If you’re a private practice owner, there’s one quiet question that can have a huge impact on your future:
“Can I position my practice for a more valuable exit in the future?”
Short answer: yes…if you start treating your practice like an asset, not just a job.
This article breaks down what actually drives practice value, why waiting until you’re “ready to sell” is a trap, and what you can start doing now to make your eventual exit worth a lot more.
Why this question matters more than ever
Private practice doesn’t exist in a vacuum anymore.
Group dentistry and DSOs are reshaping the landscape. The percentage of dentists affiliated with DSOs has nearly doubled in recent years—from about 7.4% in 2015 to around 13.8% by 2023. At the same time, traditional solo practice has steadily declined as more dentists move into group or corporate models.
That shift affects how buyers think, what they pay for, and what they expect from a modern practice.
So the real question isn’t just “Can I sell?”
It’s: “Am I building something buyers will pay a premium for?”
The trap: waiting until you’re “ready to sell”
Here’s how it usually goes:
- You’re 5–10 years from wanting to slow down or retire.
- You’re busy, the practice is “fine,” and time flies by.
- One day you wake up and realize: “I should probably think about selling soon.”
So you call a broker, hand over your financials, and hope the number comes back close to what you’ve been telling yourself the practice is worth.
But here’s the problem: value isn’t created in the year you sell.
It’s created in the years leading up to it.
If your systems are weak, overhead is high, new patient flow is inconsistent, and everything revolves around you… the buyer will see risk, not opportunity.
And risk = discounts.
What buyers actually pay for (it’s more than “good production”)
Buyers and valuation experts are surprisingly consistent in what they look for. Recent guides and CPA/transition firms point to a similar list:
- Financial performance: annual collections, net income, overhead %, revenue trends.
- Patient base & demand: active patients, new patient flow, retention, local demographics.
- Operational strength: systems for billing, scheduling, hygiene, case acceptance, marketing.
- Growth potential: untapped capacity, underutilized hygiene, opportunity for expanded services.
In plain English, buyers want:
A profitable, predictable, and scalable practice that doesn’t crumble when the current owner leaves.
Think of it like selling a rental property:
- If it’s fully leased, has long-term tenants, low maintenance surprises, and strong cash flow → you can ask a premium.
- If it’s half empty, needs work, and only functions because you’re on-site every day → you’ll get lower offers.
Your dental practice works the same way.
The equation: Exit value = Profitability + Predictability + Scalability
You can think of your future sale price as being driven by three big levers:
- Profitability – How much real cash the practice throws off after expenses
- Predictability – How consistent and reliable that cash flow is
- Scalability – How easily the buyer can grow it further
Let’s break those down in everyday terms.
1. Profitability: what you keep, not just what you collect
Most valuation methods are built around income – collections, net income, and EBITDA. Practices that are more profitable relative to collections command better prices and higher multiples.
Everyday example:
- Practice A: Collects $1.3M, overhead is tight, owner pay + profit is healthy.
- Practice B: Collects the same $1.3M, but overhead is bloated – staff overtime everywhere, supply costs high, weak fee schedules.
On paper, collections are the same.
In reality, Practice A is worth far more.
Actionable moves:
- Compare your overhead to benchmarks (many CPAs suggest owners should net ~35% of collections after overhead, benefits, and discretionary expenses).
- Renegotiate key contracts (labs, supplies) or leverage group discounts.
- Clean up “nice to have but unnecessary” expenses that don’t move the needle.
Every dollar of profit you add now can multiply your sale price later.
2. Predictability: can this practice run like clockwork?
Buyers pay more for practices where:
- Revenue is stable or growing year-over-year.
- Hygiene is strong and re-care is consistent.
- New patient flow is reliable and trackable, not random.
Why? Because predictable systems are transferable. A buyer isn’t just buying your past…it’s buying confidence in the future.
Everyday example:
You can feel this in your own week.
If Monday is packed and Thursday is a ghost town, or some months you’re slammed and others are painfully slow, that’s a sign predictability is missing.
Actionable moves:
- Dial in hygiene: make sure recall is being booked, not “forgotten until they call.”
- Track key metrics: new patients/month, case acceptance, production per visit.
- Stabilize your schedule: reduce wild fluctuations by smoothing out high-value procedures and recall.
Think of predictability as putting your practice on “cruise control” instead of white-knuckle driving every month.
3. Scalability: can someone grow this beyond you?
Growth potential doesn’t just matter to you, it matters to any sophisticated buyer. In fact, several buyer-side guides explicitly highlight growth potential (unused ops, underutilized hygiene, room for expanded services or marketing) as a major driver of value.
