Long in the Tooth: Insights for Age 55+ Dentists

When you hire any professional, such as an Accountant or Attorney, you are hiring them to help you navigate a field that could be fraught with serious problems if not done correctly. Getting the right team players involved can make the experience less stressful, but how can you recognize good advisors from a bad ones? 

In our final episode with Larry Chatterley, Larry rattles off some tips to help you make wiser choices when it comes to advisors and some things to watch out for (hint: did you know dual representation can be unethical?)

Mr. Chatterley has specialized in transitioning dental practices and serving the business and transition needs of dentists throughout the western U.S. for over 26 years since he founded CTC Associates in 1988. He has facilitated the successful transition of over 2,000 practices, and has authored several publications on practice transitions.

Questions we address in this episode:

• Should I employ a professional to assist me in the sale?
• Who should I call – my lawyer, my accountant, my financial planner, my supply salesman, or a broker? What kind of professional guidance will I need?
• If I do hire a professional to guide me, how much will it cost me to sell the practice?
• What should I tell my spouse to do if I should die before the practice is sold?

If you’re a practice owner in Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, or Wyoming, contact CTC Associates at ctc-associates.com for practice transition tools and guidance.

Learn about dental practice transition specialists in your area by messaging [email protected]

Long in the Tooth provides non-clinical gems of wisdom for older dental practice owners. Learn more about this podcast at longinthetooth.info

As a current practice owner, one day you’ll be a practice seller. In this episode, Larry Chatterley draws from his wealth of experience in successful practice transitions to help you prepare for the sale of your own practice. We talk through many tips to doing this well and many pitfalls to avoid.

Topics we discuss in this episode:

• What should I say to my staff, and when should I say it?
• How long will it take to find a purchaser and close a transaction?
• What about taxes? Is it possible to minimize or defer the tax liability associated with the sale?
• I own my own building. What do I do with it?

Mr. Chatterley has specialized in transitioning dental practices and serving the business and transition needs of dentists throughout the western U.S. for over 26 years since he founded CTC Associates in 1988. He has facilitated the successful transition of over 2,000 practices, and has authored several publications on practice transitions.

If you’re a practice owner in Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, or Wyoming, contact CTC Associates at ctc-associates.com for practice transition tools and guidance.

Learn about dental practice transition specialists in your area by messaging [email protected]

Long in the Tooth provides non-clinical gems of wisdom for older dental practice owners. Learn more about this podcast at longinthetooth.info

What is your practice really worth, and who is most qualified to evaluate it? 

In today’s episode, we talk with Larry Chatterley all about practice evaluation and practice sale price. Mr. Chatterley has specialized in transitioning dental practices and serving the business and transition needs of dentists throughout the western U.S. for over 26 years since he founded CTC Associates in 1988. He has facilitated the successful transition of over 2,000 practices, and has authored several publications on practice transitions.

In this episode, we discuss questions like:

• How can I get the most money for my practice, and at the same time be fair to the purchaser?
• Should I attempt to get all cash, or should I finance a portion of the sale?
• How will the purchaser finance the acquisition?
• What if I am asked to subordinate my seller note to the bank?

If you’re a practice owner in Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, or Wyoming, contact CTC Associates at ctc-associates.com for practice transition tools and guidance.

Learn about dental practice transition specialists in your area by messaging [email protected]

Long in the Tooth provides non-clinical gems of wisdom for older dental practice owners. Learn more about this podcast at longinthetooth.info

It is a prevailing thought that many practice owners share to bring in an associate for a while to make sure that person is a good match. While this has some merit, there are six major factors that Larry Chatterley outlines in this episode to structure a successful associateship.

Mr. Chatterley has specialized in transitioning dental practices and serving the business and transition needs of dentists throughout the western U.S. for over 26 years since he founded CTC Associates in 1988. He has facilitated the successful transition of over 2,000 practices, and has authored several publications on practice transitions.

