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3 Common Misconceptions About Dental Support Organizations

You have likely heard a lot about dental support organizations if you’re a dentist. 

How could you not have? 

Many of these organizations are active across the US and Canada, and they’re often highly visible at any dental conference or in industry news. These organizations can benefit any dentist looking to jump to the next step in their career, and you probably know many dental colleagues who have contracted with DSOs. You may have considered the same for your practice. 

However, as dental brokers, addressing some common misconceptions about dental support organizations is essential. These organizations can supercharge your dental career, but these misconceptions must be put to rest before you partner with a dental support organization. As dental brokers, we have deep and rich relationships across the dental industry and wanted to share our expertise on dental support organizations.

Read on to Learn More!

Why You Might Partner With a DSO

First, let’s clarify: A dental support organization can significantly help many dentists. The simple fact is that many dentists are incredibly busy and need help to run their practices more effectively. Many dentists’ are on an island, and DSOs offer a tremendous dental community support system that is doctor-centric and typically doctor-led. 

A dental support organization (DSO) or dental partnership organization (DPO) is an organization that provides non-clinical business and operational services to a dentist, freeing up the dentist to more effectively care for their patient base. 

There are so many ways that dentists and dental support organizations can set up these agreements, but generally, an excellent dental support organization could assist with:

• General Administrative Services

• Human Resources and Staffing

• Payroll and Billing

• Insurance Coding and Insurance Services Liaison

• Advertising and Marketing Services

• IT Services 

• Building and Facilities Management Services

• Procurement Services 

• Accounting Services

• Regulatory Compliance

A dental support organization can revolutionize your career. However, while the above benefits are helpful, we still think it’s important to highlight three common misconceptions about dental support organizations that must be dispelled. 

Misconception: DSOs Are for Retiring Dentists

Many dentists sell their practice near the end of their career. It’s easy to see why. Selling a practice is a great way to transition into retirement, and many dentists are familiar with dental support organizations entering the picture at the end of a dentist’s career. 

While this is a common use of dental support organizations, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out several other benefits of dental support organizations. Many dentists might sell their practice as an exit strategy from dentistry and use the funds gained from the sale of their practice to pivot to another vocation. Selling to a dental support organization is a viable option for early to mid-career dentists ready to say goodbye to the administrative part of dentistry and focus on the clinical or growth side of their dental practice. 

It’s also worth reminding the dentists out there that many dentists elect to stay on after the sale of their dental practice. It breathes new life and extends one’s career once they partner with the support they gain, and the incremental wealth built by partnering. It also gives an exit strategy, young or old, whether five or 25 years, out to a doctor, especially when they have built a great practice that the average dentist cannot afford. When you achieve a certain level of revenue and growth, it is challenging to find a confident buyer or doctor to sell to and that can take on this type of undertaking. This is a very common dental support organization arrangement. If you love dentistry, partnering with a dental support organization can free up your time to focus on patient care. The dental support organization has the resources and operational expertise to focus on business management and can simplify your practice and improve your quality of life. This often increases your income while decreasing the amount of administrative work you need to do. That can be a win for all parties involved! 

Misconception: DSOs Are Always the Right Call

We have seen and worked with countless dental support organizations and + dentist partnerships, leading to tremendous benefits for both. However, any dentist looking to contract with a DSO must find the right partnership for their unique needs and circumstances. There are thousands of dental support organizations, each with its unique core offering, specialty, and value proposition. You could be setting yourself up for failure if you do not consider each dental support organization against your own unique needs. You also need to know what the deal terms mean and how it benefits you in the short and long term. You do not know what you do not know, and we equate it to taking a knife to a gunfight. The devil is always in the details.

Let’s say you intend to stay on as a dentist and want the operational aid support of a dental support organization. You must understand what degree of input you will have in the practice regarding various operational decisions such as hiring, procurement, and marketing. Some DSOs prefer to handle all operational decisions with a templated method, which could mean that you’re left without much control of the practice, aside from clinical decisions. However, other dental support organizations are much more flexible and willing to customize transition plans accordingly to ensure you retain input into important decisions. They want a true partner where you have as much control as you desire, and they are there to support you as much or as little as you wish in the areas in which you need support. They want to align with the right doctor and encourage you to remain the leader in the practice.  The moral of the story here is that not all dental support organizations suit every situation, and how do you know which is the right one for your short and long-term aspirations? 

