Plain answers to the questions dentists ask first

Each guide opens with the short answer, then the detail. General information only, last updated November 6, 2026; not legal, tax or financial advice.

• How to buy a dental practice: the steps, in orderA plain-language walkthrough of buying a dental practice: team, financing, listings, letter of intent, due diligence, purchase agreement, lease and closing.
• Dental practice due diligence: the documents buyers ask to seeThe financial, operational, legal and clinical documents buyers commonly request when buying a dental practice, and what each one tells you.
• How to read a dental practice listingWhat the numbers and terms in a dental practice for sale listing mean, which are the broker's own claims, and what to ask before you sign an NDA.
• How associate dentists are paid: daily rate, production and collectionsThe common ways associate dentists are paid, what 'adjusted production' and 'net collections' mean, and what to ask before signing.
• What does a dental practice broker do?What dental practice brokers do for sellers, what buyers can expect from them, how they are usually paid, and questions to ask before you work with one.
• How dental practices are valued: the methods and what moves the numberThe main ways a dental practice is valued (collections, earnings, assets, discounted cash flow) and the factors that raise or lower value. No numbers promised.
• How to read a dentist salary number: production-based pay, daily guarantee, W-2 vs 1099What a published dentist salary does and does not cover, how production, collections and a daily guarantee change the real figure, and what W-2 versus 1099 means for the comparison.