Associate Dentist to Owner Podcast

📋 Free Download: Practice Evaluation Checklist https://practiceown.com/pdf

What is the best location to buy a dental practice? I compare dentist competition, dental visits, and hygienist pay across the country, then look inside two practices in the same city with very different ownership outcomes. I explain why a seller's financial statements can miss the most important part of an acquisition. If you're deciding where to buy, this episode will help you understand what to evaluate before you commit.

What we cover:

- Alabama has about 2,424 residents per dentist, compared with 1,236 in Massachusetts.

- Only about 58% of Alabama adults reported a dental visit in the past year.

- Hygienist pay averages roughly $63 an hour in Washington versus $29 in Alabama.

- Higher payroll can coexist with higher fees and insurance reimbursement.

- State averages hide substantial differences between cities in the same state.

- Median annual collections per patient in my practice evaluation data are $894.

- In the 800-patient practice, collections per patient fell from $1,700 to $950 after the sale.

- Collections fell from $1.36 million to $760,000, while many operating costs stayed fixed.

- Practice loan repayment left that buyer with about $51,000 in first-year income.

- The 3,300-patient practice supported nearly $800,000 in first-year buyer income after practice loan repayment.

- Clinical due diligence helps determine whether you can sustain the seller's collections.

💼 Work with me: I help dentists evaluate dental practices before they buy. Every practice I evaluate gets compared against my database of 500+ evaluations.

https://practiceown.com

📬 Questions? Reach out directly: [email protected]

0:00 Where Should You Buy A Dental Practice?

1:02 Dentist Competition And Dental Visits

3:46 Hygienist Pay And Local Expenses

6:15 City, Suburb, Or Rural?

8:15 Patients And Treatment Planning

10:44 Collections Per Patient

14:35 Cash Flow And Practice Loans

18:28 A Different Practice In The Same City

📋 Free Download: Practice Evaluation Checklist https://practiceown.com/pdf

A dentist I worked with made $1.1 million in his first year as a practice owner, at an office his CPA and ChatGPT both told him not to buy. In this episode I go through the actual numbers for that practice (adjusted by about 10% and renamed to keep it confidential), give the same documents to ChatGPT to see what it says, and then walk through the report I put together for him and exactly why I told him to strongly consider it.

What we cover:

- The profit and loss statement: $1.2 million in collections, $1.1 million in expenses, and only $118,000 of net operating income

- After add-backs the seller was taking home roughly $175,000 to $200,000, about what an average associate makes

- The one number on the production report that a CPA, a bank and AI all glide past: 4,384 adult cleanings in a year

- What ChatGPT said when I gave it the same three documents: do not buy at the $936,000 asking price, and expect about $56,000 a year after the loan payment

- Why its six red flags (payroll, rent, revenue drifting down, five new patients a month, almost no perio, "dependent on restorative") do not hold up

- How I estimate active patients: about 800 per full-time hygienist, and cleanings counted at a nine month interval, which put this office at roughly 3,000 patients

- Past 2,200 to 2,400 patients you are in group practice territory, and this was one older doctor doing three hygiene checks an hour

- The seller collected $405 per patient per year against a median of $916 across the 500+ practices I have evaluated

- 47% of production came from hygiene, the 89th percentile, which means the dentist was producing only about $200 per patient

- Crowns 32% below average, fillings 45% below, zero endo, one implant and 45 extractions on 3,000 patients

- My cash flow model for the buyer: $115,000 conservative, about $700,000 moderate, $1.3 million strong. He landed at $1.1 million after debt service

- Why cutting expenses was the worst advice he got, and why a $134,000 a year loan payment works like a retirement contribution

💼 Work with me: I help dentists evaluate dental practices before they buy. Every practice I evaluate gets compared against my database of 500+ evaluations.

https://practiceown.com

📬 Questions? Reach out directly: [email protected]

0:00 The Practice His CPA And ChatGPT Said Not To Buy

2:20 The Documents You Need To Evaluate A Practice

4:26 The Profit And Loss Statement And Production Report

8:35 Asking ChatGPT If I Should Buy This Practice

11:39 ChatGPT's Six Red Flags

15:07 My Evaluation Report And The Real Patient Count

21:17 Collections Per Patient And Production Analysis

28:36 Cash Flow Modeling And What He Actually Made

📋 Free Download: Practice Evaluation Checklist https://practiceown.com/pdf

A dentist recently reached out to me after signing a letter of intent on a practice they were no longer sure about. They were worried they were locked in. In this episode I read through a sample dental practice letter of intent section by section and explain what it actually commits you to, what you can walk away from, and the one section most buyers skip that really is binding.

What we cover:

- Why the LOI is not the purchase contract: the asset purchase agreement comes later

- What a letter of intent is really for: putting your terms in front of the seller before due diligence starts

- Attorneys will draft your LOI, but most will not tell you what to offer or what the practice is worth

- Purchase price allocations: why you want more in equipment and the seller wants more in goodwill

- Most dental deals are asset purchases, and accounts receivable is always up for negotiation

- The earnest money deposit is falling out of favor, and why brokers are quietly discouraging it

- If you gave no deposit, you can usually walk away at any point with no consequence

- The lease contingency, and the deals I have watched die because the landlord said no

- Why the 30 to 60 day due diligence window only really matters if you gave a deposit

- Exclusivity, confidentiality and ordinary course: the provisions that stay binding even after you back out

- Everyone in the process gets paid when you close, so nobody else is going to tell you to walk away

- Overpay by $200,000 and you may not be able to sell your way back out

💼 Work with me: I help dentists evaluate dental practices before they buy. Every practice I evaluate gets compared against my database of 500+ evaluations.

https://practiceown.com

📬 Questions? Reach out directly: [email protected]

0:00 A Dentist Who Wanted To Back Out

0:53 What A Letter Of Intent Actually Is

2:33 Due Diligence And Going In Person

3:24 Purchase Price And Allocations

4:30 The Earnest Money Deposit

6:06 Lease, Due Diligence Window And Closing Conditions

8:35 The Provisions That Are Still Binding

10:07 Why Everyone Wants You To Close

📋 Free Download: Practice Evaluation Checklist https://practiceown.com/pdf

If you are a dentist thinking about buying a practice, you have heard most of these. Some come from the people who employ you, some from other dentists, and some you tell yourself. In this episode I go through the seven lies I hear most often about becoming a practice owner and explain what is actually true, using what I see every week evaluating practices for buyers.

What we cover:

- Why being an owner is not automatically better than being an associate, and when it is worse

- A startup gaining 200 patients a year and losing 50 takes about 10 years to reach the 1,500 patients a profitable practice needs

- The failed startups that show up on the market two or three years later, and why buyers should walk past them

- I bought my practice one year out of school and made about $700,000 my first year, mistakes included

- Why the bank looks at your $100 monthly student loan payment and not the $800,000 balance

- The $50,000 to $100,000 cushion banks want to see, and why you can start looking before you have it

- Two practices that both collect $1,000,000 and both profit $500,000, and why one is far easier to buy

- $500 per patient versus $2,000 per patient, and what that means for every hygiene visit

- How AI nearly cost me $15,000 on my own taxes, and why I would not let it evaluate a practice

- Why a $2,000 fee-for-service crown instead of a $750 in-network crown only works if the patients stay for you

- Why the hygienists are the most important people in the office you are buying, and how many you want

- What ownership has meant for the dentists I know, including one who passed $1,000,000 in his first year

💼 Work with me: I help dentists evaluate dental practices before they buy. Every practice I evaluate gets compared against my database of 500+ evaluations.

https://practiceown.com

📬 Questions? Reach out directly: [email protected]

0:00 Seven Lies About Becoming An Owner

0:23 Is Ownership Better Than Being An Associate?

2:15 Should You Just Do A Startup?

7:46 Do You Need More Experience First?

10:35 Student Loans, Savings, And What The Bank Checks

15:00 The Most Profitable Practice You Can Find

20:12 Is Fee For Service The Best Practice To Buy?

26:11 Are The Patients Yours Once You Buy?

📋 Free Download: Practice Evaluation Checklist https://practiceown.com/pdf

Was becoming a dentist worth it? If you had asked me during my first year out of dental school, my honest answer would have been no. In this episode I tell the whole story: why I chose dentistry over accounting, what associate life was really like, the practice I bought that turned out to be a serious mistake, and how ownership completely changed my answer. If you are not yet a dentist, this is the story I wish I had heard before dental school. If you already are one, it might change what you do next.

