The dental industry is a trade that continues to grow. In the past five years alone in the United States, dental businesses have grown 2.5 percent and now reach $135 billion according to 2019 research. This leads to many wanting to go into this field. An important part of entering the industry involves knowing what it is like to buy and sell a dental practice.
Know the value of your practice
According to a website that deals with the financial aspects of a variety of practices, practicefinancialgroup.com, the website lists out a series of questions one should ask themselves. Some questions one asks themselves include, would it be smart if I bought this practice? And if yes, what is the most appropriate pay?
It turns out that the practice would be smart to get into, one needs to know that the value of this practice has to do with income that will come in throughout the years, hopefully from people who come for years. According to the Practice Financial Group, “wealth in dentistry does not come from buying and selling dental practices.” By analyzing these statements, it is important to have customers who keep return repeatedly for years to your business.
Industry Trends
Another aspect of selling a dental practice or buying a dental practice is knowing the current trends of the industry. According to the Practice Financial Group, trends seem to be currently in favor of this practice across the country. This is the case for several reasons. One reason described is because of supply and demand, one of the most well-known business terms. The website notes that many dentists today are working until they are older which leads to a low supply of practices that are established. In fact, last year in the United States, there were 61 working dentists per 100,000 people. The reason that so many dentists are working so much later past the typical age of retirement is theorized to be not planning financially earlier in their life or seeing opportunities to continue to have a successful dental practice business later in their life. No matter what the reason is for dentists today continuing to work, the supply and demand is helping to lower the supply of practices.
One of the other factors currently in play is a rise in corporate buyers currently in the market. “Profit margins are so high in dentistry relative to other industries, that venture capital and private equity funds are looking to get in on the action, bringing even more demand for the fewer dental practices for sale.” This aspect of the dental industry is also an impact when determining the value of the practice. It is important to know this information so you are not wondering “what is my practice worth?”
The Many Paths of the Practice
Another important aspect of the process to buy and sell a dental practice is to explore the many paths that one can go down. Right now, the most popular aspect is Orthodontics who, according to the Practice Financial Group, make up 79.81% of collections. Also on the list just below Orthodontics is pediatric dental practices, general dentistry, and endodontics. Knowing how valuable each of these paths currently are is important when exploring available dental practices.
All of this information goes to show the usefulness and benefits when it comes to how to buy and sell a dental practice. To buy and sell a dental practice, one has to consider a lot of options and be prepared. For more information regarding dental practices and a more in-depth look at the numbers regarding the value of the practice, feel free to get in touch with our team today.