DSO Initial Offers Are Non-Negotiable 

You’re probably thrilled if you’ve received an offer from a dental support organization! After all, if a dental support organization has reached out to you with an offer, it’s an honest and accurate gauge of your practice’s value. 

Well, not always. Many dental support organizations have teams that reach out to dentists to entice them to sell. They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on direct marketing, business development team representatives, and paying their own partner doctors significant referral fees to entice you to sell to them directly without representation. You need to know precisely what the deal terms and valuation mean. The adage of them wanting to buy low, sell high. The offers extended from these teams are often lower than what the dentist might receive if fielding multiple offers from qualified buyers. If you have received such an offer from a dental support organization, that’s great! It’s a sign that your practice is valuable and that you should consider every possible offer before selling. 

That’s why it’s so essential that you have industry-knowledgeable representation in the form of a dental broker with you as you sell your dental practice! The right dental broker will help you increase the value of your practice, expedite the sale of your practice, increase the number of interested buyers, generate more interest than you can alone, have an entire auction/bidding process, and equip you with the best terms and highest valuation. A dental broker represents your interest, while a DSO represents their interests. 

At TTP, we offer….

  • Unique Sell-Side Advisory With Buy-Side Experience
  • Detailed Discovery, Practice Valuation & Review
  • Access to Our Private Buyer and DSO Network
  • Management of Letters of Intent and Buyer Screening 
  • Offer Qualification & Representation Through Close
  • We represent your interest
  • We custom-tailor every transition to meet our vast array of clients’ specific needs
  • Negotiate the best deal terms for YOU
  • Create a competitive bidding process

You have put too much time into your dental practice to sell to the wrong dental support organization or with the wrong price or terms. Partner with a top dental broker and call Triumphant Transition Partners today!

Get Your Courtesy Consultation Today & Call Now!

Benefits of Texas Dental Association Membership

If you’re a dentist looking to grow your practice, few organizations can be as helpful as the Texas Dental Association. This dental organization is one of the largest in the country and offers its members many benefits. Dentistry can be a very involved profession. You’re likely incredibly busy running your practice, caring for your patients, growing your business, and continuing to grow as a dentist. Many dentists find themselves struggling to balance all aspects of dentistry, business, and medical education. Membership in a dental organization like the Texas Dental Association helps many dentists grow in their careers, learn how to run their practices efficiently, and connect with other dentists within their geographic region.

The team here at Triumphant Transition Partners shares their thoughts on the many benefits of membership in a dental association like the Texas Dental Association below. 

Keep Reading To Learn About Dental Associations 

The Texas Dental Association at a Glance

The Texas Dental Association…

  • Has 9000 Members
  • Consists of 26 Local Component Dental Societies 
  • Was Charted 1871 
  • Publishes Its Own journal, The Texas Dental Journal 

Obviously, we strongly recommend joining if you’re within the state of Texas. However, If the Texas Dental Association isn’t right for you at this point in time, know that there are many other dental societies and associations that offer similar benefits. The American Dental Association is the largest and most prestigious, but there are many others with particular subspecialties and focus areas. 

If joining the Texas Dental Association isn’t right for you at the moment, we encourage you to get involved with some sort of dental association. Membership offers so many benefits, so we encourage you to find the organization that is right for you. 

Reasons To Join a Dental Association 

Advancement

If you’re running a dental practice, you know that advancement is a key part of growing your brand as a dentist. However, finding the time to grow in your career can be a challenge. If you’re looking to potentially join another dental practice or relocate to practice dentistry in a different part of Texas, the Texas Dental Association offers you some unique benefits. 

A key benefit of the Texas Dental Association – and other dental organizations – is the access it allows to other dentists. As any adroit professional knows, an organization of like-minded peers lets individuals learn, connect, and socialize for career advancement. Many dentists find that being plugged into a community of their peers is a great way to grow their careers. Remember, the Texas Dental Association boasts 9,000 members. That’s 9,000 members to discuss dentistry, network, and suggest solutions with. Access to those members can help solve many problems, including dental problems, solutions to practice management questions, or finding and offering new opportunities. 

Conferences

Texas Dental Association & American Dental Association events are great ways to increase your dental knowledge. Plus, they can be a lot of fun! Being involved with the Texas Dental Association gives you access to a number of Texas Dental Association and American Dental Association events. The Texas Dental Association also has many component societies within unique markets across Texas, so if you’re not able to take time away from the practice to travel, know that local events do exist! 

