndodontic Practice Sale: Buyer and Seller Guide
An endodontic practice sale starts with the referral base, case flow, working team and rights the buyer needs after closing. Review the actual reports and define the handoff plan.
Read the guide ↗specialtiesOral Surgery Practice Sale: Capacity and Readiness
An oral surgery practice sale requires a clear link between the proposed services and the people, premises and resources ready to deliver them. Buyers should test surgical capacity, approvals, billing and unfinished cases before relying on historical revenue.
Read the guide ↗specialtiesOrthodontic Practice Sale: Contracts and Care
An orthodontic practice sale should connect unpaid contracts, money already collected and the cost of finishing patient care. Buyers need to know which receipts and duties they will assume.
Read the guide ↗transitionPatient Letter and Announcement Timing for a Practice Sale
Patient letter and announcement timing should follow the actual transition, applicable notice rules and facts the practice can confirm. Explain who will provide care, what changes, how appointments are handled and how patients can obtain records.
Read the guide ↗transitionDental Practice Staff Communication: Timing and Plan
Dental practice staff communication needs a plan before a sale becomes urgent. Separate early succession talks from a confirmed transaction, protect confidential deal information, and give staff time to prepare.
Read the guide ↗valuationDental Practice SDE, EBITDA and Seller Net Proceeds
Dental practice SDE and seller net are different measures. SDE describes a defined earnings benefit for a working owner.
Read the guide ↗coreWhy Use a Dental Practice Broker?
A dental practice broker can help organize buyer discussions, confidential disclosure, offer comparison and transaction work. Whether that service is useful depends on your needs and the written scope.
Read the guide ↗Source-led, practical guidance
Use the evidence. Understand the limits.
Sources and dates appear in each guide. Examples are illustrative, and rules vary by state. Read our editorial standards or find the relevant state dental board.
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