Things to Consider when Buying a Dental Practice

Purchasing a dental practice has many benefits. Buying an existing practice means you will already have an established patient base, cash flow, and relationships with insurance companies, to name just a few. However, there are also many things to take into consideration to ensure that you can continue to run the practice smoothly. This is particularly true if the previous dentist is not staying on for a transition period. Below, our dental practice purchase attorney explains some of the most important things to consider when buying a practice.

Conduct Your Due Diligence 

One of the biggest ways to do your due diligence before buying a dental practice is to understand its finances. It is important to speak to a financial expert with experience in valuing dental practices who can advise on a practice’s finances, how inflation may impact the amount of revenue the practice currently makes, how economic volatility might impact the practice’s finances, and provide insights about the true financial health of a practice. It is also important to ask if the practice has an analytics tool that can provide comprehensive information about the practice’s previous expenses, revenue, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and profit.

Understand the Risks 

While there are many benefits that come with purchasing an existing dental practice, there are also some risks. It is critical to understand these risks, especially the following:

• Purchasing another dentist’s practice also means buying their systems, philosophy, staff training programs, patients, and more.
• Patients loyal to the previous dentist may go somewhere else for treatment, so there is some risk of patient attrition.
• Current staff may receive salaries or wages based on the length of their employment and you may think these do not correlate to their skills.
• Staff members may leave the practice if they do not bond with you right away.
• The office and equipment used may be outdated, and updating it may be costly.

Do Not Make Changes Too Quickly

 Again, two of the biggest risks associated with purchasing an existing dental practice is the loss of patients and staff members. To help ensure this does not happen, it is critical that you do not make too many changes too quickly. Make sure you thoroughly understand the processes and systems that are already in place before you make any changes. Leaving things familiar for staff members and patients can make them feel more comfortable and ensure a smoother transition.

Our Dental Practice Purchase Attorney Can Help with the Transition 

Purchasing a dental practice is exciting, but there are many logistics to think about. At AGS Law, our dental practice purchase attorney can guide you through the process and help you overcome any challenges that arise to ensure a smooth transition. Contact us to schedule a consultation with our experienced attorney and to learn more about how we can help.

Source:

le.utah.gov/xcode/Title15/C15_1800010118000101.pdf