Course Overview

If you're an associate right now, I understand the appeal of where you are. Steady paycheck. Predictable hours. Someone else handles payroll and the lease. For a few years, that's exactly what you need — it's how you build clinical experience without the weight of running a business on your shoulders. But there's a ceiling on it. You're paid for your time and your production, not for the value you're building. A typical associate arrangement pays you roughly a third of net production — the other two-thirds funds overhead, staff, and somebody else's equity.

I've spent 30 years in dentistry, and I've watched the last decade change this profession more than the twenty before it. DSOs and private equity have moved in hard, recruiting dentists straight out of school and building a pipeline of associates who never seriously consider ownership. At the same time, a large share of the dentists who own practices today are within a few years of retirement — a wave that won't wait for you to feel ready.

In this seminar, I walk through why so many associates end up waiting for a "unicorn" practice that doesn't really exist, what the real numbers look like when you compare associate pay to ownership income over 20 years, how buying a practice actually works — including what lenders really look for — and how to build the right team around you before you sign anything. It's the same conversation I have with young dentists one-on-one, just laid out start to finish.

Course Outcome

You'll leave this seminar understanding what ownership actually requires financially, what lenders look at when they evaluate you as a buyer, and how the math compares between staying an associate and buying a practice — using real modeled numbers, not guesswork. You'll also understand the three paths into ownership (buying an existing practice, starting from scratch, or a partner buy-in), who belongs on your transition team, and how to think clearly about the fears that keep most associates on the sidelines longer than they need to be.

Key Takeaway

The window for buying well is open right now, but it won't stay that way — consolidation and a coming wave of retiring owners mean timing matters. The dentists who do well aren't the ones who found the perfect practice; they're the ones willing to build one. And the math backs it up: even a smaller, more attainable practice outearns associate pay within a few years, and pulls far ahead over two decades. Ownership is more accessible than most associates think — it takes the right team, not $500,000 in the bank.