Whether you’re fresh out of dental school or are ready to move on from being an associate, buying your own dental practice is likely a serious option to consider for your long-term career plans.

Needless to say, this process can be quite complicated and tremendously draining both financially and emotionally if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Thankfully, there are dental practice buyer representation experts out there who are ready to walk you through everything step-by-step. Having a buyer rep on your side makes the process much less stressful, because you will have an expert who is looking out for your personal interests throughout the entire process.

To get started, here are some basic questions you should ask yourself before buying a dental practice.

1. Where do you want to set up shop?

Will your practice be in Texas, New York, Nebraska, or South Dakota? Will it be in an urban setting, or were you thinking more rural? It all matters. There are many factors to consider. Having a clear vision for what community you want to serve and where you want to practice is the first step.

Secondly, the biggest thing I challenge all of my clients to find out before they pull the trigger… Can the area you are targeting able to support another dentist? Dental specific demographics studies are essential to choosing the right location. You want to mitigate as much risk as you can before signing on the dotted line.

2. Buy or build?

Ask yourself a very honest question. Do you like the idea of being an visionary and executing on your ideas? Or, do you like the idea of just plug and play taking over whatever the previous owner was doing?

These two questions are key in deciding if a startup might be a better option for you. I am going to tell you, both options (if done right) can be very successful or incredibly challenging. It all hinges on your vision and how you see yourself practicing dentistry.

Both approaches have their pros and cons. Most dentists are attracted to buying a practice. That being said, trying to make too many changes right out of the gate in a transition can be extremely damaging. The goodwill of those patients and team members is going to be the most valuable asset in that practice.

3.  With or without a consultant?

While it may be tempting to do all of the searching, evaluation, research, and due diligence on your own, the fact of the matter is that most dentists simply don’t have time or the specialization to do it all effectively. I interviewed Dr Josh Raiffe about his experience working through this process. Watch it here!

The majority of your day is dedicated to treating patients or spending time with loved ones. The last thing you want to do is come home spending hours on the computer looking through listings to find one you like. Then only to find out it’s not worth investing time an effort purchasing. This is where working with an experienced buyers advocate can be a invaluable.

A buyer’s advocate consultant can help determine what you should be buying and for for how much. Practice brokers do their best to guide buyers through the process. But the brutal truth is, they are representing the sellers! A buyer’s representative is on your side. They will help you understand the deal from top down and determine if it aligns with your career goals.

If your buyer’s rep consultant has good relationships with brokers in your market, they oftentimes will have access to “pocket listings” that you won’t find on most practice listing sites.

Lastly, there are many experts you might need to hire along the way. Your consultant can help you vet and secure the best financing, negotiate the LOI w/ an attorney, help structure the lease agreement with a broker, navigate HR compliance, or help you decide if you should buy the ARs or not.

Keeping Your Goals in Mind

It’s easy to get bogged down in the process of buying a dental practice and forget what the practice is actually for. Does buying this practice help you help the people you see yourself serving. Get clearer and closer to your career goals without becoming a real estate expert, attorney, or CPA in your off hours. Get the right person in your corner for a process that starts off stressful and can quickly escalate before you are even prepared.

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