What we cover:

- The three criteria I judged every career on: lifestyle, pay, and a realistic path to ownership

- Why I dropped accounting for dentistry after one microeconomics class

- The associate job that moved me to a pediatric Medicaid office I never signed up for, with 5:30 a.m. starts nobody would fix

- Two friends, one startup and one acquisition, and how different they looked one year in

- The practice that collected about $1 million the year before I bought it for about $300,000

- The $300 crowns that revealed I had bought an office running on HMO plans

- Dropping the HMO plans on day one, losing 80% of the patients, and laying off half the staff

- Making about $700,000 my first year as an owner, more than triple my associate pay

- Selling that practice for more than double what I paid for it

- The client who collected over $2 million his first year of ownership and kept about half as profit

💼 Work with me: I help dentists evaluate dental practices before they buy. Every practice I evaluate gets compared against my database of 500+ evaluations.

https://practiceown.com

📬 Questions? Reach out directly: [email protected]

0:00 The Story I Wish I'd Heard Before Dental School

0:47 Choosing A Career At 19

5:28 The Associate Years

8:20 Finding My First Practice

12:51 My First Day As An Owner

15:34 The Turnaround

18:38 How This Turned Into A Business

20:54 The Verdict

📋 Free Download: Practice Evaluation Checklist https://practiceown.com/pdf

How long does it take to buy a dental practice? It's one of the most common questions I get, and most dentists go in with the wrong expectation. In this episode I break down both phases step by step, and I show you why rushing either one is the most expensive mistake you can make.

What we cover:

- The two phases of an acquisition, split at the letter of intent

- Median time to find the right practice: 4 months (some take weeks, some take years)

- Why your search radius is the single biggest factor in your timeline

- Why dental brokers don't split commissions like realtors, and what that means for you

- Why brokers send you their worst listings first

- 84% of the 500 practices I've reviewed were not worth buying

- Why every professional in the deal is paid to close fast, not to close well

- LOI negotiation: typically 2 to 3 weeks of back and forth

- Due diligence: 3 to 4 weeks, including a second in-person site visit

- The site visit where I told a client to walk away, and the practice he found 3 weeks later paid 2 to 3 times more

- Financing: about 3 months total, and why you need more than one bank

- When to hire your attorney, and how the wrong one adds months

- How a landlord can kill a deal days before closing

- When to give notice at your associate job, and why you should never sign a 90-day notice

- Why you need weeks off between leaving your job and taking over the practice

💼 Work with me: I help dentists evaluate dental practices before they buy. Every practice I evaluate gets compared against my database of 500+ evaluations.

https://practiceown.com

📬 Questions? Reach out directly: [email protected]

0:00 The Two Phases, And Where Your Search Starts

4:23 Practice Brokers And What They Show You

7:09 How Long The Search Really Takes

7:54 Phase 2: Signing The Letter Of Intent

9:20 Due Diligence And The Site Visit

12:44 Financing, Attorneys, And The Lease

18:40 When To Leave Your Associate Job

23:11 The Total Timeline

📋 Free Download: Practice Evaluation Checklist https://practiceown.com/pdf

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the median dentist makes $179,000 per year. I have looked at the profit and loss statements and tax returns of over 500 dental practices that sold in the last two years, and the real median owner income is $351,000. In this video I show you the actual numbers, the full distribution, and why the government figure is so misleading.

What we cover:

- Why the BLS number of $179,000 doesn't reflect what owners take home

- The real median owner income: $351,000 across 500+ practices

- The full income distribution, from under $200K to $600K+

- The percentiles: 25th ($200K), median ($351K), 75th ($482K), 90th ($722K)

- Why the 90th percentile is more reachable than you think

- Salary vs. owner distributions, and why the tax return hides your real pay

- What owners actually keep: 32.9% of collections

- Why owners report $120K in income but take home closer to $350K

- Why owners work less than associates and still make more

- What happens when you add an associate and part-time specialists

- Why the median is probably understated by $200,000

💼 Work with me: I help dentists evaluate dental practices before they buy. Every practice I evaluate gets compared against my database of 500+ evaluations.

https://practiceown.com

📬 Questions? Reach out directly: [email protected]

0:00 The BLS Says Dentists Make $179,000

0:20 Where This Data Comes From (500 Practices)

