Foundations: What to know before starting a dental practice
Whether you plan to buy a dental practice or start one from scratch, you need to know what you are walking into. Foundations covers the financial, legal, and operational essentials every practice owner needs. 100% free.
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Lesson 1: Why Most Owners Underestimate What’s Coming
The full foundations curriculum: 12 modules, 61 lessons
Personal readiness
Is ownership right for you?
Evaluate your clinical confidence, personal finances, and lifestyle priorities before committing to ownership.
From clinical to owner: The mindset shift
What changes on day one, what doesn't, and leading a team you now pay.
Financial foundations
Reading a practice P&L
Production vs. collections, owner comp distortions, and a real P&L walkthrough.
How dental practice lending actually works
SBA vs. dental-specific lenders, and what's actually negotiable.
Personal financial readiness for owners
Personal cash flow before opening, student loans, and emergency reserves.
Legal & structural
Choosing your business structure
LLC, PLLC, PC, and S-Corp structures, including long-term tax and liability trade-offs.
Building for exit from day one
EBITDA cleanliness, doctor dependency, and the five decisions that set your exit multiple.
HIPAA, OSHA, and compliance basics
What's actually required, what violations cost, and a self-audit.
Market & operations
Demographics and market analysis
Reading a market like a practice owner, competition mapping, and running your own demographic analysis.
Insurance contracting strategy
PPO vs. FFS vs. hybrid, fee schedules, and setting your strategy before you open.
KPIs and owner dashboards
The five numbers every owner tracks, and how to build your own dashboard.
The decision
The path decision
Evaluate startups, acquisitions, and partnerships against your financial timeline, then build your written ownership plan.
Taught by people who do this for a living
Thirteen founding faculty built this curriculum with us. Dental practice acquisition advisors, dental CPAs, attorneys, demographics analysts, marketing operators, insurance and credentialing experts. Each one teaches only the thing they're verifiably great at.
Built for future dental practice owners
Associate Dentists
Build a clear financial blueprint before applying for a dental practice loan.
Dental Residents & Students
Master practice economics, debt planning, and career strategy before you graduate.
First-Time Buyers & Startup Founders
Get a clear framework to audit P&Ls, market demographics, and deal terms before making an offer on a dental practice.
Yes. You get full access to all 61 lessons, downloadable tools, and the peer community. You do not need a credit card to sign up.
No catch. Foundations covers the core essentials at no cost. We offer paid, advanced courses for startups and acquisitions, but this introductory material and community are free.
Once you create your account, you can revisit any lesson whenever you need it.
About 8 hours 40 minutes of video across 61 lessons. The course is intentionally built to be self-paced so you can watch in shorter pieces as you go.
If you haven’t read a P&L, talked to a dental lender, or compared entity structures, start here.
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