Buying a Dental Practice With Commercial Property in Alberta

1. Define the lawful buyer and transaction

Map the proposed dentist, professional corporation, voting and non-voting shareholders, Responsible Dentist, management entities and property entity. Separate shares, professional-practice assets, equipment, receivables, leasehold rights, real estate and excluded items.

CDSA states that only a licensed member, registered practitioner or professional corporation may engage in dentistry and that sale of a dental practice to a non-dental corporation is contrary to the Health Professions Act. Do not design the commercial deal first and assume the regulated structure can be added later.

• Qualified buyer
• Shares or assets
• Responsible Dentist
• Patient records
• Equipment and permits
• Lease or real estate

2. Verify the practice arrangement and Responsible Dentist

Every practice must appoint a Responsible Dentist with a continuous, ongoing connection to the practice. Review the current filing, dentists, professional corporations, management services, associations, roles and reported changes against the buyer's proposed arrangement.

The Responsible Dentist may be separate from the owner, but remains accountable for defined practice matters. A management agreement, brand licence or property ownership cannot displace professional responsibility or validate a structure CDSA has not reviewed.

3. Rebuild collections from source records

Export production, adjustments, write-offs, insurance estimates, claims, remittances, patient payments, refunds and accounts receivable by provider, procedure, payer and period. Reconcile practice-management reports to bank deposits, merchant settlements, tax records and the general ledger.

Gross production is not collections, gross profit or normalized earnings. Separate billed, adjusted, rejected, reversed, uncollected and collected amounts, and identify whether the seller, associate or hygiene provider generated each result.

4. Test provider and patient concentration

Analyze active-patient definitions, new patients, recalls, appointments, cancellations, treatment plans and revenue by provider, referral source, procedure and location. Preserve methodology and report dates so changes can be reproduced.

Patient charts and appointment counts are not owned demand. Do not convert the seller's professional relationships, unaccepted treatment plans, unscheduled recalls or historical patient visits into guaranteed future production.

5. Rebuild normalized earnings

Reconcile clinical supplies, laboratory, payroll, associates, hygiene, rent, software, equipment service, waste, insurance, marketing and owner compensation. Separate documented adjustments from buyer forecasts and identify deferred staffing, maintenance or replacement costs.

A percentage of production or rule-of-thumb multiple is not a valuation conclusion. Use accounting and valuation professionals to interpret cash flow, working capital, taxes, goodwill and property independently.

6. Protect patient records and privacy

Map the dentists who hold ownership, custody, control and maintenance of patient and financial records, the information managers, systems, backups, remote access and proposed transition. CDSA requires continuing custodianship and patient access when a dentist leaves or a practice closes.

Patient records are not ordinary goodwill or unrestricted diligence material. Use aggregate evidence first and obtain health-information advice for any custody, access, system, PIA, information-manager or Netcare change.

7. Audit clinical equipment and registered interests

List chairs, delivery units, imaging, sterilizers, compressors, vacuum, laboratory, scanners, IT and emergency equipment by serial number, owner, age, maintenance, validation, financing and included status. Reconcile supplier, lease and service agreements.

Order appropriate Personal Property Registry searches and have counsel interpret registrations. Equipment installed in an operatory may be leased, financed, landlord-owned, obsolete, excluded or unable to support the buyer's proposed procedures.

8. Verify radiation equipment and facility registration

Inventory every x-ray unit, cone-beam system and applicable laser, together with current facility and equipment registration, inspections, shielding, dosimetry, quality control, repairs and operator records. Alberta identifies CDSA as the authorized registration agency for radiation equipment in dental facilities.

A seller's certificate, equipment label or previous inspection does not prove the buyer's facility, relocated unit or altered layout is registered and ready. Confirm change, transfer, installation and renewal steps with CDSA and qualified radiation professionals.

9. Test infection-control and specialized services

Review the office-specific IPC manual, reprocessing layout, sterilizer records, biological and mechanical monitoring, water, sharps, hazardous materials, respiratory protection and corrective actions. If sedation, surgery, orthodontics, implants or other specialized services are material, test the provider, permit, staffing, equipment and facility requirements separately.

Current operation is not proof that every workflow or buyer service complies. Installed equipment and a clean sterilization room do not replace dated records, competent inspection or buyer-specific professional review.

10. Verify municipal, lease and property rights

Confirm the approved municipal use, permits, building and fire records, suite plans, signs, accessibility and planned alterations. Calgary requires business registration and land-use approval even where dentistry does not require a municipal practice licence; Edmonton identifies dental offices within Health Service.

For a lease, review use, exclusivity, assignment, change of control, guarantees, options, alterations, restoration, equipment, plumbing, medical gases, waste and landlord consent. For owned property, investigate title, condition, environmental issues and capital work separately from practice goodwill.

11. Coordinate closing and operating readiness

Tie professional-corporation and practice arrangements, Responsible Dentist notice, privacy and records, radiation, landlord consent, equipment liens, insurance, staff, WCB, systems, payer and supplier readiness to objective evidence and deadlines.

Build a contingency if commercial closing and lawful clinical readiness do not align. Possession of the suite, patient system, charts or equipment does not authorize practice or patient-information access.

12. Keep advice and claims bounded

This guide is educational and is not dental, clinical, legal, health-information, privacy, tax, accounting, employment, radiation, planning, building, engineering, appraisal or valuation advice.

Commercially does not certify professional ownership, practice arrangements, patient records, collections, goodwill, equipment, radiation registration, infection control, lease rights or property suitability.