Dentistry is a major component of the American health care system today, where dentists and their assistants specialize in treating patients’ teeth and gums. In fact, dentistry ranks in the top 10 most trusted and ethical professions in the United Stats today, and many millions of Americans take themselves or their kids to the dentist’s office. This makes for a robust and lucrative field, and many dentist today and their assistants make a good living doing this. By 2018, the United States was home to 61 working dentists for every 100,000 people, and in that same year, around 199,486 dentists were working in that industry. Women have become a major part of this field too, and by now, around one in three dentists are women. Their average retirement was 68.9 years old in 2017, and that’s higher than 2007’s retirement age of 67.1 years.
But this is a business like any other, and a dental practice may be bough and sold between private owners for a fair price. The current owner may be retiring, or choose to relocate somewhere else. In this case, to sell your dental practice is to take part in a dental practice transition, and dental practice transition consultants may be hired to help. They, and dental practice brokers, may help you sell your dental practice legally, fairly, and for a good price. All the paperwork may go through more smoothly when you sell your dental practice if the right professionals are on the job. And someone who wants to buy a dental practice may also have their own representatives and assistants to make a fair deal possible.
When You Sell Your Dental Practice
There are some simple but very important steps to take when you sell your dental practice. Such a practice may be worth a lot of money, and the buyer may stand to make quite a profit with their newly-purchased dental practice if there’s enough dental patients in the area. Both parties, then, will want this transition to be smooth and fair.
The seller’s emotional state and future plans are one factor to consider first. The current owner may have invested a lot of time and effort, and of course, money, into their current practice. While it may sound mundane, it is in fact quite important for the seller to be fully certain that they are ready to part with their dental practice and sell it to someone. The seller should also have some clarity on what they will do after the sale, such as start a new practice elsewhere or retire from dentistry entirely. If the seller has settled all of these matters, then they can confidently sell their practice and avoid regret or second thoughts later on.
Once this process is underway, professionals should be called upon, and this may include a certified public accountant, or a CPA. This person will review and assess the practice’s financial value, and the owner may inform that CPA about any unusual or unexpected aspects of the practice’s finances. What is more, the seller may also want to consult a wealth management advisor, who will discuss the seller’s tax and personal wealth and investment matters after they sell their practice and retire. Otherwise, the seller may be in for some unwanted surprises after the sale is made. A practice transition specialist may also be involved. This person may help set up a timeline for the sale, as well as find a pool of interested buyers who can handle purchasing the practice. They will also review market prices in the value to make sure that the seller will not suffer losses from too low a sale price or fail to attract buyers due to a too-high sales price. An attorney may also be hired.
The seller will also have all financial reports on hand to show the practice’s financial health, and buyers will want to look over that information, too, before offering to buy the practice. If the practice has many valuable assets to it and few liabilities, and it’s in an area with many patients, then it may be attractive indeed to buyers.