0:56 How Dentist Income Changes Over a Career

1:49 Being Honest About the Data

2:29 The Real Median Owner Income: $351,000

2:58 The Full Income Distribution

3:57 The Percentiles: 25th, Median, 75th, 90th

4:30 Why the 90th Percentile Is Easier Than You Think

5:49 Why the BLS Number Is Misleading

7:17 What Owners Actually Keep: 32.9% of Collections

8:03 Reported Income vs. Actual Take-Home Pay

8:34 Owners Work Less Than Associates and Make More

9:53 Adding Associates and Specialists

10:52 Why the Median Is Probably Understated

11:28 Buy the Right Practice

📋 Free Download: Practice Evaluation Checklist https://practiceown.com/pdf

Waiting to buy a dental practice could be one of the most expensive decisions you ever make. In this video, I break down the real cost of staying at an associate job, why the most common excuses don't hold up, and how even being conservative, you're leaving $14,000 per month on the table by not becoming an owner.

What we cover:

- The $500,000 difference between my first and second year

- Owner vs. associate income: $350K vs. $200K (conservative)

- The $14,000/month opportunity cost of staying as an associate

- Why you don't need more clinical experience to become an owner

- Why "the timing isn't right" is never a valid excuse

- Why paying off student loans first makes no financial sense

- The trap of waiting for the perfect practice

- Why fear of ownership is holding you back

💼 Work with me: I help dentists evaluate dental practices before they buy. Every practice I evaluate gets compared against my database of 500+ evaluations.

https://practiceown.com

📬 Questions? Reach out directly: [email protected]

0:00 Intro

0:21 My Story: $200K to $700K in One Year

1:11 Owner vs. Associate Income

3:00 The $14,000/Month Opportunity Cost

4:57 Excuse #1: I Need More Experience

6:10 Excuse #2: The Timing Isn't Right

7:14 Excuse #3: I Need to Pay Off Student Loans

9:35 Excuse #4: Waiting for the Perfect Practice

12:10 Excuse #5: I'm Just Afraid

13:30 Stop Waiting, Start Now

📋 Free Download: Practice Evaluation Checklist https://practiceown.com/pdf

I recently helped a dentist save $161,000 on their dental practice acquisition. In this video, I walk through exactly how we did it, from negotiating $100,000 off the purchase price to saving over $60,000 on financing. When you're spending a million dollars, small decisions can make a massive difference.

What we cover:

- How we found the right practice after 3-4 months of looking

- Why we offered $100K below asking price (and the seller accepted)

- How time on market gives you negotiating power

- Saving $60,000 by switching to the right bank

- Why you should never just use one lender

- A separate client who saved $500,000 on their purchase price

- Why you need someone on your side during this process

💼 Work with me: I help dentists evaluate dental practices before they buy. Every practice I evaluate gets compared against my database of 500+ evaluations.

https://practiceown.com

📬 Questions? Reach out directly: [email protected]

0:00 Intro

0:21 How the Process Started

1:20 Looking at the Broker Packet

2:48 Local Market Knowledge and Fair Pricing

3:28 Offering $100K Below Asking Price

5:40 Saving $60K by Switching Banks

7:33 This Is Extremely Common

8:07 A Client Who Saved $500,000

9:22 Don't Do This Alone

📋 Free Download: Practice Evaluation Checklist https://practiceown.com/pdf

The number one predictor of job satisfaction is autonomy. If you want freedom and control over your life as a dentist, you need to become an owner. In this video, I cover the four types of freedom you gain when you stop being an associate and start being the boss.

What we cover:

- Why autonomy is the #1 predictor of job satisfaction

- Freedom to control your schedule (my 3-day work week)

- Freedom to choose which patients and insurances you take

- Freedom to take time off without asking permission

- Freedom to build equity in a business you own

- Why DSOs need you to stay as an associate

- The real financial difference between owning and associating

💼 Work with me: I help dentists evaluate dental practices before they buy. Every practice I evaluate gets compared against my database of 500+ evaluations.

https://practiceown.com

📬 Questions? Reach out directly: [email protected]

0:00 Intro: Autonomy and Job Satisfaction

1:33 Freedom to Control Your Schedule

4:33 Freedom to Choose Your Patients

6:36 Freedom to Take Time Off

7:44 Freedom to Build Equity

9:41 It's Hard, But You Can Do It

11:00 Why DSOs Don't Want You to Become an Owner