Continuing Education

As a dentist, you’re required to continue your education to stay relevant in your field and provide the best possible care to your patients. This continuing education is important, but it can be difficult to find the time to focus on continuing your dental education. Many dentists can be confused as to what their continuing education requirements actually are, which makes completing their CE rather difficult. If you’re involved in the Texas Dental Association, you’ll have access to the Association’s list of continuing education requirements for members, which can be incredibly helpful if you’re struggling to find the time to focus on your continuing education. Plus, being plugged into a network of other Texas dentists is incredibly useful for discussing CE requirements, tips, and best practices. 

Other Business Opportunities

Dentistry certainly is a complicated medical specialty, but the business side of dentistry is just as important for your career as a dentist. The Texas Dental Association is a great place for dentists looking to find other business opportunities. Your peers within the association are not only a great resource for your personal networking and hiring but can also advise you on whether selling your dental practice to a dental support organization is a good idea. Many of these dentists also have experience with the process of selling to a dental support organization and have opinions about which dental support organizations are worth considering. Their opinions and expertise are invaluable if you are a dentist considering selling your practice to a dental support organization.

If you are a dentist considering selling your dental practice, additional representation is a must. A good dental broker can help you sell your practice to a dental support organization quicker, at a higher price, and with better terms. Triumphant Transition Partners is here to support you through selling your practice.

We offer…

  • Sell-Side Advisory With Buy-Side Experience
  • Practice Valuation
  • Qualification of Potential Buyers & Letters of Intent
  • Representation Through Close

Selling your dental practice will likely be the biggest decision of your career. Ensure that you have an expert dental broker to help you navigate the complicated process of selling. Partner with Triumphant Transition Partners to sell your practice and fulfill your career goals. 

Contact Triumphant Transition Partners for Your Courtesy Consultation & Secure Your Future Today!

3 Tips on How To Choose a Dental Broker

If you’re a dentist looking to sell your practice, a dental broker is a tremendous asset to have in your camp. Selling a dental practice is challenging work, and the right dental broker can help you maximize your value, help you reach your strategic goals, and represent you through a long and arduous sales and close process. If you’re a dentist considering selling, consult a dental broker.

However, just as all dental practices are unique, no two dental brokers are the same. As you consider selling your practice, you must consider why you want to partner with a dental broker to ensure you choose the right one. The wrong dental broker could make your dental practice sale process more complicated than needed; the right dental broker could sell your practice faster, above the asking price, and with better terms. 

Choosing a dental broker is a big decision. To help you think through this, the team at Triumphant Transition Partners put together the following to help you choose the right dental broker for your practice sale. 

Dental Broker Tip 1: Understand the Value of Your Practice

First and foremost, you must understand just how much your dental practice is worth. This is arguably one of the most important steps of this process. A well-researched and well-informed evaluation of your dental practice sets you up for success throughout the entire process. 

However, many dentists don’t fully know the value of their dental practice. Moreover, many think they understand how much their practice is worth but might be relying on outdated methodologies. There are multiple ways to value the worth of a dental practice during the sales process. Depending on your needs, you might rely on your market-based valuation, asset-based valuation, income-based valuation, or even your total collections. 

However, you must take the time to understand the EBITDA of your practice. Knowing your Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation & Amortization equips you with a universally-accepted and comprehensive snapshot of the financial health of your dental practice. That is an incredibly useful tool to have when selling your dental practice.

If you don’t know how much your dental practice is worth, partner with a dental broker who can help you gauge your practice’s value. This will set you up for success when selling.

Dental Broker Tip 2: Know What Your Goals Are

The next step in this process is to fully understand your goals. Obviously, you want to sell your practice at the highest value, but too few dentists think beyond this. Your secondary goals are actually just as important.

Again, no two dental practices are the same, so no two sales processes are the same. Maybe you’re selling your practice and retiring. Perhaps you want to stay on as a dentist at this practice but just need help from a Dental Support Organization managing the administrative side of the practice. You should consider these different use cases when selecting a dental broker. 

Does your potential broker have a history of selling practices where the dentist intends to retire immediately? That may not be the right dental broker for you if you want to stay at the practice for a few years. Does your dental broker have a history of negotiating specific terms for dentists staying on with their Dental Support Organization? (i.e., hiring decision rights, input into administrative processes, etc.) If the answer is no, it might be worth finding a dental broker equipped to handle and negotiate specific terms.

