Top 4 Questions to Consider After Buying a Dental Practice

As a young dentist who is ready to sink your teeth into owning your own practice, jumping into business with yourself may be very tempting. Just remember, you should always look before you leap. Here are four questions I have found that many dentists overlook before pulling the trigger when buying a dental practice:

1. Is your personality compatible with that of the selling dentist?

At first glance, it may seem irrelevant whether your personalities mesh. After all, you will be in charge, and they will be riding off into the sunset. What’s the issue?

The issue is that your new practice will have been built around someone else’s personality. Whether they are dominant or passive, outgoing or introverted, both your patients and your employees will be accustomed to working with that type.

If your patients are comfortable being told firmly what they need to do, they may not like being presented with a range of choices. And don’t forget that it’s expensive to lose patients. Not only do you waste the significant money you spent on your patient list in the first place; you are also looking at increased marketing costs to bring in new patients.

The same holds true for your employees. If they have been pretty much left alone to do their jobs for the past decade or two, they will probably respond poorly to being micromanaged. The challenge is compounded by employees who work directly with patients. A patient will be far more loyal to the hygienist who has been cleaning their teeth for decades than to the dentist they just met.

Keep in mind, employees, like patients, are easier to retain than to replace.

2. Is it the right type of practice for you?

Give some thought to the environment you want to create in the coming years and the type of work you would like to do.

Consider the following:

• Do you want to work primarily with senior citizens? Children? Entire families?
• Do you want to focus on people’s day-to-day dental problems, or would you rather spend your time with high-end cosmetic dentistry?
• Is it important that you help people who are financially challenged, or would you rather work with people who have a more stable income and more reliable insurance?

The answer to these and other questions should have a substantial influence on your choice of practice.

3. Where is the practice?

The century-old real estate cliché says the three most important factors for a property are location, location, location. While the location may not be the only important factor when you search for a practice, it’s definitely high on the list.

Not only will your location help determine the type of patient you see, but it will also influence your marketing budget.

To put it bluntly, your ideal location will be in public view. If your office is tucked away in the back of an office complex, you’re losing a huge marketing opportunity. Imagine a large sign on the side of your building announcing that the world’s best dentist is inside; are you choosing a location where that sign will do you any good?

4. Does the selling dentist rent or own?

If the selling dentist rents rather than owns the building, you will be paying less for the practice. But if you rent, you run the risk of having to relocate. Not only does this mean relocation costs, but it may also mean lost patients.

When you’re ready to make the leap and buy your own dental practice, we can help you with these dental practice-specific questions and many others you might not have thought about. So dream big, and let us know if you have more questions about buying a practice… we have helped MANY dentists do just that.