How to Win the Dental Real Estate Lease Game Before It Costs You Everything

How to Win the Dental Real Estate Lease Game Before It Costs You Everything

If you’re preparing to open your own dental practice—or even just starting to plan your next move—the dental real estate lease you sign can either secure your success or sabotage it.

That’s not hyperbole.

As someone who’s been in the trenches with hundreds of dentists through the startup process, I can tell you: the lease is not just a formality. It’s a high-stakes, legally binding agreement that can either protect your future or quietly chip away at it over time.

Let’s talk about how to win.

The Hidden Danger in Your Dental Real Estate Lease

Here’s a scenario that plays out more often than you’d think: a dentist reaches retirement, finds a buyer, gets ready to sell their practice… and then finds out the landlord is legally entitled to half the sale proceeds.

Why? Buried in the lease was a clause giving the landlord control over whether a future buyer is an “acceptable tenant.” If the landlord doesn’t approve—or wants to charge a hefty fee to do so—they can grind the entire deal to a halt.

Sound outrageous? It is. But it happens. And it’s completely avoidable—if you know what to look for before you sign.

How Landlords Profit at Every Stage of Your Lease

One of the smartest things you can do is understand your landlord’s motivations. Commercial landlords are professionals at maximizing value from leases—at every phase:

• Stage 1: Upfront – Security deposits and buildout credits can be structured to their advantage.

• Stage 2: During tenancy – Rent escalations, CAM charges, and pass-throughs quietly increase costs.

• Stage 3: Departure – Exit clauses or assignment restrictions give landlords leverage when you’re ready to move or sell.

The more you understand their playbook, the more leverage you can build into your own.

Three Steps to Win the Lease (and Protect Your Future)

Let’s break this down with simple, actionable strategies:

Step 1: Work with a dental-specific lease expert
Would you refer your patient’s full-mouth rehab to someone who’s done it once? Of course not. So why trust your future to a general commercial broker or attorney who doesn’t understand the dental world? You need someone who’s negotiated dozens—ideally hundreds—of dental-specific leases.

Step 2: Review your current lease—early
If you’re planning to relocate or sell, review your current lease at least a year in advance. Why? Because the wrong language could leave you stuck—or worse, exposed to massive costs when it’s time to move on.

Step 3: Treat your next lease like a business strategy, not a formality
It’s not just about the rent per square foot. Lease clauses around termination, assignments, landlord consent, and “relocation rights” can quietly reshape your practice’s future. If you’re signing a 10-year lease without expert eyes on it, you’re gambling—plain and simple.

Here’s What Dentists Often Miss

Too many doctors assume they’ll be one of the “lucky” tenants whose lease is clean and fair. But commercial leases are rarely written for your protection.

We’ve seen doctors blindsided by:

• Landlords demanding tens (or hundreds) of thousands just to exit a lease

• Restrictions that prevent practice sales

• Surprise fees baked into poorly worded clauses

If this sounds alarmist, I understand. But I’ve had these conversations with real doctors—who didn’t find out until it was too late.

Be Protected. Be Empowered. Be Prepared.

You’ve worked hard to build your skills and clinical expertise. Don’t let the lease be the thing that undermines everything you’re creating.

You can win this part of the startup journey.

With the right team behind you—experienced in dental-specific leases, market trends, and landlord tactics—you can walk into lease negotiations with your eyes wide open, your financial future protected, and your options intact.

Let’s make sure the next chapter of your career isn’t defined by what was hidden in the fine print.

—Stephen Trutter