Questions to ask a seller before you buy a dental practice

A listing tells you what the seller wants you to know. The right questions tell you what you need to know. Ask these early, before you spend money on appraisals and attorneys, and ask them again in writing during due diligence.

Why is the seller selling?

Retirement, relocation, health and a move to a group are all common and fine. What matters is whether the answer fits the numbers.

Why now? A seller leaving after a strong year is different from one leaving after new competition arrived.
How long will you stay after the sale? A transition period where the seller introduces you to patients helps keep them.
Will you practice nearby afterward? This is what the non-compete is for. Ask before you negotiate it.

Questions about patients

Ask	Why it matters
How many active patients do you have, and how do you define active?	Definitions vary. Seen in the last 12, 18 or 24 months gives very different counts.
How many new patients come in each month, and where from?	Steady new patients mean the practice is not just living on its history.
What is your payer mix?	Fee-for-service, PPO and Medicaid practices run very differently.
Which procedures do you refer out?	Work you do in-house today could be added, or may need to keep being referred.
How many patients are scheduled for the next few months?	A full schedule shows demand right now.

Questions about money

What were collections in each of the last three years, and so far this year?
What is the overhead, and what would change under a new owner?
Are there personal expenses or family members on the payroll?
What equipment needs replacing soon?
Are any payer contracts ending or changing?

Your CPA should confirm the answers against tax returns. Ask the questions anyway: how the seller answers tells you a lot.

Questions about staff

Who has been here longest, and who is most important to patients?
Does anyone have a contract, a promised raise or a bonus?
Do you expect any staff to leave when you do?
Is there an associate dentist or hygienist who sees a large share of patients?

Questions about the space

How long is left on the lease, and are there renewal options?
Has the landlord agreed to assign the lease to a buyer?
Can the landlord lease nearby space to another dental office?
Is there room to add operatories if the practice grows?

Questions about the market

Sellers know their market from the inside. Ask, then check.

Have new offices opened nearby in the last few years? New competition may not show in past numbers yet.
Where do most patients live? If they drive from far away, the practice may be less tied to its location than you think.
Is the area growing, holding steady or shrinking? Compare the answer with census data.
Who are the closest competitors, and how are they different?

To check the answers, look at residents per general practice within a short drive of the office, recent openings nearby, and household income and growth. Count competitors from a list a person has checked, not from online maps alone.

Frequently asked questions

Should I ask the seller questions directly or through a broker? Often both. Early questions usually go through the broker. Once you have a letter of intent, ask for written answers and documents as part of due diligence.

What answers should worry me? Vague answers about active patients, collections that fell recently without a clear reason, key staff planning to leave, or a lease that cannot be assigned.

Can Dentagraphics answer the market questions? Yes, the market side: verified nearby competition, residents per practice, income and growth around the office. It does not review financials or appraise the practice.

How Dentagraphics helps

Single-Site Study ($695): the market around the practice, with handwritten analysis by a demographer.
Start/Buy membership ($149 per month): unlimited address and area searches and practice listings from many brokers in one place.

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

Keep reading: Due diligence checklist for buying a dental practice and how to buy a dental practice.

Want to check a seller's answers? See a free sample report to see what a market review shows, or create a free account to look up the county around the practice today.