There’s a great deal to consider when you’re planning to start your own dental practice. It’s a sprawling industry, as rich with opportunity as it is with challenges. In 2018 there was roughly one dentist for every 1600 Americans. It’s an industry that has seen promising growth – almost 3% in the last five years – and is expected to earn up to $135 billion in revenue this year. A full third of all U.S. adults use a dental practice regularly: that’s better than Facebook.
But among the first things you will need to decide if you are planning to launch your own dental practice is whether to start from scratch or purchase an extant practice.
There are many advantages to each option. Read on for a detailed look at the pros of starting a dental practice from scratch, the pros of purchasing an extant practice, and how a qualified dental transition consultant can not only help you choose between them, but also guide you through the initial steps of starting your own dental practice, providing not only legal and accounting services, but also search engine optimization to help grow your practice online.
The Pros of Starting a Dental Practice From Scratch
Whether you purchase an extant dental practice or start a new one from scratch, it will be an exciting and stressful time. You might consider starting up a brand new office, building it from the ground up to fit your plans and tastes, with the bulk of the layout, design, and decor the result of your own choices rather than someone else’s, to be a little more exciting, and that’s natural. Some more detailed advantages that you can put on the pro side of the ledger when considering starting a new practice from scratch:
- New practices are more likely to be approved for agreements with Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs).
- You have more freedom to choose your neighborhood location, practical location, and curb appearance.
- Your signage will be completely current and thereby more practical and will represent you as both a practitioner and an aesthete.
- Your equipment will likely be state-of-the-art, brand new, and ready for years of use.
The Pros of Purchasing an Extant Dental Practice
You can often find a successful dental practice for sale for a number of reasons: retirement, change of careers, failure to keep up with the changing needs of a patient base or community. This can be a great opportunity for a promising professional looking to start or buy a dental practice. Here are some of the important factors you should put on the pros side of the ledger:
- It’s likely that the existing practice you buy will already be staffed or at least partially staffed, saving you time and resources.
- You will likely have all of the equipment you will need to get started.
- You will save a lot of time otherwise spent trying to find a location, purchase it or negotiate a lease for it, and then build it out.
- An extant dental practice will already be generating some income, even if it’s limited or lagging.
- You will start your practice with a built-in client base and be able to grow from there.
- If you do choose to work with as dental transition consultant, it’s possible that they’ve already worked with the practice that you are looking to buy, and will pass the advantages on to you.
There’s a lot to consider. And as anyone who has ever filled both sides of a pros and cons ledger knows, the numbers don’t always mean everything. A professional dental transition consultant can help you weigh each of the pros of starting a practice from scratch, each of the pros of purchasing a dental practice that is already open, and guide you through what should be the most important factors. Contact a qualified and professional dental transition consultant today and learn more about how they can help you choose, help you to know the value of your practice, and even direct you to a well-matched dental practice for sale. Reach out to a dental transition consultant now.
