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Selling a Dental Practice

Explore your options and understand the factors involved when selling a dental practice.

Ready to sell your dental practice?

Determine the value of your practice or request a Dental Practice Valuation using this form.

Understand Your Options When Selling a Dental Practice

Selling a dental practice can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to. The dental brokers with ADS Dental Transitions are here to help familiarize yourself with your selling options, conduct thorough research on your current market, and prepare your business for a smooth dental practice transition.

Why Sell a Dental Practice?

Selling a dental practice is a significant decision that dentists may face at different stages of their careers. Whether it’s retirement, a career transition, or pursuing new opportunities, understanding the benefits and considerations of selling a dental practice is essential. Some reasons why a dentist might decide to sell their practice are:

  • Retirement
  • Health
  • Financial Gain
  • New Opportunities
  • Market Timing
  • Practice Value
Consult with trusted dental brokers to learn if selling a dental
practice is right for you.

There are several dental practice transition options. Your options are
influenced by factors such as size, location, ownership and lease agreements, and overhead of your business.

ADS Dental Transitions dental brokers are your partners in identifying your unique needs and making selling a dental practice an easy process.

Types of Transition Options

“Turn-Key” Transitions

The first transition option is selling your practice “turn-key,” and involves selling the practice and preparing it for immediate use.

Sell a Practice to an Associate

Another option is to hire an associate and set a date for the associate to purchase the practice in the future.

Become the Buyer’s Employee

With this option, you can sell a practice, then become an employee of the buyer.

Sell a Portion of a Dental Practice

You divide your business and sell a portion of your dental practice, and is suitable option for larger practices.

A broker can work with you to guide you to the help you choose the transition option that best fits your practice and prepare you to sell.

Our Services for Sellers

Get the best-in-class dental broker services for sellers from ADS Transitions.

  • Information Gathering & Analysis
  • Dental Practice Valuation
  • Find Potential Buyers
  • Negotiations & Contracts
  • Mentoring & Advice
  • Marketing your dental practice listing

Determine the Value of a Dental Practice

It is important to have an accurate practice valuation when selling a dental practice. A dental broker can value a dental practice and help you understand the financial state of your business. If your practice is valued too low, your practice will sell for lower than it may be worth. If your practice is valued too high, your listing can sit on the market for a long time.

Get a Dental Practice Valuation

To get a dental practice valuation, work with a dental broker experienced in dental sales to assess your practice. A proper valuation will involve answering questions about your practice including income tax information and other records to calculate the right price for your practice.

Once you’ve decided that a practice transition is in your future, get in touch with a dental practice broker to understand your options, determine the value of your practice, and prepare your practice to get the highest return.

Dental Practice Valuations

What factors play a role in determining the value of your dental practice. Learn more>

Preparing To Sell

Get your practice ready for a successful transition. Learn more>

How To Sell

Which steps to take to get your practice ready to sell. Learn more>

Dental Practice Selling FAQs

Q: What is a Covenant Not to Compete?

A: A Covenant Not to Compete Clause (non-compete agreement) is an agreement where parties commit to not competing with each other for a specified period of time. The area of the Covenant not to compete is different for each dental practice. The distance for the Covenant is usually correlated to the service area of the practice which is where most of the patients live and/or work.

Q: Are Covenants Not to Compete (non-compete agreements) enforceable?

A: Yes, when they are written correctly. Consult with an experienced transition broker and/or legal professional to ensure your Covenant Not to Compete is enforceable.

Q: Will my patients accept a new dentist?

A: Your patients will accept a new doctor if the introduction and transition are handled the right way. Your endorsement, coupled with staff acceptance and enthusiasm, is the key.

Q: How long does it take to sell my dental practice?

A: Location has an impact on the sale of a dental practice. In a popular area, selling a dental practice can take about 6-12 weeks after the practice valuation is completed. In areas with less demand, such as rural areas, it could realistically take 2-5 years. The length of time on the market depends not only on the practice location but also on several other variables.

Q: When I list my dental practice for sale, how will it be marketed?

A: Marketing a dental practice listing with ADS Dental Transitions is one of the easiest ways to ensure you find a qualified buyer. In addition to listing your dental practice for sale on our website, we publish dental practice listings as well as distribute newsletters to a large and well-connected network of prospective buyers.

Q: How do you value a practice?

A: We consider four valuation methods. As experienced dental brokers, we weigh the results of the different methods to determine the fair market value of your practice. This can only be done accurately by a broker that has a history in your specific geographic area. Learn more about dental practice valuations here.

Q: How can I increase the value of my practice?

A: If you’re thinking about selling your dental practice in the future it can benefit your bottom line to make strategic investments in your business. An experienced dental broker can help to make recommendations that will add the highest value to your practice. Some basic improvements include cleaning up clutter, increasing your number of patients, and production.

Q: What is a dental practice worth?

A: While three years of financial information is important to determine the value of an office, rules of thumbs are simplistic and don’t usually provide the correct value. A common belief is that dental practices are worth 70% of their gross receipts averaged over the past three years. To find out the true value of a dental office an expert in transitions should be consulted to conduct an evaluation or full valuation on the practice.

Q: Will my patients accept a new dentist if I sell my dental practice?

A: There is always the possibility that your practice could lose patients in the process of transitioning to a new dentist. However, your patients will be more likely to accept a new dentist if the transition plan and introduction are communicated clearly to current patients. Your endorsement, coupled with staff acceptance and enthusiasm, can play a key role in maintaining your patient list through a transition.

Q: Should I carry a note when I sell my dental practice?

A: Agreeing to carry a note in the sale of a dental practice is an option a buyer can use to finance a dental practice. Learn more about dental practice financing. In nearly all cases it is possible for the buyer to secure 100% financing so you will be paid in cash at closing. Click to learn more about practice financing.

Q: Should I hire a dental associate?

A: When deciding if hiring an associate is the right move for your practice, there are several factors to consider. The higher your gross production and the more patients you have, the better candidate you become to hire an associate. If you’re lacking patients, initially you’ll be subsidizing the associate and your personal income will likely suffer. Ultimately, every dental practice is different.

Q: How do I get in touch with an ADS broker in my area?

Q: What is ADS? Can any dental practice consultant join?