Dental Broker Tip 3: Find the Broker That Is Best for You

Not all dental brokers offer the same services. You must research the unique offerings of every dental broker when making this decision. The right dental broker will provide specific services that align with your goals. Some dental brokers have special relationships with large DSOs. Others are well-established in specific geographic areas. Others have connections with professional lawyers and accountants who specialize in selling dental practices. Regardless of your use case, you must understand what you need and plan accordingly. 

Partner With Triumphant Transition Partners 

If you’re considering selling to a dental support organization and are looking for a dental broker to help in the process, look no further than Triumphant Transition Partners! We know the dental practice sale process backward and forwards and are excited to help you sell your practice! 

Our process sets us apart from other dental brokers and sets our clients up for success:

  • Unique Sell-Side Advisory With Buy-Side Experience: We have experience on both sides of a deal, and that expertise helps us advocate for our clients.
  • Detailed Discovery, Practice Valuation & Review: Researching your practice and your practice’s valuation and then reviewing with you helps us understand everything we need to know to advocate for you.
  • Access To Our Private Buyer Network: Our exclusive buyers have dedicated capital and are eager to buy profitable dental practices. Our long and well-maintained relationships with these buyers help you sell your practice faster.
  • Offer Qualification & Representation Through Close: Our team has the experience to help you determine which offers are qualified and worth pursuing. As you move through the close, we supply your attorneys with information and evaluations that prepare them for the close process. 

Selling your dental practice to a dental support organization may very well be the most important business deal of your life. Partner with a dental broker who knows the industry and is committed to getting you the best possible outcomes! 

Reach Out To Triumphant Transition Partners for Your Courtesy Consultation!

How to Effectively Run a Dental Practice

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 Transition 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!

What Is EBITDA & Why Does It Matter for Dental Practices?

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 Transition 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 Transition 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 Transition 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!

Looking to Sell? Why You Need a Dental Practice Brokerage

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 Transition 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 Transition Partners enters the equation! 

Sell Your Practice with Triumphant Transition 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 Transition 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!

Contact Now!

Benefits of working with a Dental DSO or DPO

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?

Maine General Dental Practice

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 Transition 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 Transition 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.

Dental Practice being sold in Texas to a DSO

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!

Four Reasons To Sell Your Dental Practice

Owning a dental practice can be such a rewarding experience, and it’s likely been a huge part of your life. You spent so much time in school to be a dentist, so much time studying for certification, and then just as much time setting up or looking to purchase your practice. 

Per all of that, it can make the decision to sell your dental practice that much harder. You’ve put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into your dental practice and have spent a lot of time operating and growing your practice. So why would you be interested in selling your dental practice?

Well, there are actually several reasons why a dentist might consider selling their dental practice. Every dentist is unique, which is why the team at Triumphant Transition Partners put together this blog on selling a dental practice.

Read On To Learn More!

Work/Life Balance

Let’s face it. Running a dental practice is hard work. The long hours, wide range of responsibilities, stressful business decisions, and challenges of particularly difficult patients weigh on many dentists. It’s no wonder that many decide that managing a dental practice isn’t for them. 

Selling your dental practice might be a good option if you’re looking to reclaim your nights and weekends. For many, selling their dental practice might be the last step of their career in dentistry as they exit the profession and move on to another field. Others actually intend to stay within dentistry but want some help on the administrative side to give them their time back. Both are valid end strategies for dentists who have decided to sell their dental practice. 

What’s important is knowing what you want out of your career and thinking through how selling your practice fits into your wider career goals. For some, bringing a partner on board to help manage the administrative side of the practice helps reduce stress and increase free time, and that’s not a bad trade.

End Of A Great Career

Maybe you’re at the point in your life where you’re not looking to start a new career. Maybe dentistry was your true vocation, and it’s time to sunset that part of your life and move into a relaxing retirement. First off, congrats on a great career! However, there are still some items to wrap up before you hit the golf course. 

The sale of your dental practice can make a nice nest egg to augment your current retirement savings, so there are many financial factors to be aware of. However, you also likely have fond memories of your time serving your community and want to make sure that you are leaving your practice and patient base in the right hands. The right dental practice brokers can help you plan through both the monetary and community contingencies to ensure that you’re stepping off to the beach with cash in hand and a full head of memories! 

