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If you have been watching the dental transition market over the last several years, you have probably noticed something interesting. The market is still active. Buyers are still acquiring practices. DSOs are still expanding. Private equity groups are still heavily involved in dentistry. But behind the scenes, the rules of the game have changed quite a bit from where they were just a few years ago. Back...

One of the hardest conversations in dentistry today is not about clinical care, staffing, or insurance headaches. It’s the moment a dentist discovers their practice may not be worth nearly what they thought it was. And unfortunately, that situation is becoming more common as buyers become more sophisticated and the market becomes more selective. For years, many practice owners naturally assumed value...

Not long ago, if you asked most dentists what determined the value of a practice, the answer was usually pretty simple. Collections, location, number of operatories, maybe equipment and goodwill. For years, that was largely how many practices were evaluated. But in today’s environment, especially with DSOs and private equity groups aggressively competing for the right opportunities, the conversation...

  Most dentists still think dental practices are valued the same way they were 10 or 15 years ago. A percentage of collections. Maybe adjusted a little for equipment, location, or goodwill. But quietly, over the last several years, the rules have changed in a very big way. Today, some dental practices are selling for numbers that honestly surprise even the doctors who own them. And it’s not happening...

Let’s rip the Band-Aid off: Nothing scares a buyer faster than a flatline. They can forgive ugly carpet. They can forgive outdated equipment. They can even forgive messy books. But if your production numbers have flatlined for the last 3 years? If they see no momentum, no marketing, no growth? They see a dying practice wearing makeup. Buyers Don’t Buy History They Buy Trajectory Buyers don’t...

Want to know what makes buyers sweat bullets? It’s not your locationIt’s not your technologyIt’s not even your staff It’s your numbers. Buyers don’t trust them. They’ve seen too many deals implode because the “healthy” practice they were promised turned out to be a house of cards propped up by sloppy bookkeeping, wishful thinking, and numbers no one could verify. They’re no longer just cautious....

Let me tell you how most of these conversations start. A doctor reaches out and says, “I’m not ready to sell yet… but maybe in five years.” It sounds reasonable. It sounds like there’s plenty of time. And in their mind, it means they don’t have to make any big changes right now. That’s the mistake. Because what your practice will be worth in five years is being shaped by what you’re doing today. Not...

Let me tell you about a call I had a few weeks ago. The doctor gets on the phone, clearly excited. He says, “Stan, we’ve been using AI a lot lately.” You could hear it in his voice—he felt like he was ahead of the curve. So I asked him a simple question. “What’s it actually doing for your numbers?” There was a pause. Then he started listing things. “We’re writing better emails. Our social media is...

Let me tell you about a conversation I had not long ago. A Doctor sits down across from me, confident, successful by most standards. Full schedule, strong team, good reputation in the community. He leans back and says, “I think we’re in a really good place right now.” And he wasn’t wrong. But I asked him a simple question that changed the tone of the entire conversation. “If you stepped away for 60...

Let’s talk about something that actually moves the number. Not production. Not how busy your schedule looks. I’m talking about EBITDA, because that’s what buyers use to determine what your practice is worth. And right now, AI is starting to change how that number is built, how it’s evaluated, and how much someone is willing to pay for it. Most dentists don’t spend much time thinking about EBITDA until...