Video: How to Buy/Sell a Dental Practice During the Pandemic

Our own Michael Dinsio recently sat down with Roadside Media to talk about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the dental practice market. Despite the world coming to a halt, practices are being bought and sold at a surprisingly high rate, and during this interview, Michael shares a few of his insights about how dentists can take advantage of the current environment and avoid the potential pitfalls of buying. Here are just a few of the topics he touches on…

• Consider Where You Want to Practice: In addition to the active patient base and cash-flow, one of the biggest things a dentist needs to think about before buying a practice is the location. Seeing as how dentists will be living as well as working in the area, looking at the big picture is essential!
• Talk to a Lender to Ensure You are Qualified: The parameters for lending have changed quite a bit since COVID hit, and banks are a little more careful when it comes to giving out big loans. So, it’s wise for dentists to talk to their bank to see what kind of loan they qualify for before searching for practices so they can set more realistic expectations.
• Talk to Every Broker in Your Area: Depending on the market, there will be 3-10 practice brokers, and it’s in a dentist’s best interest to know each and every one of them. A dentist should work to establish a friendly relationship and regularly check-in. This will give a dentist access to more listings, plus a broker may share listings that aren’t available publicly if they trust that a dentist is serious about buying.

How Your Relationships
& Networking Help You

Of course, it’s not just brokers that know about which dental practices are for sale. Fellow dentists, CPAs, attorneys, and other members of the community can let you know about an opportunity that might otherwise slip under your radar. About 50% of all acquisitions do not go through a broker! So, it pays to actively network with people who are adjacent to the dental industry as well as doctors and consultants, as this will give you a bigger reach for learning about available practices.

Potential Pitfalls
When Buying a Practice

• Don’t get over your head clinically: If a practice is used to a certain patient volume or offers a type of service that you are not comfortable with, it probably would not be smart to buy, as this sets you up for failure.
• Under capitalizing the deal: The cost of buying a practice will involve the practice itself, but dentists often also want to upgrade the facility, buy new technology, hire new team members, etc. So, when thinking about money and talking to lenders, make sure you’re getting enough to cover these potential expenses as well.
• Find the right balance with the team: For dentists taking over a practice with an existing team, it’s important to share their values and clinical philosophy with them so they don’t end up running the practice! New owners also have to be careful to not turn into dictators, as this may cause everyone to leave.

Michael goes into much more detail about each of these topics in the interview, so be sure to watch it! And, if you have any questions about what was discussed and how these points can be applied to your situation, don’t hesitate to reach out directly to Michael by clicking here.