For aging dental practice owners, the key to a stronger sale is making the business less dependent on them. Buyers want predictable revenue that will continue after the founder retires. By shifting production to associates, strengthening retention and planning the transition several years in advance, owners can reduce risk, improve valuation and retire on better terms.

When veterinary or dental practice owners delay employee reviews, the issue can surface at the worst possible time: during a sale. Key staff may ask for raises, threaten to leave, or raise unresolved concerns while a buyer is evaluating the stability of the team. A simple, consistent review process helps retain employees, reduce risk, and protect the value of the practice.

Wicklow Healthcare Advisory welcomes Curtis Regimbal as Director, Healthcare Merger & Acquisitions, bringing extensive experience in practice growth, financing, brokerage, and ownership transitions.

Earnouts, equity rollovers and buybacks can make a dental practice offer look more valuable than the amount a seller ultimately receives. Learn how these deal structures work, where the risks are and what to consider before agreeing to stay after the sale.

Your dental practice’s insurance mix tells buyers far more than where today’s revenue comes from. It reveals margins, pricing flexibility, patient loyalty, growth potential, and future risk. Learn how buyers evaluate fee-for-service and PPO revenue, and what you can do before selling to strengthen your practice’s value.

Should you sell your dental practice to a DSO or an independent buyer? This article breaks down the tradeoffs behind each path, from cash at close and equity rollover to EBITDA, transition timelines, control, and what you want life to look like after the sale.

Hygiene production is one of the first numbers buyers look at when evaluating a dental practice. A strong hygiene department signals patient retention, recurring revenue, and a healthier practice valuation.

Many associate dentists quietly consider practice ownership, but exploring that path too early or too publicly can create tension. This guide explains how to think about dental practice ownership strategically, build the right advisory team, and protect your associate role while preparing for future opportunities.

Many veterinary and dental practice owners focus on minimizing taxes each year. But aggressive tax strategies can distort financials, weaken reported earnings, and reduce practice value at sale. Here’s how the “tax trap” develops—and how to protect long-term enterprise value without sacrificing smart tax planning.

Dental practices don’t operate like typical small businesses. From associate compensation to collections and EBITDA, the wrong CPA can quietly cost you real money. Here’s why dental-specific accounting matters and why the start of the year is the smartest time to make a change.

The new year is a smart time for practice owners to step back and focus on what actually moves the needle. From cleaning up financials to making simple facility improvements and understanding true practice value, these three practical resolutions can put dentists and veterinarians in a stronger position for the year ahead—whether growth, stability, or a future transition is the goal.

If you’re selling your dental or veterinary practice and come across an “advisor” claiming their services are free because the buyer pays the fee — stop and ask questions. What sounds like a perk can actually be a major conflict of interest that costs you real money. Here’s what every seller should know before signing on.

Too many deals fall apart, not because the business isn’t strong, but because the seller’s expectations don’t line up with reality. In this blog, we share a real example of a practice that looked great on paper but never got to closing, and the lessons every seller should learn before going to market.

When an owner starts thinking about selling, the first question is usually, “What’s my practice worth?” That’s an important question—but not the first one you should be asking. The real starting point is making sure you are ready: financially, mentally, and strategically.

When it comes time to sell your practice, the numbers aren’t enough. Buyers aren’t just purchasing equipment and financials — they’re buying confidence that the team will stay, the clients won’t leave, and the transition will be smooth. At Wicklow, we help practice owners prepare, position, and transition so they can maximize value and close with certainty.

We say this often at Wicklow, because it’s a critical distinction that many buyers (and even some advisors) miss. When a corporate buyer or private equity group is evaluating a multi-doctor practice, they want to know what the business throws off in pure operational profit—before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

If you’re exploring practice ownership, one question comes up every time: “Should I buy an existing practice, or should I start one from scratch?” The real answer is: it depends on you — and the vision you have for your future.

When it comes to selling your healthcare practice — whether veterinary, dental, or medical — timing is everything. Many owners believe they can wait “just a few more years” to build value, only to discover too late that the market, or their own business fundamentals, have shifted against them.

When you're buying a dental, veterinary, or medical practice, you’re not just choosing a business — you’re laying the foundation for years of ownership. One of the most critical decisions you’ll make during that process is choosing your bank.

Dentists, by nature, are solitary beings. Most practice alone and many have no arrangement to keep their practices running if they are unable to be in the office. The thinking often goes, “I have life/disability/overhead/malpractice insurance. What else is there to worry about?” An often-overlooked “insurance” is the cross-coverage group—an agreement among like-minded practitioners to fill in for one another if a member is disabled or dies.