Author: EOSTriumphant

Dentistry can be a rewarding field to be in. The work dentists do is extremely useful, and dentists are also incredibly well-compensated. However, with high prestige and pay comes high responsibility. Many dentists, particularly those at small, independent dental practices, find themselves working nights and weekends to keep their business running. Unfortunately, many of those burning the candle at both ends to keep their business afloat often aren’t seeing the financial return or career satisfaction they would expect from all of their hard work. Many dentists are thus understandably asking themselves what they can do to run their dental practice more efficiently.

Partnering with a dental support organization (DSO) or dental partnership organization (DPO) is a great option for many dentists looking for the next step in their career. The right DSO or DPO provides you with a path to your ultimate career end goal, whether that’s a successful retirement, a more manageable work week, or an increased share of your local dentistry market. If you’re looking to improve the efficiency of your dental practice, selling to a DSO is a great option with many unique benefits. 

Reduce Administrative Time

As a dentist, you likely find yourself spending much of your time on tasks that don’t matter for patients but are necessary for the upkeep of your practice. A dental practice is a small business, after all, and if your practice is a small one, much of the onus of upkeep falls on you as the owner. This is one of the most arduous parts of running a dental practice for most dentists. You are trained to care for the dental health of your patients but likely find yourself spending more time on purchasing, record keeping, and policy negotiation than dental care. Reducing this administrative time is a key part of managing your dental practice more effectively.

The right dental support organization or dental partner organization will be able to help you reduce this administrative upkeep. A good DSO has years of experience in simplifying and standardizing dental practice management systems, and these systems can help you streamline the management of your practice. Now, the more mundane tasks of managing a dental practice can be entrusted to the dental support organization, and you have more time to focus on dental care! 

Understand Your Practice’s Value & Improve It

Even if you don’t find yourself spending too much time on administrative overhead, selling to a DSO can still be a prudent financial move. If you’re looking to maximize the equity you have built in your office, share the load, or partake on the upside, selling to a dental support organization is an excellent path to your next adventure. 

However, It is imperative that you understand what your practice is worth if you are looking to sell to a DSO or DPO. Many DSOs or DPOs will often reach out to dental practices with lower terms and favorable valuations of the practice. Too many overworked, understaffed, and unhappy dentists are quick to bite on these “golden parachute offers.” Unfortunately, they later discover that they were undervalued and could have sold to the DSO or DPO for far more. 

The better you understand your dental practice’s value, the better you can position yourself in the sales process. You don’t need to be a financial guru to action this, but you will need a trusted dental practice broker to help you through this transition. As you consult the right dental practice advisor, you’ll likely begin to understand the following.

• What is the value of your local dentistry market?
• What is the practice’s EBITDA? (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization)
• Do you own your dental practice’s real estate? 

Find External Support

Many dentists find themselves wearing multiple hats at their practice. You might be a dentist, but depending on the day, you could be a recruiter, a purchasing manager, or a marketing exec. This, naturally, wears down many dentists, and they grow exhausted with their practice. If you are interested in continuing to practice the medical specialty you love but without the multiple hats, leveraging a DSO’s resources could be a helpful move. 

Many DSOs have programs dedicated to maximizing the success of their practices. Your practice could benefit from these DSO support programs, whether in recruiting, marketing, or purchasing. Plus, many dental support organizations and dental partner organizations also offer their member dentists continued education, mentorship, growth in the same or other markets,  and networking opportunities that could help further your career. If you sell your practice to the right dental support organization, you no longer need to be the jack-of-all-trades and can let the organization handle the business side of the house while you focus on patient care.

Use a Trusted Partner

Selling to the right DSO can be a great career move and a great avenue to a well-operated dental practice, but it is imperative that you pick the right DSO. We cannot stress that enough. Many dentists will sell to the first DSO or DPO that matches their desired sale price and then be disappointed when they realize they could have sold the practice at a higher price. Even worse, some also discover that the terms of the deal are unfavorable to the selling dentist and give the dental support organization all of the power. 

The best way to mitigate this is to partner with a trusted dental practice advisor. Your career happiness is too important; ensure you sell at the right price to the right organization and have the right deal terms. 

When you partner with Triumphant Partners, you’re working with dental practice advisors with years of experience on both sides of the buy and sell side with a vast network. We offer…

• Unique Sell-Side Advisory With Buy-Side Experience
• Detailed Discovery
• Practice Valuation & Valuation Review
• Access to a Private Buyer’s Network
• Managing Prospective Buyers & Qualifying Letters of Intent
• Representation Through Close

Your future, whether as a dentist, in retirement, or in a different vocation, is too important to risk; don’t sell without a dental practice broker you can count on. 