Maximize Business Efficiency

Non-doctors are always shocked to learn how much administrative work goes into managing a dental practice. Those of you who actually have managed a practice know this fact better than anyone, but it can be shocking for outsiders to learn this nugget. 

Here’s the thing; if your ultimate goal is to have a stable, successful career with the right amount of work-life balance, the administration of the practice is critical. Finding the right balance of time spent with each patient to maximize patient outcomes while still allowing you to see as many patients in a day as possible is a great example of this. Too little time spent per patient, and your patients might feel like you’re rushing them. Too much, and you’re working late to see 15 patients when you may have been able to see those 15 during normal business hours. 

This principle applies to everything from marketing to hiring help to ordering resupplies of critical health accouterments. It needs to get done, but it likely isn’t your forte, and it can eat up your nights and weekends. The right DSO or DPO can help you maximize your business efficiency and increase the profitability of your practice while decreasing the number of hours worked. That’s a pretty good exchange, in our opinion!

What’s more, the right DSO or DPO can increase your practice’s business efficiency with the goal of helping you get back to what’s important!

Return To Patient Care

You likely did not become a dentist to research patient outreach, sponsor neighborhood Little League teams, or review dental hygienist applications. There is, obviously, nothing wrong with these rote elements of running a dental practice, but these administrative duties likely did not compel you to go into dentistry. What did then?

Well, there’s a pretty good chance that patient care motivated you to enter the profession. For many dentists, caring for patients is a fulfilling and exciting aspect of running their practice, but one they don’t get to fully enjoy due to the constant intrusion of administrative duties. Selling your dental practice might actually free up more time for you to concentrate on taking care of your patients. 

 Eliminate Debt and Increase Your Equity by Selling to a DSO or DPO

Selling to a DSO or DPO can help you eliminate debt within your dental practice while also increasing your potential revenue and equity at the same time. There are many different ways in which a DSO or DPO can help you restructure your current debt, whether through refinancing, renegotiating the terms of the debt, negotiating lower interest rates, or extending the repayment period. 

Additionally, working with a DSO/DPO allows you to explore new opportunities for revenue growth that you might otherwise not have had the time to pursue. For example, a DSO/DPO could help you revamp your marketing efforts, improve patient acquisition and retention, and increase operational efficiencies (optimizing appointment scheduling, streamlining admin tasks such as billing and collecting, and improving inventory management). 

Working to reduce or eliminate debt while also improving your dental practice’s overall revenue can help increase the practice’s total value – all benefits of working with a DSO/DPO. In addition, A DSO or DPO can increase your equity within your dental practice by seeking external investment opportunities and pursuing potential mergers and acquisitions.

Partner With Triumphant Transition Partners

Are you considering selling your dental practice? Triumphant Transition Partners is here to help. We provide a courtesy consultation to help you assess your unique situation and make the most informed decision possible. Reach out to your trusted Triumphant Advisor if you need help….

  • Selling Your Dental Practice
  • Underwriting
  • Finding A Buyer
  • Navigating The Close Process.

Contact Triumphant Transition Partners Today!

How to Sell Your Dental Practice

If you want to learn how to sell your dental practice, you are in the right place! 

There are a million reasons why you might have opened a dental practice and a million reasons why you might be selling. Maybe you’re retiring. Maybe you’re transitioning to a different passion. Maybe you have an opportunity in a different market. Regardless of your unique reason why you are leaving, one thing is sure; the process can be confusing.

You likely are an expert in all things pertaining to dentistry, patient care, and practice marketing, but the actual sale of a practice can be a whole different beast. Luckily, you have resources to help you navigate the stressors and pitfalls of selling a dental practice. First and foremost, you need to understand what to be on the lookout for when selling and how actually to sell your practice for a profit.

The experts at Triumphant Transition Partners put together their thoughts on selling a dental practice to serve as your thought starter. Every dental practice is different and unique; for a custom consultation, consult the team at Triumphant Transition Partners. 

Read on to Learn More About Selling a Dental Practice

Dental Practice Sale Tip 1: Know That One Size Doesn’t Fit All

It’s important to think about your unique goals and preferences when you decide to sell. No two dental practices are the same, but oftentimes, dentists think of the process as a “set-in-stone” prescriptive process. In our experience, the opposite is true. Your practice’s particulars, post-sale exit strategy, local market, and personal goals can all impact the sale process. This can be a neglected portion of the process. We cannot tell you exactly how to evaluate your unique situation but know that the better you understand your situation, the better the sale of your dental practice will go. 

