Seller Transition Plans Questions to keep in mind Seller’s Transition Plans What are the seller’s ideal transition plans and do they fit with your plans for the practice? ▢ Is the seller willing to associate for a period of time to help transition the patients and staff? ► If so, for how many months, at how many days per week? Or, are they looking for a long-term associateship, and if so, are there enough patients and sufficient space to keep both of you busy for the days you want to work? ▢ Alternatively, is the seller looking to hand over the keys and never set foot in the office again which increases the risk of patient and staff attrition? ▢ Is the seller intending to retire after a transition period, or is there a chance they will want to associate elsewhere? ► If so, what sort of restrictive covenant would they agree to in order to prevent competition and loss of patients and staff?
Practice Showing Another great way to assess whether the practice is a good fit for you is to attend a practice showing and ask questions one-on-one with the broker or seller. Get a feel for the space and the equipment. ▢ Are the operatories a good size? ▢ How is the flow of the office? ▢ If you’re left-handed, are the dental units ambidextrous? ▢ How old is the equipment and does it appear in good shape? ▢ Will you want to purchase additional equipment (e.g., panorex) or replace older equipment which would require further funding? ▢ Is there space to build more operatories as the practice grows?
During a practice showing, you may also have brief, preliminary access to a computer and some patient charts and radiographs: ▢ What practice management software does the practice use? ▢ Are the X-rays digital or analog? ▢ Does the office still use paper charts or digital charts? ▢ How sophisticated is the technology in the office? This will give you a sense of additional costs down the road. From the schedule, you can assess the business of the practice: ▢ How far out are patients booked, for hygiene and dentistry? ▢ How much time is scheduled for each patient and are there efficiencies to be achieved in your hands? ▢ What procedures are being performed and how does this compare to your personal scope of practice? ▢ How well utilized are the operatories? What are the office hours? When reviewing a sample of patient charts and X-rays, you may want to get an initial sense of the quality of the dentistry and amount of dentistry being performed: ▢ Does the dentistry meet an appropriate standard or are there an abundance of overhangs, open margins and short root canals that could lead to patient conflict and regulatory concerns? ▢ Does the owner seem to take a conservative approach to care, or have most teeth been crowned leaving little dentistry left for you to do? ▢ Are the X-rays of good quality and easy to interpret, or are they blurry and difficult to diagnose?
▢ Do the operatories have rear, side or over-thepatient delivery systems and does that work for you?
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Dental Practice Buyer’s Guide & Workbook | 15
