Before You Acquire a Dental Practice Consider This

Buying a dental practice can be a very exciting experience but it can also be very overwhelming, When it comes to starting a practice mane dentists will choose to buy an existing and established practice verses starting a brand new practice. When acquiring an established practice you also acquire things like patients, staff, and equipment. While this is all very helpful it doesn’t alway equate to success.

There are several things to consider when acquiring a dental practice. You need to evaluate how likely you will be able to grow professionally in your practice. Ultimately you want to be in a practice that both professionally fulfilling and a financially sound investment.

To help you navigate this process we have provided a list of tips to help make some big decisions.

Finances:
So if it isn’t obvious already, you will need to find a way to purchase a practice. When you are approaching a bank you will need to come prepared with all types of information. You will have to know how much money you need, and when/how you will pay them back. This will require you to crunch all the numbers in regard to the costs involved and setting up a business plan for your new practice. These are some very important first steps you need to accomplish in order to get the finances you need.

You will also want to consult your figures with a business advisor. They will help make sure you haven’t miscalculated anything or been too optimistic in your forecasting.

A lot of what we are about to mention are important aspects that should be taken into consideration when creating a business plan.

Location:
When it comes to the location of the practice there are a lot of things to consider. First you want think do you stay in your current city or state? There are some states that are more attractive to dentists than others and moving could offer a better chance for employment or higher pay.

Now if you aren’t planning on uprooting your family then you obviously want to look closer to home.

Once you have narrowed down a location you also want to look up how many dental practices are in the area. Keep in mind that the average number of dentists per 100,000 citizens is ~55. Now this number can vary from state to state but is still something to keep in mind.

You will also want to consider possible walk ins. As you establish your practice it will help to have a location that receives a lot of pedestrian traffic. You also want to consider the total number of parking spaces. There should be enough parking for both your patients and your staff.

Numbers:
You will also need to consider and understand the aspects of the business. This includes:
The number of patients
Patient demographics
Popular procedures
Highest yielding procedures
Behaviors
Financial records and cash flow of the practice
Statistics of the business

You will want to talk to an accountant about the finances. They can help you understand if it is a concern financially.

It also helps to know why the dentist is selling their practice. Is it for a legitimate reason? If not, then you will want to steer clear because you don’t want to invest into a sinking ship.