Dental Practice Sale Tip 2: Understand What You Are Worth

This might come as a surprise, but most dentists are not experts on evaluating their practice’s worth. Most dentists are great at running and growing their practice, but the mechanics of running a successful practice differ from knowing what that practice is worth. In our experience, this is one of the key steps that can often be overlooked. Many dentists want to know if they can find a buyer and also what the legal fees will be. The actual dental practice valuation, in our experience, needs to be done first. It is impossible to successfully field offers or hunt for a buyer when you don’t have a baseline for what your practice is worth. 

Dental Practice Sale Tip 3: Manage Buyers

The mere fact that an entity or person has expressed interest often doesn’t correlate well with their viability as a buyer. In our experience, many dental practices need to separate “tire-kickers” from valid potential buyers. Often, your practice will receive attention from those who might look qualified but really are just investigating. These “buyers” often take up a lot of time without actually ever nearing close. Alternatively, your dental practice might encounter buyers who, on paper, look to be perfect candidates. However, as the deal progresses, it becomes clear that some unforeseen pitfall will disqualify these buyers. Maybe it’s the terms of the deal, the buyer’s maximum offer, or some other variable. 

If you are going to sell your dental practice, it’s critical to determine how to evaluate potential buyers. The better you can evaluate and either vet or disqualify a potential dental practice buyer, the sooner you can sell. Moreover, figuring out how to vet buyers will reduce the time and effort invested on your end. 

Dental Practice Sale Tip 4: Navigate the Closing Process

Unfortunately, the closing process can often be a little daunting if you are new to the process. The mere receipt of a valid and fair Letter of Intent (LOI) is just the beginning. If you’ve handled the sale of your practice properly, you should be comparing and contrasting multiple Letters of Intent and leveraging competition between the prospective buyers for maximum value.  This stage can require a lot of counteroffers and negotiation, but even a mutually-satisfactory LOI is not the end. From here, you are onto the last stage of the deal, but close can often be the most difficult part of the process.

In our experience, equipping your attorneys with the most well-researched and compelling data is an often-forgotten piece of the deal cycle. The more you understand your EBITDA and earnings details backward and forwards, the better your attorneys will be equipped to advocate on your behalf through the complex and often stressful closing process. 

Dental Practice Sale Tip 5: Know Your Role 

This can be an overlooked part of the dental practice sale process. It can be customary for the seller to be expected to share some of the responsibilities of managing the practice after closing. If you don’t prepare accordingly, the details of your role post-sale might not be properly defined. That can be a pain point if not properly prepared for. 

You don’t necessarily need to stay on after the sale of your dental practice. Some dentists are perfectly willing to exit the picture, and that’s completely ok. However, others want to be involved with their former practice in some facet. There really is no right or wrong answer here; it’s just imperative that you know what you would like to do and prepare accordingly in the deal process. 

Dental Practice Sale Tip 6: Consider Your Why

While we often see dentists sell their practices when they are ready to retire, there can certainly be other reasons to sell your dental practice. Stress and burnout, for example, are solid reasons to consider selling your practice. Additionally, some dentists are after a higher quality of life. You may choose to sell your practice to a DSO or DPO to maximize the equity in your practice or offset the administrative responsibilities and expenses. Whatever the reason, we can help the process to go smoothly. 

Finish the Deal With Triumphant Transition Partners

Selling a dental practice is a lot of work. Many dentists often find that they just don’t have the time and expertise to successfully evaluate their practice, manage potential buyers and get the deal across the finish line. 

That’s where Triumphant Transition Partners enters the picture.

We know that selling your dental practice can be difficult. As a nationwide mergers and acquisitions advisory firm, we represent buyers, sellers, and groups, and we pride ourselves on bringing a relational component to an often transactional industry. Our expertise, network of buyers and sellers, and metrics formula make us a unique choice to guide you through the sale of your dental practice.

Our merger and acquisition experts are here for ….

  • Initial Discovery
  • Healthcare-Specific CPA Underwriting
  • Marketing to Our Pre-Screened & Pre-Qualified Private Buyer Network
  • Screening Offers 
  • Negotiating Deals
  • Handling the Close Process

Fill Out the Contact Form to Learn More!