Dental Practice Premises and Equipment Due Diligence in Alberta

1. Freeze the proposed practice model

Document the dentist owners, professional corporation, Responsible Dentist, management arrangement, providers and exact procedures, imaging, sedation, surgery, laboratory, hygiene and retail activities. Record planned renovations, equipment moves and service expansion.

The diligence conclusion depends on the actual people, activities, equipment and premises. Current seller operation is not a conclusion about a different buyer, provider mix or clinical scope.

• Practice arrangement
• Responsible Dentist
• Patient records
• Radiation and equipment
• IPC and specialized services
• Municipal and lease rights

2. Verify the CDSA practice arrangement

Obtain the current Responsible Dentist and practice-arrangement record, dentists, professional corporations, management entities and roles. Compare it to actual operations and the buyer's proposed post-closing structure.

CDSA requires every practice to appoint a Responsible Dentist and notice of changes to specified practice information. A trade name, management contract or keys to the clinic does not establish a compliant practice arrangement.

3. Map health-information custody

Identify the dentists who own, control and maintain patient and financial records, information managers, systems, PIAs, backups, remote access and separation arrangements. Map how patients retain access if a dentist leaves or the practice closes.

Do not treat records, imaging or appointment data as general building contents. CDSA and HIA duties continue through ownership and system changes, and some changes require an accepted PIA before implementation.

4. Reconcile plans, operatories and workflows

Measure reception, consultation, operatories, imaging, sterilization, laboratory, mechanical, staff, records and storage areas. Compare actual walls, doors, sinks, services and equipment to municipal, building, lease and available clinical plans.

Physical fit-out is not evidence that every wall, service or workflow is approved. Confirm planned changes before waiving conditions or committing irreversible construction funds.

5. Audit radiation registration and shielding

List every x-ray system and applicable laser, registration certificate, inspection, shielding report, dosimetry, quality-control, service and operator record. Confirm serial numbers and facility address match the evidence.

Alberta's OHS Code requires registration before designated radiation equipment is operated. A prior certificate does not prove a relocated, replaced or buyer-operated system is registered or suitable for the proposed layout.

6. Test infection-prevention infrastructure

Review dirty-to-clean reprocessing flow, sinks, surfaces, sterilizers, storage, monitoring, water, suction, sharps, waste, ventilation and the office-specific IPC manual. Compare daily records and maintenance to the current CDSA standard.

A tidy room or operating sterilizer is not proof of compliant workflow. CDSA identifies minimum requirements for reprocessing and office-specific policies; use qualified review for deficiencies and remediation.

7. Review dental mechanical and utility systems

Inspect compressor, vacuum, water treatment, plumbing, drainage, amalgam separation, electrical capacity, emergency power, HVAC, medical gases and equipment supports. Record ownership, access, service history, redundancy, noise and replacement needs.

Environment and Climate Change Canada identifies amalgam-separator and waste practices within its dental-amalgam framework. Installed separators or mechanical systems do not prove current maintenance, capacity or applicability to the buyer's procedures.

8. Separate specialized-service requirements

For sedation, surgery, cone-beam imaging, laboratory, pediatric or other specialized activities, create a separate provider, permit or registration, equipment, staffing, emergency, space and reporting checklist under current CDSA requirements.

Sedation authorization and facility requirements depend on modality. Seller services and equipment do not automatically authorize the buyer or a new provider to continue them.

9. Confirm municipal and building approvals

Verify address-specific use, development permit, building and trade permits, fire, accessibility, occupant load and signs. Calgary requires land-use approval and business registration for dentistry; Edmonton's current Health Service definition includes dental offices.

Do not rely on a listing label or the fact that patients are currently treated. A changed floor plan, imaging room, plumbing system, lab or expanded activity may require fresh review.

10. Audit lease and real-property rights

Compare the clinical footprint to the lease or title and review use, exclusivity, assignment, change of control, consent, alterations, restoration, signs, waste, after-hours access, mechanical rooms and equipment removal. Identify landlord-owned improvements.

For owned property, investigate title, building systems, water, environmental matters, taxes and capital work separately. Specialized fit-out can be operationally essential without being transferable, landlord-approved or valuable to another user.

11. Turn gaps into readiness conditions

For every gap, name the regulator, dentist, professional, landlord or contractor responsible, the evidence required, deadline, cost ownership and consequence. Coordinate professional structure, records, radiation, IPC work, equipment, permits, insurance and possession.

Preserve separate legal-closing, premises-completion and clinical-readiness gates. Possession of an equipped dental suite does not authorize professional services or access to patient information.

12. Preserve a dated professional record

Record sources, certificate and plan versions, serial numbers, inspections, measurements, limitations and unresolved questions. Recheck time-sensitive practice, permit, equipment, lease and lien status before condition waiver and closing.

This framework is educational and is not dental, clinical, legal, health-information, privacy, radiation, infection-control, planning, building, engineering, environmental, appraisal or valuation advice. Commercially does not certify dental-premises suitability.