Contact Your Trusted Triumphant Practice Advisor for a Courtesy Consultation & Secure Your Future Today!

If you’re a dentist looking to sell your practice to a dental support organization (DSO), few terms will be as important for you to know as EBITDA. This simple financial tool is a great way to understand the value of your practice and is a great prism through which to consider any offers from a dental support organization. If you don’t know the value of what you are selling to a dental support organization, the odds of you maximizing the selling price of your practice are fairly low.

To help you better understand this financial term and the unique situation of your practice, the team at Triumphant Partners got together and answered some of the most common questions we hear about EBITDA. 

What is EBITDA?

EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It’s widely considered to be one of the best measures of the financial health of an organization and its ability to bring in cash. 

• Interest: Interest paid on any debts
• Taxes: Taxes paid to any entity
• Depreciation: The amount of the value of your tangible assets that was spent in any given period of time 
• Amortization: The expensing of the acquisition of an asset over a period of time

One of the key reasons why EBITDA is such a great measure of financial health is its simplicity. Yes, there are some big financial accounting words in that definition, but the complexity of taxes, debt structuring, gross margin, and asset valuation are kept to the side. At the end of the day, a business without an operating profit is a bad business to invest in. 

EBITDA also helps businesses cut through the “noise” and get down to brass tax. It can be hard to compare two dental practices of two different sizes, especially if one practice owns multiple practice locations and is thus rich in assets. EBITDA simplifies all of this and helps show the cash flow of the business. Maybe that asset-rich practice is operating at a loss, despite its valuable holdings. Regardless of size, location, and intangibles, all businesses should have a healthy operating profit before depreciation and amortization, so the EBITDA paradigm helps investors compare apples to apples. 

Why Does EBITDA Matter?

EBITDA is an important measure for all dentists considering selling their practice. The better you understand what your practice is worth, the better positioned you are to maximize the price at which it sells. Too many dentists are so overworked or so ready to retire that they sell their practice to the first dental support organization that meets their criteria. That can be a mistake. Without a clear understanding of the financial health of your organization, you can’t make informed decisions about any proposed deal with a dental support organization. 

Other methods of financial valuation do exist and are worth familiarizing yourself with. 

• Market-based evaluation: In this method, a practice is compared to its wider dental market to forecast future earnings. While this can be an interesting valuation method, it can be difficult to compare dental practices in different markets. This method is also great for understanding a practice in its wider market context, but it is often not entirely accurate. Small changes in the wider market can impact the forecasted value of a dental practice, so we often recommend only using the market-based evaluation in tandem with another evaluation method. 

• Asset-based: This financial valuation method can be useful for viewing a practice with a rich asset portfolio. For example, you should consider a dental practice with multiple locations through an asset-based view, as the value of the practice’s real estate is an important part of the practice’s financial health. 

While there are use cases where the above methods might be helpful in evaluating a dental practice, EBITDA is still one of the top ways to value. Other methods might be used as a frame of reference, but we’d always recommend using them in tandem with EBITDA to get the full scope of a practice’s value. 

What Do I Do With EBITDA for a Dental Practice? 

EBITDA helps potential investors understand how valuable your dental practice is. This is not the only way of valuing a dental practice, but it is one of the most common, accurate, and universal ways of reporting on a business’s value. 

So, if you have an understanding of your EBITDA, what do you do with it?

The main benefit of understanding your EBITDA is that it allows you to leverage this valuation in the sales process. Many dental support organizations or DSOs will reach out to dental practices with offers to buy, and too many dentists will agree to sell at the first offer, often without fully understanding just how valuable their practice is. If you have a good understanding of your practice’s financial health, you are poised to capitalize on this information in the deal process.

However, selling a dental practice to a dental support organization is no small feat. Even with a good understanding of your practice’s value, the deal process can be long, complicated, and risky. Too many dentists sell to the wrong dental support organization or walk away post-sale in an agreement that gives the dental support organization all the power. A bad business agreement can sap your career satisfaction, and too many dentists end up in deals that are stacked in the favor of the dental support organization.

That’s why you need a dental practice advisor to help you maximize your sale.

Transitioning your dental practice will be one of the most important deals of your career. Partner with a trusted advisor who understands the market and is dedicated to your success. 

You need the team at Triumphant Partners! 

We’re a unique dental practice broker. We have both sell and buy-side experience, which means that we have a deep understanding of both sides of any dental practice deal. Our private buyers’ network also means that we offer access to highly-qualified and interested buyers that no other practice advisor can. This combination of experience and network results in our clients being positioned to sell their practice at the best possible price and on their terms!

