Starting a New Dental Practice Checklist

Beginning a dental practice may be a big endeavor.

From planning the initial concept of your business to stocking supplies, there may be a lot to do and consider before you ever open the doors of your own dental practice. Understanding the scope of what needs to happen in each aspect of this new business may help you to better prepare and organize your efforts.

While many of the action items below appear simple, they may require hours of research, fees, professional assistance, committee approval, applications, and more. Though it may be possible to undertake a lot of these tasks yourself, many can also be completed by hiring professional services, such as a human resources solution service, to assist you. Consider tackling what you understand and enjoy, then seeking help with what you find more difficult, unfamiliar or time-consuming.

Use this checklist to help you plan and prepare to start your new dental practice, one task at a time.

Initial Considerations

• Choose between a startup or buying an existing practice
• Write a business plan
• Obtain financing
• Lease or buy space
• Consider practice specialties and services
• Determine practice hours and holidays

Team

• Hire a lawyer
• Hire an accountant
• Job advertisements
• Applications
• Interviews
• Reference checks
• License verification
• Hiring
• Employment eligibility I-9 forms
• Employment policies
• Employee medical benefits
• Human resource support
• Other employee benefits
• Orientation/training

Insurance

• Professional liability malpractice insurance
• Life insurance
• Disability income insurance
• Workman’s compensation
• ERISA bonds
• Business loan protection insurance
• Business overhead expense insurance
• Entity malpractice insurance
• Business owner’s protection insurance
• Employment practices liability insurance
• Data breach insurance

Finances

• Establish credit accepted
• Establish pricing
• Become a provider listed with major insurance providers
• Obtain required equipment, hardware and software for accepting payments
• Consider payment plans offered
• Make arrangements to accept cash (banking, change, safe, etc.)
• Secure accounting assistance as needed
• Setup state taxes
• Setup federal taxes
• Acquire IRS tax ID number

Clinical and Office Needs

• Stock supplies
• Purchase equipment and schedule installation
• Choose and partner with a dental laboratory
• Hire medical waste management service
• Subscribe to music and television subscription services for patient areas
• Consider which amenities you want to offer
• Determine and fill software needs (financial software, call tracking, scheduling software, medical billing and coding, etc.)
• Hire an answering service

Marketing

• Practice website
• Digital listing of practice info wherever applicable
• Review site pages
• Social media pages
• Direct mail
• Logo
• Branded Merchandise

Licensing and Regulations

• Local zoning permit
• Local building occupancy permit
• State dental license
• Controlled substance license
• HIPAA compliance
• Register as a provider with the centers for Medicare & Medicaid services
• Infection control standards compliance
• OSHA compliance

Planning for Success

An essential part of your success may come from the assistance of experienced and trusted advisors. When you need the expertise of professionals, from accounting help to marketing, choose wisely. After all, the success of your business may ultimately be on the line.

Once You've Started, Start Growing

Once your dental practice is licensed and established, it's time for you to grow your list of regular patients! 

These patients are the ones who are most loyal to your practice, and their recurring business can help establish a reliable foundation of revenue and friendly faces that keep your practice thriving in the long run. 

You can take any number of approaches to growing your patient list. We assembled some of the most helpful into a free guide that you can download right now. 

Are you ready to take the first steps to growing your patient list? 

Download your free copy of our guide today.

About Treloar & Heisel

Treloar & Heisel is a premier financial services provider to dental and medical professionals across the country. We assist thousands of clients from residency to practice and through retirement with a comprehensive suite of financial services, custom-tailored advice, and a strong national network focused on delivering the highest level of service.

Treloar & Heisel and Treloar & Heisel Risk Management are divisions of Treloar & Heisel, LLC. Insurance products offered through Treloar & Heisel and Treloar & Heisel Risk Management.

Treloar & Heisel, LLC. and its divisions do not offer tax, accounting, business consulting, or legal advice. Please consult a professional for any issues concerning these topics.