Dental Partnerships
By Megan Urban, Practice Transition Consultant, Omni Practice Group
Dental partnerships can be great or not-so-great. They can include different scenarios: buying a partnership, adding a partner to your existing dental practice, or a start-up partnership. To ensure you have the best outcome, financially and emotionally, you’ll need to consider some important questions.
- Are you friends, relatives, or colleagues with the people whom you are considering entering into a partnership with? Are you convinced you can get along in a work environment?
- How will you resolve disagreements and make decisions regarding advertising, patient care, team management, and acquiring new equipment and technology?
- How will you divide up responsibilities within the practice?
- Is there enough physical space for more than one dentist? Are there enough patients?
- How will you divide up new patients and hygiene exams?
- How are you going to determine compensation, such as 30% of individual collections, then 50% split on all additional income and costs? If one of you performs procedures with much higher lab bills, you may need to consider a lab payment These items will need to be written up by your dental attorney as part of your partnership documents.
- Do your legal documents include specifics on terminating the partnership? You will need to address details regarding non-compete agreements, disability or death, and how to sell a practice when one or both partners are ready.
- Do you know a good dental CPA who can assist you with setting up the entity or entities that make the most sense?
There are many items to consider to ensure that you make the right decision, but we can help make the process go smoothly with the best outcome for all parties. We have guided many dentists through purchasing and selling practices, partnerships, multiple locations, and every size and type of practice. We have the experience and the expertise to help you achieve your goals.