When you work with Triumphant Partners, you’re partnering with the best! Our process includes….

• Detailed Discovery
• Detailed Practice Valuation & Review
• Presentation to Both Private & Public Market
• Qualification of Prospective Buyers & Letters of Intent 
• Representation Through Close 

The sale of your dental practice is likely one of the biggest decisions of your life. Trust that decision to a dental practice broker with the experience, network, and acumen to take your deal through to close and on your terms. Let’s put that decision to a Triumphant practice advisor.

Consult your trusted Triumphant practice advisor for a courtesy consultation today!

Selling a dental practice is an exciting moment. As a dentist, you’ve put so much blood, sweat, and tears into your practice, and selling the dental practice is a monumental step. What’s more, if done correctly, you’re selling to the right dental support organization or dental partner organization and that move can help you build wealth, reduce time spent on administrative work, and grow your practice.

There are numerous reasons why you might be considering selling to a DSO or DPO. Maybe you’re leaving dentistry for the next chapter. Maybe you’re retiring. Maybe you are going to stay on as a practicing dentist but will have more free time to focus on patient care. Regardless of the why, selling your dental practice is a big occasion.

However, it can also be a complicated endeavor. Selling a valuable business is always a convoluted process, and dental practice sales are no different. For many dentists, the process can be long, frustrating, and technical. You don’t want that frustration to mar your excitement, which is just one of the many reasons partnering with a dental practice broker is a great idea. 

The team at Triumphant Partners put together a list of common reasons they see dentists partnering with dental practice brokers. 

Read on to Learn More! 

Dental Broker Advantage 1: Accurate Valuation

The valuation of a dental practice can be one of the tougher elements of the process to get correct. This is also quite unfortunate, as the valuation of a practice is one of the most critical aspects of selling your practice. You’ve put a lot of sweat equity into your dental practice. A fair and accurate valuation is a prerequisite for a successful deal.

One of the reasons valuation can be so difficult is that there are several different ways of looking at the value of a practice. Is an income-based valuation the best for you? How about a market-based or an asset-based view? These are important questions to consider when you decide to list your dental practice for sale, and they’re ones that most dentists are probably not equipped to handle on their own. 

You could try your best to get a ballpark figure, but you run the risk of seriously undervaluing your practice if a mistake is made, which could potentially cost you tens of thousands of dollars. 

The right dental broker is an incredibly helpful asset in this process. A good dental broker can start the process right with an accurate and fair dental practice valuation. 

Dental Broker Advantage 2: Quicker Process

The bigger the deal, the longer the deal cycle. This is true of many industries and products and holds true for dental practice sales. The number of meetings required and the intricacy of the details discussed in those meetings often result in a long and complicated deal cycle. If you’re trying to sell your dental practice and either pivot into a new field or just want some time back in your busy professional life, this can be a source of frustration.

Partnering with a dental broker can really expedite this long deal cycle and lead to a faster close. 

Dental Broker Advantage 3: Higher Asking Price

Your asking price is an important part of the process. You’ve put a lot of time into your dental practice; your asking price should reflect that. Unfortunately, too many dentists don’t accurately value their practices and are thus flying blind through the process, as mentioned prior. However, even with an accurate valuation, too many dentists aren’t equipped to ask for higher compensation for all of the years of work they have poured into their practice.

That can be a problem, as the sale of your dental practice can be an important cornerstone for future life decisions. Maybe you want to retire from the sale of the practice. Maybe you want to start a different business. Maybe you just want to secure your future. The right dental brokers will be able to represent you through the process and help you negotiate the highest possible asking price. 

It’s not uncommon for dental support organizations to call practices directly and pitch a deal. While these calls may pique your interest, they’re often not advantageous for the dentists selling. The DSOs make these calls so that they can begin the deal process on their terms and many often lowball the practices they pitch to. Don’t make that mistake; equip yourself with an accurate dental practice evaluation to help you get the best asking price available!

Dental Broker Advantage 4: Representation at Close

You’re likely feeling confident as you near the closing process. After all, you have a buyer at this point. What could go wrong?

We don’t mean to rain on your parade, but the closing process is actually the most complicated part of the process in some ways. There’s always the chance that some undiscovered detail emerges and disrupts the deal. If you partner with a trusted dental broker, you should have already been able to vet your potential buyer, and this should not be a problem.

In addition, the terms of the deal are up for discussion as you near the close of the act of selling your dental practice to a DSO. These terms are usually not the first thing you consider when you think of selling to a DSO, but they are incredibly important. If you’re staying at the practice as a dentist, be sure to consider the following. 

