A dental practice sale is a business sale with a license, a patient list and a landlord attached, and each of the three can decide the price. The buyer pool has also changed: alongside associates buying their first practice there are dental service organizations acquiring in volume, and the two pay for very different things.
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Two buyers, two prices
An associate buying a first practice is buying a job and a loan, and is constrained by what a lender will advance against the collections. A group buyer is buying earnings after replacing you with a salaried dentist, so what matters to them is the profit that survives your departure. The same practice can carry two defensible prices for that reason, and the higher one usually comes with a longer commitment from you.
What diligence looks at first
Collections by provider, so a practice that runs on the owner's hands is discounted. Payer mix and fee schedules, because a book weighted to one insurer is concentrated risk. Hygiene as a share of production, which is the clearest sign of a practice that runs as a system rather than as one person. Then the lease, the equipment age and the state of the charts. None of this is a surprise, which is why preparing it early is worth more than negotiating hard later.
The transition is part of the deal
Patients follow relationships, so buyers ask sellers to stay, usually part time, for months rather than weeks. That period is compensated and negotiated, and it interacts with the price: a seller who wants to be gone in thirty days is asking the buyer to absorb attrition risk and will be paid accordingly. Agree the days per week and the end date in writing before exclusivity.
The fee, and who charges it
Practice sales are handled by generalist business brokers, by dental specific transition brokers and increasingly by group buyers approaching directly with no intermediary at all. The published commissions across US firms read for the record on this site run from 5% to 15%, and practice specialists sit inside that band with minimum fees that bind on smaller practices. A direct approach from a group is not a free sale; it is a sale with nobody running competition for you.
Questions people ask about sell dental practice
Do I need a dental specialist broker?
Not necessarily, but you do need someone who has closed practice sales. The specialist knowledge that matters is payer contracts, license transfer and how lenders underwrite a practice loan, and a generalist who has done several is fine.
Can I sell to my associate?
Often the cleanest outcome, and the one where an adviser earns the least. If that is the plan, pay for a valuation and a lawyer rather than a full sale process, and expect the lender to drive the timetable.
What happens to my staff?
Usually they transfer, and buyers care a great deal about whether the hygienists stay. Retention arrangements for key staff are commonly agreed before closing, and a practice that loses its hygiene team on day one loses a large part of what was bought.
How long does a practice sale take?
Six to nine months is typical, with lender approval and lease assignment the two steps most likely to add time. Starting the lease conversation with the landlord early is the cheapest way to shorten it.