Questions we address in this episode:

• Why not bring in an associate for a while to see if we get along and if he or she is the right candidate for my practice?
• How will I know when I have the right purchaser?
• What resources are available to help practice owners evaluate potential purchasers of their practice?

Discover helpful articles including the one referenced in this episode by visiting Dental Sales Articles and Information by CTC Associates. If you’re a practice owner in Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, or Wyoming, contact CTC Associates at ctc-associates.com for practice transition tools and guidance.

Learn about dental practice transition specialists in your area by messaging [email protected]

Long in the Tooth provides non-clinical gems of wisdom for older dental practice owners. Learn more about this podcast at longinthetooth.info

At some point in your career, you will feel the need for change. You may have a need to overcome solo-economic dependency, improve staff relations, or find some relief from the stress of managing a private practice.

Our next subject matter expert, Larry M. Chatterley, joins us for a four-part series where we address 24 essential practice planning issues. Through proper planning you can preserve and enhance the value of your practice, and learn how to avoid making critical mistakes that can turn the sale of your professional practice into an emotional disaster and a financial disaster.

Mr. Chatterley has specialized in transitioning dental practices and serving the business and transition needs of dentists throughout the western U.S. for over 26 years since he founded CTC Associates in 1988. He has facilitated the successful transition of over 2,000 practices, and has authored several publications on practice transitions.

Questions we address in this episode:

• What are my transition options as a late career dentist?
• What do I really need to know about selling a practice, and are my expectations realistic?
• How can I know which option is best for me?
• How will I know when it is the "right time" for me to sell my practice?
• How will demographic trends over the next ten years affect my practice value and marketability?
• If I don't think I am quite ready to sell, what should I be doing now to prepare myself and my practice for a transition?

If you’re a practice owner in Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, or Wyoming, contact CTC Associates at ctc-associates.com for practice transition tools and guidance.

Learn about dental practice transition specialists in your area by messaging [email protected]

Long in the Tooth provides non-clinical gems of wisdom for older dental practice owners. Learn more about this podcast at longinthetooth.info

Many times, late career practice owners think that they will have to work longer hours and work much harder to grow their practices. For this reason, they discount the idea of growing their practices late in their careers. But there are other ways to define “growing”, and just because your hygiene schedule is full doesn’t mean you have the full picture about your practice. You could be spending a lot of time, energy, and money only to have your collections gradually creeping down. Do you know if your practice is growing or if something unhealthy is actually happening instead within your practice? 

Join us for our final conversation with Ms. Genevieve Poppe, CEO of Poppe Practice Management and a leading dental practice management consultant in the US.

Questions we discuss:

• What do you mean by “growing”? What do you mean by “churning”?
• Could “growing” be defined not by growth in collections, but by increased profitability (ie. more efficient use of doctor’s and staff’s work hours)? 
• What would you say to late career dentists who are “churning” and not thinking about increasing profitability or increasing practice value?
• What are the biggest impediments and challenges to late career dentists implementing changes?  
• Why do you think that most dental practice owners do so little transition planning when they know that leaving dentistry someday is an inevitable event?
• From your perspective as a high-level practice consultant, what do most practices have in common that experience successful transitions to new ownership?  

If you’re curious about anything you heard, you can contact Genevieve online at poppepracticemanagement.com, or give her a call directly at 608-358-3370. She can also be found on Facebook and Linkedin.

Learn about dental practice transition specialists in your area by messaging [email protected]

Long in the Tooth provides non-clinical gems of wisdom for older dental practice owners. Learn more about this podcast at longinthetooth.info

The topic of accountability can be an uncomfortable one in the dental industry, yet it is a critical component for practice owners to achieve their true success potential. Creating accountability at the ownership and leadership level, as well as at the team level is a key to differentiating your practice.

Listen in to our conversation with Ms. Genevieve Poppe, CEO of Poppe Practice Management and a leading dental practice management consultant in the US, as we talk all about implementing accountability in systems and communications. 

