Buying a Dental Practice

A Five-Part Checklist Series

Part 1 - Deal Structure and Threshold Issues

Settle the fundamentals before you negotiate a single term.

Buying a dental practice is one of the largest professional investments a dentist will make, and the deal involves far more than the price. The first decisions you make — how the purchase is structured and how you will own it — shape everything that follows. This first post covers the threshold issues to resolve before negotiations begin.

Before negotiating terms, settle the fundamentals that determine how the rest of the deal is built.

• Asset purchase vs. stock/equity purchase — understand the tax, liability, and licensing consequences of each.

• Corporate structure and the Dental Practice Act — confirm the practice is owned and operated in a manner compliant with California professional corporation and ownership rules.

• Buyer's own entity — decide whether you will acquire personally or through a professional dental corporation, and form it early.

• Letter of intent — use a clear, mostly non-binding LOI to align on price, structure, and timeline before legal spend escalates.

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How West Coast Health Law Can Help

Our practice advises dentists on how to structure a practice acquisition from the outset — including forming the right professional entity and negotiating a letter of intent that protects you. Getting these threshold issues are critical to your practice ownership.

West Coast Health Law offers a FREE consultation which you may schedule by clicking the button on our website.