Examples of hidden growth:
- You’re booked out 4–6 weeks but still working 4 days/week with no associate.
- You’ve never really turned on a consistent marketing engine; your growth is mostly word-of-mouth.
- You have 6 ops built out but truly only use 4.
To a buyer, that’s opportunity.
Actionable moves:
- Build marketing systems so new patient flow is repeatable, not accidental.
- Document how you diagnose, present cases, and schedule treatment.
- Consider steps toward adding an associate or extending hours before you sell, even in a limited way.
You’re essentially showing:
“This isn’t just a good practice. It’s a good practice with room to run.”
The emotional side: what it feels like now
This isn’t just a math exercise. It’s also about how you feel day-to-day.
You might recognize some of these:
- You’re doing great dentistry, but feel like you’re on a treadmill (lots of motion, not enough progress).
- You’ve thought, “I’ll just work a few more years and then sell for a big number,” but you’re not sure what that number is or what drives it.
- You’ve wondered if all those nights doing payroll, fixing staff issues, and answering emails will translate into a strong exit… or just “whatever the market offers you.”
The good news: you’re not stuck with the status quo.
You can start building value now, instead of hoping it magically appears when you’re ready to hang it up.
Practical steps to increase your future exit value (starting this year)
Here’s how to make this concrete.
1. Clean up your financials
- Work with a dental-specific CPA to normalize your numbers.
- Separate true operating expenses from owner perks and one-off items.
- Aim to move your overhead closer to healthy benchmarks.
The clearer your financial picture, the easier it is for a buyer (or investor) to pay top dollar.
2. Strengthen your patient base
- Track active patients (seen in last 18–24 months) and new patients per month.
- Make sure no-show and cancellation protocols are real—not just “we hope they show up.”
- Consider membership plans or in-house savings plans to increase loyalty and recurring revenue.
A strong, loyal patient base in a solid demographic area is a major value booster.
3. Systematize what’s in your head
Right now, a lot of your practice might live “in your brain”:
- How you want the phones answered
- How treatment plans are presented
- How you prioritize emergencies vs. production
- How your team is supposed to follow up on unscheduled treatment
That’s normal…but it’s also dangerous for valuation.
Documenting these into simple, clear SOPs (even if imperfect) turns your practice from a “personality business” into a system-driven business…and those sell better and for more.
4. Build a team that isn’t dependent on you for every decision
Buyers notice if:
- Staff is stable vs. a revolving door
- Key team members can lead in their areas (front office, hygiene, clinical support)
- The doctor isn’t the bottleneck for every small decision
Think of your practice like a relay team and not a one-man race. Relays are more valuable.
5. Consider strategic partnerships early, not late
This is where joining the right kind of group can make a big difference.
Some options:
- Traditional DSO → you sell a majority, get support, but often lose autonomy and most of the future upside.
- DPO / minority-equity models → partial sale with shared resources, but equity upside is often concentrated with founders.
- Dental Partnership Group (DPG) → doctor-led groups (like SPP) where you keep significant ownership and share in the group’s growth.
The right partner can help you:
- Reduce overhead via group purchasing
- Improve marketing, HR, and operations
- Build a more scalable, less doctor-dependent practice
- Potentially participate in group-level upside, not just your solo office
In other words, you’re not just positioning your practice for a better exit down the road—you’re also improving your life now.
The window of opportunity
Every doctor exits one of three ways:
- Planned and positioned → higher value, more choices, less stress
- Last-minute and reactive → lower value, fewer options, more stress
- Forced by circumstance (health, burnout, market shifts) → often the worst outcome
You can’t control everything.
But you can decide whether your practice is drifting toward an exit… or being deliberately built toward one.
Your future buyer – whether it’s a young associate, another doctor, a group, or an investor – will evaluate you on what you’re doing right now:
- Are your numbers clean and improving?
- Are your systems real and repeatable?
- Is your practice profitable, predictable, and scalable?
If the answer becomes “yes,” your odds of a high-value exit go up significantly.
Want help seeing where you stand?
If you’re 5–10 years out from a potential transition (or even just thinking about it), this is the perfect time to get clarity.
You don’t have to guess what your practice might be worth someday.
You can start shaping that number now.
If you’d like a fresh set of eyes on:
- Your current practice value drivers
- The biggest opportunities to increase your future exit value
- How support, systems, and the right partnership can accelerate that process
…consider scheduling a no-pressure conversation with a group that specializes in saving and strengthening private practice.
No cost. No obligation. Just real talk about where you are, where you want to go, and how to get there with a more valuable exit at the end of the road.