When you’ve considered what you will do when you decide to leave dental practice, you may decide that you do not want to sell your business to a third-party buyer. Fortunately, practice owners have succession-planning options beyond selling the business to a third party.
Why You Shouldn’t Always...When a Vendor Doesn’t Deliver: Legal Options for Dental Practice Owners
Dental practices rely on vendors for everything from equipment and software to marketing and billing support. When a vendor fails to meet their obligations by missing deliveries, providing faulty equipment, or failing to deliver services as promised, it can lead to a costly and stressful disruption of your practice’s regular operations.
How to Handle a Dental Partnership Deadlock: Legal Strategies for Practice Owners
Dental partnership deadlock can happen when co-owners of a dental practice can’t reach a middle ground on major business decisions, and their practice gets stuck as a result. This can occur when there’s an equal split in ownership and no built-in way to break a tie.
Deadlocks don’t always...
Avoiding Hidden Risks in Associate Buy-Outs: Legal Essentials for Practice Owners
Making an associate into a partial or full owner of your dental practice can feel like a natural step. However, associate buy-outs carry legal risks that can compromise your long-term plans and finances. Understanding the key areas where disputes come up—timing, valuation, and contractual protections—can protect your interests and keep the transition...
Lease vs. Purchase: Legal Considerations for Your Dental Clinic’s Real Estate
Deciding whether to rent a building or purchase your own real estate for your dental clinic can have significant legal implications for you and your practice. It’s essential to consider various factors, including your control over the space, financial and legal liability, build-out viability, long-term stability, and contract terms.
Protecting Dental Records: Malpractice Defense
If you’re facing a dental malpractice claim, your patient’s records can become one of the most essential pieces of evidence you have to defend yourself against the patient’s allegations. As a result, protecting these records is one of the most critical steps you can take as you prepare your defense.
Navigating Dental Practice Sales to DSOs
In the dental field, dental support organizations (DSOs) provide non-clinical administrative support to practices. Many dentists partner with DSOs to handle the business side of their practices so they can focus on patient care.
In recent years, there has been an increasing trend of DSOs acquiring dental practices. Dentists...
Employee or Independent Contractor? What New Dental Practices Need to Know
As a dental practice owner, you may have a choice between filling your staff with employees or independent contractors. However, before you make a hiring decision, you should understand the differences between employees and independent contractors and the legal and financial implications of those differences.
Understanding the DifferenceLegal Tips for Dental Startups Looking to Sell Equity or Bring on Investors
Newer dental practices may seek outside investment to finance continued growth, such as through opening new locations. However, practice owners should familiarize themselves with best practices to follow when selling equity.
Understanding the Type of Entity You’ve FormedThe first step in bringing on investors...
Can You Own a Dental Practice Without Being a Dentist? A Legal Deep Dive
Non-dentists generally cannot own or control a dental practice directly in states that follow the corporate practice of dentistry doctrine. However, many states allow non-dentists to participate legally through management service organizations (MSOs) or related business structures. Understanding your state’s rules...