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Any dental practice transition decision, whether it be Buying a Dental Practice or Selling a Dental Practice, is one of the most important events that will happen in your professional career as a dentist. Transitioning your dental practice that you worked so hard for your entire life will be one of the largest business decisions a dentist will have to go through. Making a mistake in the dental practice transition process can have long-lasting effects on any or all of the parties. It is much more effective and cost efficient to engage a professional that deals with these types of transactions on a daily basis and knows all the “ins and outs” of the dental business.

There are different reasons for dentists to consider selling, the most common of which is retirement. Other reasons a dentist may decide to retire may be relocation, disability, specialization, or for other personal reasons. Whatever the reason, the first step is to be sure that you have made the decision to sell your dental practice for the right reasons and are comfortable with that decision. Often, dentists list their practice for sale and when a ready, willing, and able buyer comes along they realize they are not ready to sell and that they would miss the dentistry, patients, etc.

Retirement planning is critical when making the decision to retire from your dental practice. The amount of money that will be received from the sale of the dental practice is not going to meet your retirement needs, but it will help! The first step in making the retirement decision is to have a Financial Planner prepare a financial plan that provides the information of what the financial needs and projections are for your specific lifestyle. We can accommodate you with this service and it is included with listing your practice.

Once you are comfortable with your retirement planning, you should optimize the dental practice so that it sells for the highest value. The largest contributor to increased value is increasing the net income and related cash flow. This means improving systems, lowering overhead, and not allowing the dental practice gross income to decline.

We find that buyers of dental practices today that are looking for high-tech offices, but one big mistake that sellers of dental practices make is excessive capital expenditures right before they list the dental practice for sale. This is not to say that cosmetic improvements should not be done. Things like carpets, paint, and furniture can make a significant difference in the attractiveness of a dental practice. However, the most important asset of a dental practice sale is the goodwill, patients, team, and the functionality of the practice.

Selling your practice without a qualified dental broker can cost you thousands of dollars in legal, accounting, advertising fees, and most importantly, your time. Please make sure you engage an experienced dental broker that is educated in the dental field and has the ability to accurately determine the economics of your business. An experienced dental broker has knowledge from previous transactions and has established relationships and resources you will need to complete the transition.

A reputable dental broker has resources with dental financing, equipment specialists as well as commercial real estate lease specialists. A reputable dental broker will help you obtain the market value of your practice, advertise and market your practice, keep the transaction confidential and save you time and aggravation. A reputable dental broker will handle all correspondence including, emails, phone calls, and the showings that can take place after business hours.

If you are thinking about the sale of your dental practice contact us today to find out how you can get top dollar for your practice. Many of our sellers stay on long term as well if the practice is large enough to support multiple dentists.