How long does it take to open a dental practice? The steps, in order

Opening a dental practice from scratch usually takes many months, and the timeline depends far more on finding the right space and getting it built out than on anything else. This guide lays out the steps in the order they happen, what each one depends on, and where startups most often lose time.

Buying instead? See how long it takes to buy a dental practice.

The steps

1. Decide your practice model and market

General or specialty, fee-for-service, PPO or Medicaid, and the kind of community you want to serve. Then compare markets: residents per practice, income, age and growth. This step can be quick or slow depending on how open you are on location. See dental practice site selection.

2. Line up your team

A dental CPA, a lender, a tenant's real estate broker, a dental attorney and an office designer. Bringing them in early saves time later. See who can help you start a dental practice.

3. Secure financing

Lenders that work with dental startups will want a business plan, a budget and, often, evidence that the market can support the practice. Approval timing varies by lender.

4. Find and evaluate a site

This is often the longest and least predictable step. Good spaces in strong markets go quickly, and each candidate site should be checked for competition, visibility, parking and whether the space can support dental plumbing, electrical and vacuum lines.

5. Negotiate and sign the lease

Have a dental attorney review the lease: term, renewal options, exclusivity, build-out allowance and personal guarantee. Negotiation can take a while, and some landlords move slowly.

6. Design, permits and build-out

Your designer draws the plans, the local building department issues permits, and your contractor builds the office. Permit timing depends on your city or county. Build-out is where delays most often add up.

7. Equipment, technology and supplies

Order equipment early enough to arrive when construction finishes. Some items have long lead times.

8. Licensing, credentialing and insurance

State and local business licenses, and credentialing with the insurance networks you plan to join. Credentialing can take a long time, so start it well before opening day.

9. Hire and train your team

Hire staff in time to train them before your first patient.

10. Market the opening

Start telling the community before you open: signage, a website, online listings and, if it fits your market, direct mail to nearby households.

Where startups lose the most time

Choosing a site before checking the market. Starting over after a lease falls through, or after realizing the area is crowded, costs months.
Build-out surprises in spaces that were never designed for dental use.
Starting insurance credentialing too late.
Waiting on permits in cities with slow building departments.

Frequently asked questions

What is the longest part of opening a dental practice? Usually finding the right space and building it out. Market research, financing and credentialing can all run alongside it if you start them early.

Can I speed up opening a dental practice? Yes: decide your market early, bring in your team before you look at spaces, start credentialing early and check each site's competition before you negotiate.

How Dentagraphics helps

Free plan: state and county demographics and competition, to narrow your market quickly.
Start/Buy membership ($149 per month): unlimited address and area searches, so you can check every candidate site before you negotiate.
Single-Site Study ($695) or Area Analysis ($745): a demographer studies your market and writes the analysis.
Lease Review: our in-house attorney reviews the lease before you sign.

Our competition data covers 118,330 US dental practices verified by hand. We do not broker practices and hold no stake in any location.

Starting the process? See a free sample report, or create a free account to compare markets today.