By Brett Kaufman. 8 years using relationships to build sales pipelines, from political fundraising to a 7 figure business to running matchmaking for two communities. Over 1,000 introductions facilitated.

If you want to know how to buy a dental practice before it is listed, start with the people a retiring dentist already trusts: dental CPAs, dental lenders, supply and equipment reps, specialists and study club peers. Ownership rules vary by state, so confirm what you can own with a dental attorney in that state first.

Here is the scene. A supply rep makes his monthly stop at a general practice in a small town. The owner is in his sixties. He mentions he is cutting back to three days and wonders out loud who would ever buy the place.

The rep sees forty practices a month. He will mention the one buyer he heard from most recently.

Who hears first when a dentist is ready to sell?

The people inside the practice’s routine hear first, and brokers hear last. Here is my map. It is a framework, not data.

Person	What they see	When	How you show up
The dentist’s CPA	Declining hours, retirement math	At year end and tax time	Be the buyer they trust with a client
Dental lenders	Who is asking about payoffs and values	When the seller starts planning	Get prequalified, stay in touch
Supply and equipment reps	Orders shrinking, equipment not replaced	Every visit	Ask which owners are slowing down
Specialists who receive referrals	Referral volume dropping	Every month	Meet the oral surgeon and endodontist in town
Study club and dental society peers	The owner’s own plans	At meetings	Show up, listen, never pitch
Associates and the office manager	Everything, first	Every day	They are the practice, treat them that way
Practice brokers	The listing	Last	Keep them warm too

The owners are the targets. The other rows are how you hear about them early.

Does the ADA still match buyers and sellers?

Not through its matching program. The ADA says its ADA Practice Transitions program has been discontinued and is not accepting new accounts.

That matters, because it worked by introduction. In the ADA’s own case study of a buyer in Lincoln, Maine, the ADA says that based on complementary profiles and goals, their ADA Advisor connected the buyer and the retiring owner. With that program gone, the introducer is a person again: the CPA, the lender, the rep. Your job is to be the buyer those people think of.

What rules apply when you buy a dental practice?

State law decides, and it varies. I am not a lawyer, so treat this as a map for your questions, not advice.

Who can own a dental practice, and what a management company can do for one, is a state law question. If you are not a licensed dentist, it is the first question, before you spend a month on a target.

The ADA’s guide to building a transition team puts it plainly: find “a qualified attorney, with experience in dental practice sales in your state. Each state has such different laws that it’s vital to find someone licensed in your state.” It also says some states require a real estate broker to be involved with all practice sales, even when real estate does not change hands.

Two more things to settle with counsel:

1. Patient records. The ADA’s page on patient records when selling a practice tells sellers to make sure the contract requires the purchaser to retain existing patient records for at least 10 years. Expect that in your purchase agreement.
2. Staff. An ADA article on transparency when selling notes that most dental practice buyers do not come to the purchase with their own staff. The team you keep is part of what you are buying.

How to buy a dental practice in 90 days

Here is how I would run it, for one region.

1. Days 1 to 14: settle the rules. Hire a dental attorney licensed in the state. Confirm what you can own and how.
2. Days 15 to 30: talk to three lenders. The ADA says to start by talking to at least three different banks that work on dental practice transitions. Ask each which practices in the area might come up.
3. Days 31 to 60: meet the people around the practices. Two dental CPAs, two supply or equipment reps, and the specialists who take referrals in your target towns.
4. Days 61 to 90: one coffee a week with an owner or peer. A study club meeting, a component dental society event. End each conversation with “who else should I know?”
5. Day 90 onward: keep a note per person with what they told you and any timing an owner mentioned. Touch each one with a real reason every six to eight weeks.

What should you text?

Short and specific. Each of these is under 40 words.

To a dental CPA:

“[Name], thanks for the time today. If any of your dentist clients start thinking about retirement, I would value a quiet intro. I keep the team and the name, and I am happy to just listen first.”

To a supply rep:

“[Name], good to meet you. If an owner on your route mentions slowing down, I would love to hear about it. Happy to keep buying from you after any transition.”

To an owner you met at a study club:

“[Name], enjoyed meeting you at study club. You mentioned cutting back to three days. No agenda, I would like to hear how you are thinking about the next few years. Coffee next month?”

What does a worked example look like?

Illustrative, not a real deal. Say you want a general practice within an hour of one city. Over a year you build a list of 30 people: three lenders, four dental CPAs, five reps, four specialists, a study club leader and thirteen owners.

Say two of the 30 mention an owner who is cutting back. The CPA makes the intro in the spring. You meet the owner and his office manager together. The first real conversation covers which staff stay, how patients hear the news, and how long he will work alongside you. The ADA suggests a new owner live within the current structure for at least six months to let staff and patients get to know you. No broker, no auction.

For the owners and connectors already in your phone, see how to find owner direct business deals in your network. For dental societies and study clubs, see the trade association playbook. The full map is at deal flow for business buyers.

Where does this break?

Between visits. You meet a lender and two reps, then a deal eats your next four months. The rep hears about a dentist who wants out and names the buyer who texted him last week. If that was not you, the coffee did not count.

That is the job I built FRONT OF MIND for. At the meeting, say a name and a sentence out loud, snap a business card or badge, or take a selfie together, and it is filed under the event. Then it opens on your 10 minutes for today. Each person has a one line reason why today: they posted, their practice was in the news, you met weeks ago and never followed up, or they are going cold. Every draft is a text style message, 40 words max. Nothing sends without your tap, and it learns from your edits. Ask Liala “who do I know that is a dental CPA” and get the right people with why.

It runs in your phone’s browser and can be saved to your home screen. There is no native iPhone app yet. Your contacts are encrypted. No one on our team looks at them. Export or delete anytime.

Start free with your first 25 contacts and see which dental contact comes up first.

See how it works