We do not list businesses for sale. This page is for buyers: what dental practices actually sell for, what to check, how deals are financed, and where listings appear. Register below to hear when we publish new data for buyers.
The market at a glance
What dental practices sell for
| Deal size / buyer | Price or multiple | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Main Street sales, 2021-2025 (sold) | 1.6x-3.37x SDE (median 2.48x) | |
| Single practice sold to a DSO (add-on) | 5-8x EBITDA | FOCUS Investment Banking - Dental practice EBITDA multiples 2026 |
| DSO platform | 9-12x EBITDA | FOCUS Investment Banking - Dental practice EBITDA multiples 2026 |
| Private practice sale (dentist buyer) | 60-95% of collections, most 70-85% | DDSmatch - How to value a dental office before selling (2025-06) |
What to check before you make an offer
- Key metric: Collections, hygiene share of production, payer mix (fee-for-service vs PPO vs Medicaid), doctor production per day, active patient count
- Upside sign: A hygiene department producing roughly a quarter or more of total production with steady recall
- Upside sign: Fee-for-service or healthy PPO mix rather than heavy Medicaid or deep-discount plans
- Red flag: Production concentrated in the selling dentist, with no associate to carry patients
- Red flag: Heavy exposure to Medicaid or discounted plans that a buyer cannot renegotiate
- Red flag: Supply and lab cost creep eating the trailing-12-month margin
Transfer issues that can stop a closing
| Issue | What to know | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate practice of dentistry | Many states restrict who may own a dental practice. Texas, for example, treats owning or operating a dental office that employs dentists as the practice of dentistry, so DSOs use management-services structures while a dentist owns the clinical entity. | Texas Occupations Code 251.003 - practice of dentistry includes owning a dental office |
| DEA registration | Not transferable without DEA's written consent (21 CFR 1301.52). The buying dentist registers separately; controlled-substance inventory and records transfer under DEA procedures. | |
| Patient records | HIPAA treats the sale of a practice to another covered entity, and due diligence for it, as "health care operations," so records can be reviewed and transferred within the Privacy Rule's limits. | 45 CFR 164.501 - HIPAA definition of health care operations (eCFR) |
How buyers finance these deals
Most Main Street acquisitions are financed with an SBA 7(a) loan plus buyer equity, often with a seller note. Under SBA SOP 50 10 8 the buyer generally needs a 10% equity injection, a seller note can count toward it only if it is on full standby, and earn-outs are not allowed in SBA-financed changes of ownership. Model the note with the seller financing calculator.
Who you are competing with
For larger dental practices, you will often bid against organized acquirers - we document 11 of them, from primary sources, on who is buying dental businesses. Individual buyers usually win smaller deals where a platform would pay an add-on multiple.
Where dental practice listings appear
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a dental practice cost to buy?
BizBuySell’s median sale price for dental practices sold 2021-2025 was $350,000. Price depends mostly on documented earnings (SDE).
Can I use an SBA loan?
Usually yes for Main Street deals. Under SBA SOP 50 10 8, expect a 10% equity injection; a seller note can count toward it only on full standby, and earn-outs are not permitted in SBA change-of-ownership loans.
Do you have listings?
No. We do not list businesses or broker deals. Listings appear on marketplaces such as BizBuySell and through brokers; see our broker reviews.
Sources
- BizBuySell Valuation Benchmarks - Dental Practice (accessed 2026-09-23)
- BizBuySell - Business valuation multiples by industry (sold Q3 2021-Q2 2026) (accessed 2026-09-23)
- BizBuySell Insight Report data tables (FY2025 closed transactions by industry) (accessed 2026-09-23)
- FOCUS Investment Banking - Dental practice EBITDA multiples 2026 (accessed 2026-09-23)
- DDSmatch - How to value a dental office before selling (2025-06) (accessed 2026-09-23)
- Dental Economics - How to know what your practice is really worth (2025-09) (accessed 2026-09-23)
- Texas Occupations Code 251.003 - practice of dentistry includes owning a dental office (accessed 2026-09-23)
- 21 CFR 1301.52 - DEA registration transfer rules (eCFR) (accessed 2026-09-23)
- 45 CFR 164.501 - HIPAA definition of health care operations (eCFR) (accessed 2026-09-23)
- SBA SOP 50 10 8 key changes (Whiteford client alert) (accessed 2026-09-23)
- LRM Lender Consultants - SBA change of ownership under SOP 50 10 8.1 (accessed 2026-09-23)