Questions we address:

• Why is accountability important to practice success?
• Is there a system that can help to create accountability? 
• How can an Entrepreneurial Operating System help practice owners?
• What tools are available to help drive accountability?
• What is the impact of accountability on team morale?  
• Is it hard to start holding people accountable, and what pushback can be anticipated?
• How do you help dental teams care about “the numbers”?

To get a copy of the book Traction by Gino Wickman that was referenced in this episode or for more information about anything you heard, contact Genevieve online at poppepracticemanagement.com, or give her a call directly at 608-358-3370. She can also be found on Facebook and Linkedin.

Learn about dental practice transition specialists in your area by messaging [email protected]

Long in the Tooth provides non-clinical gems of wisdom for older dental practice owners. Learn more about this podcast at longinthetooth.info

Most age 55+ practice owners are not interested in working harder, but many are learning to work smarter to drive profitability and practice value.

Our next special guest is Ms. Genevieve Poppe, CEO of Poppe Practice Management. Ms. Poppe has held many positions in the dental industry over the last 20+ years. Her expertise is proven by years of success in all aspects of practice operations, and she is now widely recognized as a leading dental practice management consultant in the US.

In this episode, our conversation focuses on developing a practice success mindset and implementing some simple changes to build more success.

Questions we discuss:

• What are the primary functions in an office that drive growth?
• What are the most common reasons new patients don't schedule or reschedule?
• Should dental offices record their phone calls?
• How many new patients do most practices need to see each month?
• What are some treatment acceptance barriers that doctors frequently experience?
• What are some tips for retaining patients and getting referrals or reviews from them?

For more information, easily schedule a call with Genevieve online at poppepracticemanagement.com, or give her a call directly at 608-358-3370. She can also be found on Facebook and Linkedin.

Learn about dental practice transition specialists in your area by messaging [email protected]

Long in the Tooth provides non-clinical gems of wisdom for older dental practice owners. Learn more about this podcast at longinthetooth.info

On this episode, we welcome Jordan Comstock, founder and CEO of BoomCloud. Jordan and his team help dental practices create, organize, automate, and manage in-house membership programs so that they can create recurring revenue by automating payments from their members. His work allows dental practices to reduce their dependence on dental insurance.

Questions we discuss:

• What dental practices benefit most from having membership plans for their patients?
• What practices are more likely not to benefit from having membership plans?
• How do membership plans work?
• How have practices that have implemented membership plans benefited?
• How have patients benefited in practices that have implemented membership plans?
• What symbiotic business management strategies exist to maximize the overall benefit of implementing membership plans?  

Access many free resources and schedule a demo at boomcloudapps.com

Learn about dental practice transition specialists in your area by messaging [email protected]

Long in the Tooth provides non-clinical gems of wisdom for older dental practice owners. Learn more about this podcast at longinthetooth.info

Listen in as we wrap up our conversation with Mr. Benjamin Tuinei, President of Veritas Dental Resources, to discover what most practices are doing wrong when it comes to insurance administration, and to identify some "low hanging fruit" opportunities that any dental office can focus on to be more efficient with insurance administration.

We’ll also answer:

• When it comes to basic level CDT coding, what are common issues as it pertains to insurance billing that dental offices should be aware of?
• How do you handle non-covered services?
• What about services that are severely under-compensated by insurance such as veneers, implants, or even cosmetic crowns? How can I survive on providing 5-star dentistry at 1-star reimbursements?
• Are pre-authorizations recommended? If so, how do you implement a pre-authorization policy without delaying treatment as a result of waiting 6-8 weeks to get a pre-auth sent back?

If you have questions about anything you heard, email Ben at:
[email protected], or call 888-808-4513

For more information about Ben Tuinei, visit:
https://veritasdentalresources.com/

Learn about dental practice transition specialists in your area by messaging [email protected]

Long in the Tooth provides non-clinical gems of wisdom for older dental practice owners. Learn more about this podcast at longinthetooth.info