Dental practice business plan for a new office or an acquisition
Whether you are opening a new dental office from scratch or buying a retiring dentist's practice, the bank wants to see chairs, hygiene days, new patients per month and collections. This prompt has your todo.is agent research local practices and demographics, then write a plan with an operatory and staffing model and an Excel forecast.
The prompt
- Write a dental practice business plan for [PRACTICE NAME], a [STARTUP OR ACQUISITION] in [CITY AND AREA]. About me: [DENTIST'S EXPERIENCE AND SERVICES I OFFER]. Practice details: [OPERATORIES, SPACE, PRICE OR BUDGET, CURRENT PATIENTS IF BUYING]. Research with links: dental offices within 3 miles, their services, reviews and insurance taken; local population data. Write: summary, services (general, hygiene, cosmetic, implants, ortho referrals), patient base, competition, office layout and equipment, team (hygienists, assistants, front desk, office manager), schedule and hygiene days, insurance and fee schedule strategy (in-network, out-of-network, membership plan), new patient marketing, technology, risks, and financials. Build an Excel forecast with new patients per month, active patients, production per dentist day and hygiene day, collection rate, staff costs, lab and supplies, rent, loan payments, cash flow for 3 years and break-even. Mark assumptions. Send Word and Excel.
What to change
- [PRACTICE NAME]: E.g. "Maple Grove Family Dental".
- [STARTUP OR ACQUISITION]: "startup" for a new office, or "acquisition" if you are buying a practice.
- [CITY AND AREA]: E.g. "Maple Grove, Minnesota". Your agent studies practices and demographics nearby.
- [DENTIST'S EXPERIENCE AND SERVICES I OFFER]: Years in practice, associate experience, procedures you do in-house (implants, clear aligners, root canals).
- [OPERATORIES, SPACE, PRICE OR BUDGET, CURRENT PATIENTS IF BUYING]: E.g. "5 operatories, 2,600 sq ft, buying for $850,000, about 1,900 active patients". Attach the seller's reports if you have them.
Example result
- Summary
- Dr. Lena Ortiz plans to buy Maple Grove Family Dental, a 5-operatory general practice whose founder is retiring. The office has about 1,900 active patients. Dr. Ortiz has 8 years of associate experience and will add implant placement and clear aligners in-house. The founder stays for 6 months to introduce patients.
- Services
- • General dentistry, hygiene and periodontal maintenance
- • Crowns, root canals on molars referred out, extractions
- • New in-house: implant placement, clear aligners, same-day whitening
- • Referrals to a local orthodontist and oral surgeon for complex cases
- Team
- • 1 dentist (4 days), 2 hygienists (8 hygiene days a week combined), 2 dental assistants, 2 front desk, 1 office manager
- • A second dentist part-time from year 2 if new patients stay above target
- Schedule
- • Dentist columns in 2 operatories, hygiene in 2, 1 for emergencies and new patient exams
- • Same-day emergency slots every morning; evening hours on Tuesday
- Insurance and fees
- • Keep the 3 main PPO networks the practice already accepts
- • Launch an in-house membership plan for uninsured patients: 2 cleanings, exams, X-rays and a discount on treatment, paid monthly
- Numbers (all illustrative assumptions)
- • New patients: 28 a month rising to 40 with marketing
- • Production per dentist day and hygiene day in the model; hygiene about 30% of total
- • Collection rate: 97%
- • Staff costs about 27% of collections, lab and supplies 11%, rent 6%
- • Practice loan payments covered from month 4 after the transition
- Transition plan
- • Joint letter from both dentists to patients, a meet-the-new-doctor month, keep all staff for at least 12 months
- Marketing
- • Google Business Profile reviews, website with online booking, local school and employer partnerships
- Risks
- • Patients leave after the sale: founder transition period, keep the team, same fees for year 1
- • Hygienist shortage: competitive pay and a 4-day week
- • Insurance fee cuts: grow the membership plan and fee-for-service work
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and choose startup or acquisition, then add your area and numbers.
- Paste it into todo.is on the Today screen or send it on WhatsApp or Telegram. Attach the seller's production reports or your lease.
- Your agent researches nearby practices with links and sends a Word plan and a 3-year Excel forecast.
- Ask follow-ups like "add a second dentist in year 2" or "what if 20% of patients leave after the sale?".
Tips for a better result
- For an acquisition, ask the seller for production by procedure code and active patients seen in the last 18 months.
- Hygiene days drive new treatment. Plan hygiene capacity before you add a second dentist.
- An in-house membership plan can help uninsured patients and reduce reliance on PPO fees.
- Have a dental CPA review the financials before you send them to a lender.
dental practice business plan: FAQ
- Is it better to buy a dental practice or start one? Buying gives you patients and cash flow from day one but costs more upfront. A startup costs less to buy into but takes longer to fill the schedule. The plan can model both.
- What do banks want in a dental practice business plan? Usually your experience, the location and competition, a staffing and schedule plan, production and collection estimates, startup or purchase costs and a cash flow forecast.
- How many operatories does a new dental office need? Many solo startups open with 3 to 5 operatories and plumb extra rooms for later. Your plan sizes them from your schedule and hygiene days.
- Can it read the seller's reports? Yes. Attach PDFs or Excel exports from the practice software and your agent uses them in the forecast.
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