Many dentists practice as an associate before purchasing their own practice while some go straight into owning. Depending on your path to practice ownership, there are a few different challenges to keep in mind as you prepare.
For those who do not work as an associate before buying their practice, the largest challenge is finding and managing staff. In this situation, you are new to practising yourself, so it is difficult to know exactly what type of staff you need and what types of people you work best with. A possible solution to this issue is to ensure you have been networking up until this point and try to leverage those relationships, whether it is past classmates or mentors. Another option is hiring a practice management expert to help as you set up all administrative tasks for the business, such as staffing.
The biggest challenge for those who did work as an associate before owning is funding the purchase of the business. Working as an associate before owning is smart as it prepares you for what it’s like to work in a functioning dental practice while also allowing you to build up your finances. Assess your financial situation and create a business plan so you are prepared and know what financial goals you need to meet. There a several different options for financing a practice purchase; familiarize yourself with these options to see what works best for you and your unique situation. Seek professional guidance as needed!
As seen in the print issue of Oral Health May 2024
In October and November 2023 Bramm Research, a third-party independent research house, conducted an online survey of active, practicing non-hospital affiliated dentists and dental specialists on behalf of Oral Health. Survey invitations went out to a contact list of approximately 9,000 readers and there were 265 completions, for a response rate of 2.9 With a total sample of 265, the margin of error is plus or minus 5.9 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. If, for example, 50% of the sample indicated that agreed with a statement, then we can be reasonably sure (19 times out of 20) of an accuracy within +/- 5.9%. This means that a total census would reveal an answer of not less than 44.1% and not more than 55.9%.
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