If you have a great associate consider yourself lucky but be very aware that things are not always as they seem. The associate role in dentistry is a long-proven way for principal dentists to expand their practices, take more time off, offer additional services, cover the evenings and weekends, find a potential purchaser, perhaps mentor a young dentist, and a myriad of other factors.

The question of how you can grow your practice often comes up when we are presenting our findings after completing a Comprehensive Dental Practice Valuation. Many of our clients are surprised to hear us report that an associate may not be the best way to achieve that goal. Their understanding was that in order to grow they need more hands to do the dentistry and therefore an associate will provide for that.

Back in November 2005 I wrote about this same topic and the rules have not changed. You may have started out with two operatories and grown to three or four but you may be in the same location. Neighborhoods change, have you? If your practice is now worth a million dollars does your practice look like a million dollars? One can get used to the same four walls but you should step back and critically look at your practice as others would see it. A valuation would do the same as if new eyes were looking at your practice.

This issue of The Professional Advisory marks our 10th anniversary. All of the contributors have agreed that this is an opportune time to take a look back at what has changed since we began publishing the P.A. in May of 2001.

A few issues back in Issue 41 of The Professional Advisory I described some of the value drivers in a dental practice and concluded that “Patients and Profit make Value”. And that is certainly true. However, the value of any practice is enhanced if it is in balance. In this article I will explain how balance works to create value in your practice.

I talk to many dentists and I am surprised at the number of dentists that have been defrauded by their staff. There are many ways that individuals can defraud you. Generally it is not more than one employee. Due to the limited number of staff in some practices it is difficult to divide up the duties to have good internal control. If multiple staff members act in collusion they could get away with gross fraud for years unless the doctor or their spouse insert themselves into the system to keep an overview of certain key reports such as the deleted treatment or cancelled charges reports.

Real Estate for many people is intoxicating. In this article we will look at what drives people to own real estate for their practice, how to analyze the factors that contribute to making the decision to own, and finally, the impact that decision will have on the sale of the practice.

When a dentist has a large patient base, it can be very logical to hire an associate or a restorative hygienist to increase productivity to better care for the patients. Let’s look at these two alternatives.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on linkedin Download the PDF version now! I talk about “stars” to most dentists for whom we are doing a valuation. A “star” is an employee who is worth their weight in gold because they handle their job with an expertise and speed that others cannot do. I

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on linkedin Download the PDF version now! When you graduate from dental school there is much more to think about than “where can I get an associateship”. It is important to remember that dentistry is also a business and good business practices are very important. Consider the following: