The Jump-Start Dentist
When looking to own a dental practice or dental specialty office a Dentist/Dental Specialist is faced with this daunting choice: ‘Do I buy an existing office or build my own?’ Well, I am hoping to help people interested in their journey bridge this gap and find out what is best for them.
To start, let’s acknowledge some facts here:
- Start Ups are not bad. Every office in existence started somewhere.
- Buying an office is not bad, there are a lot of good offices that have strong inspiring values that people want to emulate.
- There are start ups that do not do too great and have a lot of problems.
- There are acquisitions that are overvalued and overpromising you.
- Either option can make you a lot more income and seg-waying into ownership will in almost every instance up your income ceiling if done properly.
With this baseline knowledge let us dive into how we can find what is best for YOU. We will start with buying an office since as of October 2025 we have had more acquisitions in play than the last two years combined and there is clearly a shift in the market.
Now there are two main strategies in buying a dental office and today I am going to focus on one strategy that has become very popular, The Jump-Start Practice. Now, purchasing a Jump-Start is basically any office under $600,000 in value. These offices are unique in that they typically carry a lot of hygiene and/or refer a lot of patients away. The income is low but it is normally due to low amounts of active cases or limited availability in the true schedule of the office.
The reason these offices are called Jump-Starts are that they require working and human capital to bring the bulk of the value to the new buyer. You are not buying this office to leave it as is or just do what the existing owner is doing. These offices need TLC (not the TV channel) , but true Tender Love and Care. When buying a Jump-start you are committing to increasing hours, potentially bringing on more staff or paying overmarket to keep on more doctors than the current work load needs. All of this is done for a very intentional reason. You are buying this office to expand and grow and this will require a modest working capital loan from your lender to invest in Marketing, Overstaffing and most importantly revamping the office (typically equipment in this office has been around since you were born and the look will not always appeal to today’s age of patient.)
With all of these hurdles in mind, You might wonder, is this even worth it? The answer I am going to give isn’t the best. The answer is Maybe? We need to check a few items and pass a few tests to make sure you are on track:
1. Run demographics on the area:
- Does this area support your procedures you want to perform?
- Is there a lot of competition?
- Sometimes it seems saturated in an area but dentists are tricky. A lot of people have different selling points to their offices. You need to find a region that supports your preferred market where you can grab strong referral partners and make strategic alliances for a better future.
2. Apply for Funding
- Are you lendable? It is important to speak with a Dental Lender to understand where you stand as a borrower. Make sure you will be eligible for working capital and even the offices you are looking at. A lot of people make the mistake of doing this last and this is the most crucial step because if a bank refuses to lend then you probably do not want it.
- Find out the maximum you qualify for, this will allow you to hone in on the right parameters of office and keep your goals tangible. Nothing worse than putting in all of this effort and finally getting a great deal to be told you need to wait a year and do it all over again ☹
3. Hire a team
- This seems easy but a team needs to be people who jive with your goals and interests. You need a few people in almost every scenario. These people include but are not limited to the following: A financial advisor, Insurance team, Accountant, Banker, Real Estate Agent, Lawyer, and even potentially a consultant!
- Some of the team may overlap on duties but the main point is to start building this and pick one of these people to be your quarterback to run the deal. This typically falls on the advisor to run the show and make sure all is going according to plan.
4. Get a valuation
- Now I tell all of my clients that you probably want to do a shorthand valuation to start. This means hiring an advisor to tell you if the price is even in the right range! Here at CFS we do it for free within reason and I will tell you why. The main reason is if you buy an office that grows too slow, you will be faced with challenges to offload the office if needed and will most likely be ineligible for future lending until it grows for at least TWO YEARS!
- This is the most crucial part as everyone tries to low ball or high ball a practice. Brokers will do it to help their clients on both sides and my advice is to try and buy the office for as fair as you reasonably can. This means being okay with overpaying sometimes as high as 25% on value. Now this does not mean to get ripped off but it means if we have a solid plan to grow than it is okay to overpay sometimes. You can also win in other ways by negotiating better lease terms, locking in the selling doctor on a good rate / longer time frame, maybe even getting other concessions later on. Sometimes the people who underpay for an office get what they pay for: The doctor could bail early, staff doesn’t care / is not bought in, patients do not get a letter, the list goes on and on.
5. Do not get greedy and do not fixate on one office
- Just like dating , there are a lot of offices out there and people often feel committed before the process even starts. I would highly recommend reviewing 3-5 offices at a time. Even the less than desirable ones so you can learn how to negotiate and try out the effectiveness of your selected team.
I hope this small article helps anyone in this situation. Please write in if you want other topics to be discussed here or even on the Dental Dummies Podcast! We will be releasing an article every week!
Thank you for your time and good luck on your journey! Make it your own but do not be scared to ask for help. We are fortunate that dentistry has less than a 1% fail rate so do not be discouraged or scared to pursue your dream and be an owner!
Written by: Joseph DiMarco
When it comes to opening a Start-Up Dental Practice, making sure you are properly insuring your business is one of the many tasks on your to-do list. Thankfully, we can help take that burden off your back by not only providing these insurances for you but educating you along the way, so you feel comfortable and knowledgeable in what you are carrying to protect yourself and your business. Start-Up practices come with a time period where you have physical possession of your leased or owned space, but you are not operating your business yet. During this period your business is being built to bring your design vision to life. Once the lease or your property closing documents are signed, two important insurances that you will be required to have by the landlord and/or bank is General Liability and Builders Risk Insurance. General Liability Insurance ensures protection against any outlying claims that are not related to direct dental work. For example, if someone were to get injured on your property, General Liability Insurance would provide coverage related to bodily injuries, property damage, and reputable harm. This type of policy protects you and your practice from legal costs, settlements, and judgements arising from such claims. Builders Risk Insurance is a property insurance policy that is designed to cover property during construction. This policy protects buildings and structures as well as materials and supplies from numerous risks. Some examples of those risks are fire, lightning, hail, theft, vandalism, explosions, etc. This type of coverage is often needed to be supplemented by a General Liability policy to fully cover a renovation of construction project. Once construction is complete and equipment begins to arrive at your practice, these policies get cancelled and transitioned into a new comprehensive policy called a “Business Owners Policy.” What is a Business Owner’s Policy and How Does It Work? A Business Owner’s Policy is built of 5 major components • Business Personal Property Insurance – coverage for your equipment, furniture, fixtures, computers, etc. • Cyber Liability and Data Breach Coverage • Employment Practices Liability Insurance • Business Income Interruption Insurance - coverage for the building if you purchase real estate, and coverage for many other risks such as fire, theft, and legal claims. • Workers Compensation- a state-mandated insurance that provides your employees with medical, wage, and other benefits if a work-related injury and/or illness occurs while on the job. Now that we have simplified insurance, you can start your journey on building your plan by contacting your local CFS Representative to learn more! Written by: Nick Cepparulo