• What does compensation look like? 
• What capacity will you play in the decisions of the practice?
• Who is responsible for HR decisions?
• Are there requirements around years of service?
• How does joining the DSO impact your vendor network?
• Who owns the practice’s assets? 

You might not need to know the answers to these questions now, but the simple fact is that consolidation is accelerating; if you are not within a DSO now, you likely are going to be competing with one in the years ahead. Understanding your options is an essential move for a dentist in a consolidating industry, but it can be overwhelming. 

And that’s where Triumphant Partners enters the equation! 

Sell Your Practice with Triumphant Partners

It is critical that you have a knowledgeable partner in your corner as you navigate the dental sale process. A good dental broker can not only help you find the right buyer and the best possible terms; they can also ensure that you’re compensated fairly and leave the deal with the compensation you need for your next step. 

A good dental support organization or dental partner organization is a silent but supportive long-term partner who can give you the resources and capital necessary to build wealth and achieve your financial goals. The wrong dental support organization or dental partner organization can be a hindrance and dramatically decrease your professional life satisfaction. Let Triumphant Partners help you weigh your options when selling to a dental support organization or dental partner organization to ensure you’re selecting the right fit. 

Contact your trusted Triumphant advisor for a courtesy consultation and begin securing your future today!

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Running a dental practice can be a challenging vocation. Dentistry is a complex and vital healthcare service and the act of providing dental care to your patients is no small feat. However, the act of running a dental practice includes much more than patient care. Marketing, hiring, administrative duties, vendor selection, equipment ordering, and negotiating insurance network relationships can eat up your valuable time.

Many dentists, particularly at small practices, might find themselves owning every aspect of the business and working nights and weekends as a result. It’s no wonder that many dentists are burning out and struggling to achieve work life balance while maintaining the practice’s profitability.

The good news is that there’s another option. A dental support organization or dental partnership organization (DSO or DPO) is a business that contracts with a dental practice to provide non-medical expertise and support. Essentially, the right dental support organization will come alongside you and focus on the administrative side of your practice.

This provides many dentists a range of benefits!

Read Onto Learn About Working With A DSO or DPO

Dental DSO or DPO Benefit 1: Improved Tech

This is a benefit that many dentists overlook, in our experience. DSO or DPOs certainly do help with the business side of the practice and this is a huge level of support for many dentists. However, the DSO or DPO you work with, if you select the right one, likely has access to capital that you would not if you were in private practice. Many dentists leverage this access to capital through the DSO or DPO to implement new technology for improved patient care.

DSO or DPO Benefit 2: Mentorship & Continuing Education

Remember, a DSO or DPO is an expansive network. Some DSO or DPOs are in multiple states and some are even international. Because of the number of practices in a DSO or DPO, you likely will have access to more resources than you would in private practice. The knowledge sharing that can occur between practices across the DSO or DPO is expansive. Plus, conferences, programs, and promotions might give access to continuing education opportunities you wouldn’t otherwise have had.

DSO or DPO Benefit 3: Freed Time

Running a dental practice is hard work. Most dentists know this but are still floored by the amount of administrative time that occupies their day. Ordering equipment, looking at the books, and hiring help takes more time than you would expect. A DSO or DPO helps take this business management off of your plate and thus frees up time. Many dentists partner with a DSO or DPO to increase the amount of direct time spent interacting with patients and decrease the amount of time spent managing the business. After all, they went to school to be dentists and many really appreciate the chance to spend more time with medical care.

In addition to this, a DSO or DPO partner usually leads to a better work-life balance for the dentist involved. Now, instead of working after hours to catch up on business admin tasks, the dentist has more time to spend with family and rest. This generally leads to a happier dentist, better patient outcomes, and a more vibrant practice and none of this would be possible without a DSO or DPO partner

DSO or DPO Benefit 4: Training

You can graduate top of your class at dental school and not fully understand how to hire, train and coach your support staff. This is actually a huge hurdle for many dentists as they start out. They might be world-renowned in an area of dentistry, but struggle to implement a professional growth plan for their practice manager or train their receptionists. A DSO or DPO has likely spent the time and capital to create an effective, scalable, and straightforward training system and can be a strategic partner on the HR side of your practice as well.

Additionally, many dentists also struggle with recruiting. It can be a full-time job to screen, interview, and hire associates and support staff. A DSO or DPO is able to help with recruiting and free up your time, while still providing quality employees!

DSO or DPO Benefit 5: Compliance & Insurance

Compliance & insurance considerations are some of the most frustrating aspects of owning a dental practice and many dentists are poorly equipped to understand if they are compliant with pertinent regulations or interface with their insurance network. The right DSO or DPO partner likely already has relationships with pertinent insurance providers and a crack legal team to help assure compliance with any dental regulations. This is a huge timesaver for most small dentists and leveraging a DSO or DPO’s legal and insurance provider resources is an easy way to save yourself some headaches.

