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Buying a Dental Practice in 2025: 13 Steps to Avoid Costly Mistakes

How to Buy the Right Dental Practice
2025-04-14  46 min
How to Buy the Right Dental Practice
The Startup Dentist
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If you’re an associate dentist dreaming of practice ownership, chances are you’ve thought about acquisitions. But here’s the truth: buying the wrong practice is worse than starting none at all.

In the latest episode of The Startup Dentist Podcast, host Stephen Trutter breaks down the 13 essential stages of buying the right practice—the one that fits your vision, lifestyle, and future plans.

Why Most Acquisitions Fail

Too many dentists buy a practice just because it cash flows on paper. But when that practice is in the wrong town, filled with patients who don’t match your ideal case types, or operating on outdated systems? Ownership quickly turns into a trap.

Stage One: Vision

Stephen kicks off with the most overlooked part of any acquisition: your personal and clinical vision. Who do you want to be in your community? What kind of patients do you love treating? These aren’t “nice to haves”—they’re foundational.

A Location You’ll Love (and Can Grow In)

From demographics to competition, the location you buy in will define your future. Stephen walks through how to evaluate more than just the zip code—looking at community dynamics, spending habits, and long-term viability.

From Owner to Leader

You’re not just buying a business—you’re inheriting a team, a patient base, and an entire operational culture. The Ideal Practices framework helps you assess systems, define your KPIs, and lead with clarity from day one.

Implementing Your Vision

You’ll also learn why waiting six months to make changes is outdated advice—and how to introduce your systems, philosophy, and patient experience right away with a well-planned, respectful transition.

If you’re ready to buy a dental practice, don’t go it alone. Use a system that puts your vision first and sets you up for long-term success.

Keep smiling,
Stephen Trutter & The Startup Dentist Podcast Team

 

Dreaming of being a practice owner? Listen to The Startup Dentist Podcast here! 👇

The Startup Dentist
Entrepreneurship • Business • 28 episodes
The Startup Dentist
Latest episode
Show notes
Guiding you from associate to grand opening. The Startup Dentist podcast is the only podcast that helps Associate Dentists go from practice, to profit, to purpose in their journey to open their own dental practice startup. With more successful dental startups than anyone else, your host Stephen Trutter is here to share all that he, and the Ideal Practices team, have learned over the years of opening successful dental startups. To learn more visit us at: https://idealpractices.com
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