Selling a Dental Practice With Commercial Property in Alberta

1. Establish the seller and sale perimeter

Map every dentist, professional corporation, shareholder, management entity, Responsible Dentist, record custodian, equipment owner, leaseholder and property owner. Identify cost sharing, associates, related-party rent and management arrangements.

With legal and tax advisors, define the shares, practice assets, receivables, inventory, equipment, goodwill, leasehold rights and real estate offered. CDSA's professional-ownership limits must shape buyer qualification and structure.

• Regulated seller
• Practice structure
• Collections evidence
• Records custody
• Equipment and permits
• Lease or property

2. Prepare the CDSA and practice-arrangement record

Index registrations, professional-corporation permits, Responsible Dentist filing, dentists and entities in the practice, management services, standards correspondence, complaints or restrictions relevant to advice and any changes requiring notice.

Describe current status as dated seller evidence—not buyer approval. Do not suggest that professional incorporation, the Responsible Dentist role or regulatory standing transfers with the commercial agreement.

3. Build reconciled financial evidence

Prepare provider- and procedure-level production, adjustments, claims, remittances, collections, refunds and receivables and reconcile them to banking, merchant, tax and general-ledger records. Explain system migrations and report limitations.

Gross production is not collections or earnings. Keep reported results, documented adjustments, estimates and forecasts distinct and avoid rule-of-thumb valuation claims without an identified qualified source.

4. Present patient activity without selling patients

Define active-patient, recall, new-patient, treatment-plan and appointment metrics with report dates and logic. Use aggregate, de-identified information for preliminary disclosure and explain provider and referral concentration.

Patients are not owned and records are not unrestricted sale assets. Do not market chart count, recalls, online reviews, referral patterns or unaccepted treatment plans as guaranteed transferable demand.

5. Control records and privacy disclosure

Document the dentist custodians, information managers, PIAs, systems, backups, access, retention and post-closing arrangements. CDSA requires clear custodianship when dentists leave and continuing access when a practice closes.

Stage identifiable information only under a lawful, necessary process designed with privacy counsel. An NDA alone does not authorize buyer access to patient charts, imaging, claims or appointment details.

6. Register equipment and condition evidence

Create a serial-numbered register for clinical, imaging, sterilization, compressor, vacuum, laboratory, IT and emergency equipment. Include owner, financing, service, validation, condition, included status and known replacement needs.

Reconcile invoices, service agreements and Personal Property Registry evidence. Presence in the clinic does not prove ownership, lien-free status, compliance, remaining life or inclusion.

7. Assemble radiation and specialized-service records

Provide current radiation facility and equipment records, inspections, shielding, dosimetry, quality-control and corrective work. Separately index sedation registration or permits, facility requirements and other specialized-service evidence where applicable.

Do not promise that certificates, permits or service scope continue for a buyer. Identify which items attach to the dentist, facility, equipment, location or current arrangement and require fresh confirmation.

8. Prepare infection-control evidence

Organize the current office-specific IPC manual, reprocessing workflow, sterilizer records, biological monitoring, maintenance, water, waste, sharps, respiratory and occupational-health records. Disclose known deficiencies and planned work.

A visual tour or recent operation does not prove compliance. Keep clinical conclusions with CDSA and qualified professionals and make time-sensitive evidence available through controlled diligence.

9. Prepare the lease or property file

For a lease, provide every amendment, option, notice, consent, guarantee, use, exclusivity, alteration and restoration term with reconciled rent. Identify equipment, plumbing, medical gases, signs and leasehold improvements and who owns them.

For owned real estate, assemble title, municipal approval, building, environmental, tax and capital records independently from practice value. Do not imply assignment, option exercise or property value without supporting evidence.

10. Qualify the buyer and transition plan

Require the buyer to identify registration, professional corporation, Responsible Dentist, financing, working capital, privacy, radiation, lease, staffing and clinical-readiness plans. Use objective milestones and staged disclosure.

Coordinate patient communication, associate and staff planning, records continuity, systems, suppliers, payers, insurance, keys and possession without promising a date dependent on unconfirmed regulatory or third-party action.

11. Build claim-controlled marketing

Tie every public statement about collections, production, patient activity, provider mix, equipment, permits, lease term and property to a dated source and definition. Correct claims when circumstances or source data change.

Avoid language that suggests patients, records, professional standing or future earnings are being guaranteed. Keep asking price separate from qualified valuation or appraisal conclusions.

12. Close with professional controls

Have legal, tax, accounting, privacy and dental advisors address structure, allocations, receivables, employees, liabilities, WCB, records, equipment and adjustments. Preserve separate legal-closing and clinical-readiness gates where needed.

Commercially does not certify practice ownership, patient records, collections, goodwill, equipment, permits, lease rights or property approval, and this guide is not a valuation or professional opinion.