Plus, the right DSO or DPO actually is able to negotiate higher reimbursement for partner practices when interfacing with insurance, which is a huge benefit to most smaller dental practices.

DSO or DPO Benefit 6: Retirement Help

Many older dentists plan on being bought out by their younger associates as a way to springboard into retirement, but this plan oftentimes does not work out. Maybe your associates just aren’t ready to buy you out. Maybe you are a single dentist practice. Maybe you aren’t planning on retiring any time in the near future, but would still like to have a clear and defined exit strategy from dentistry.

A DSO or DPO can be a great option for the above scenarios. If you decide to sell your practice and not be associated with the practice, you will walk away with a nest egg for the value of your practice, a nest egg that you can put into any venture you choose. Or, if you stay on as a partner with a DSO or DPO, you can leverage the organization’s assets and growth strategy to watch your equity in the practice rise! Remember, your dental support organization wants to drive value for all of its owners, so staying on as a partner while they help you grow is a great option.

Regardless of your scenario, a dental support organization gives you many options for retirement.

Find The Right DSO or DPO With Triumphant Transition Advisors

This all sounds great. So where do you sign to partner with a DSO or DPO?

Well, not so fast. Joining a DSO or DPO can be an amazing career move for some dentists. However, if done poorly, joining the wrong DSO or DPO or without understanding the trade offs of your deal can have disastrous impacts. A dental support organization is a behemoth organization with intricate legal details, ownership rights, policies, and processes. You need to be sure you understand all aspects of the DSO or DPO before you sign anything.

Remember, there are 4,000 registered DSO or DPOs out there with unique offerings, policies, and niches. It can be a lot for many dentists when they begin to work through the process of selling.

To complicate matters even further, many DSO or DPOs spend hundreds of thousands in the aggregate reaching out directly to dentists considering selling. Why? By beginning a conversation through marketing or a Business Development Rep, the DSO or DPO is able to set the terms and asking price of the deal, which naturally favors them. Don’t bite at the first offer a DSO or DPO pitches; be sure you understand the specifics of what you are signing up for.

If you are considering selling to a DSO or DPO or have been contacted by a DSO or DPO, be sure to know….

What do others in the dental community think about this DSO or DPO?
How will real estate and technological ownership look with this DSO or DPO?
What are the terms of this contract regarding salary and your role?
Will you retain HR administrative responsibilities regarding hiring and firing?
How does joining this DSO or DPO impact your existing relationships with vendors?
Does the DSO or DPO provide any continuing education opportunities or digital marketing efforts to support you?

Clearly, there’s a lot to mull over when interfacing with a DSO or DPO. What’s more, a bad business relationship could set you up for a headache and make a job you once loved a nightmare, which unfortunately happens all-too-often with badly done deals.

That’s where a dental broker can be a huge help!

At Triumphant Partners, we ensure that you receive the best representation possible for a streamlined sale. Our main goals are always.

To increase your asking price
To shorten the deal cycle with access to our private buyer network
To secure favorable deal terms
To ensure you understand every angle of your DSO or DPO deal

At Triumphant Partners, we only represent the seller side and are thus only advocating for your interests. That’s a huge benefit when working through a complex deal! We also have healthcare-specific CPAs who help us ensure the best possible valuations and terms for our clients. We’re then able to leverage that information through our experience as buy-side and sell-side elite advisors to help you reach the best possible outcomes!

Be sure to reach out to your trusted Triumphant Advisor for a courtesy consultation to discuss your specific use case and goals.

DSO Dental Facts:

1. DSO Dental refers to Dental Service Organizations, which are companies that provide non-clinical support services to dental practices.
2. DSOs help dental practices with various administrative tasks such as billing, marketing, and human resources.
3. DSOs can offer economies of scale and allow dentists to focus more on patient care rather than the business side of running a dental practice.
4. DSO Dental has gained popularity in recent years as more dentists choose to join or partner with these organizations.
5. DSO Dental can help improve access to dental care by supporting multiple practices in different locations, making it more convenient for patients to receive treatment.

DSO Dental Statistics:

1. DSO Dental organizations serve over 40 million patients nationwide.
2. Approximately 80% of dentists in the United States are affiliated with a DSO Dental.
3. DSO Dental practices have seen an average annual revenue growth of 15% over the past decade.
4. More than 90% of DSO Dental patients report high satisfaction with their dental care.
5. DSO Dental practices employ over 100,000 dental professionals across the country.

Contact Your Trusted Triumphant Advisor Now!