A Few Tips for Investing in a Dental Practice

The business of dentistry may be focused on quality oral health care, but there’s no denying that every dental practice requires steady income to stay in operation and enable growth. The question for dentists and non-practicing silent partners is whether it is worthwhile to start a new practice today or invest in one that already exists.

Return on Investment (ROI)

As with an investment that you can make in any industry, the most important factor in deciding whether or not the choice will be worthwhile is whether or not the return on investment (ROI) will live up to expectations. In the case of a dental practice with an absentee owner, the success of your investment will largely depend on the skills of the dentist running and managing that practice.

The Valuation of a Dental Practice

In assessing the value of a dental practice, along with its potential for growth, the greatest factors to consider are the owner and staff’s

• Reputation

• Connectivity with Patients

Given this fact, any assessment of an existing practice will depend largely on whether or not that business has enjoyed success in these areas in the past, along with growth in value due to this success. If this is indeed the case, then guaranteeing the future outcomes of that business will depend largely on whether personnel will be retained or replaced in upcoming years.

Unpredictability in Future Gains

If the current staff and health care providers responsible for the prior success of a dental practice will no longer be available, as in the case of starting a brand-new operation, the likelihood of growth on ROI is less predictable. In either case, investors should consider other avenues to promote the growth of the business.

Improving the Customer Experience

In any business that includes customer service, the experience of the customer contributes significantly to increased business and profits. In the case of private dental practices, patients that are unhappy with the personality of their oral health care expert, the administrative staff or long wait times can easily seek care elsewhere.

Alternatively, in the case of practices with a pre-existing reputation, the interest of new patients will increase due to word of mouth. For this reason, it is vital that anyone investing in a new dental practice place a great deal of consideration on promoting a positive and comfortable patient experience.

Likewise, those investing in an existing business should make efforts to learn as much as possible about the state of their existing reputation.

Selling Dental Scrap

For patients, the precious metals used in dental restorations do not usually contain enough material to be worth the effort of salvaging that material. For dentists, on the other hand, the material that is leftover from caring for patients will inevitably accumulate.

While dental scrap metal prices are determined by the daily market value of the particular metals present in that scrap, all of the precious metals used in dentistry tend to maintain a high market price.

An Industry that is Often Not Transparent

Many dentists do not realize that it doesn’t take long for their dental scrap to accumulate into valuable quantities that are well worth the effort to take to a dental scrap processing company for refining.

While collecting precious metals to take to a company that can complete the dental refining process should be simple, the problem is that not all companies are equal. Dentists who do not realize the value of the material they offer often get paid less than they should.

Knowing the Value of Your Dental Scrap

Dental scrap is valuable because it can be separated and refined for the gold, silver, palladium or platinum that it likely contains. The best way for dentists to determine whether or not they are getting a fair market value for these precious metals is to take their scrap to a refining company that is willing to provide a metal report that details the amount of each precious metal in their scrap. Companies that do not offer such a report are likely underpaying for what they receive.

For those considering investing in a dental practice, the first step is to determine whether or not that company has established a strong reputation with regular patients that is likely to continue.

It will also help to invest in strong human resources management services and an optimal patient experience to help promote further growth in the future. Finally, ensure that the dentists working at the practice you invest in understand the value of selling their dental scrap to earn extra income.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes