How long does it take to buy a dental practice?
How long it takes varies widely. The search can run from weeks to well over a year depending on inventory in your market, and from a signed letter of intent to closing is usually a matter of months. Financing approval and the lease assignment are the two steps that most often stretch the timeline, and both can be shortened by work done before you ever make an offer.
Phase by phase
| Phase | Timing | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Getting pre-qualified | Before you search | Lender reviews your credit, experience and production history. |
| Searching and signing NDAs | Depends on inventory in your market | Entirely dependent on what is listed where you want to practice. |
| Reviewing financials and visiting | After the NDA | Tax returns, year-to-date P&L, production by provider, an after-hours walkthrough. |
| Letter of intent | Short once terms are clear | Non-binding; sets price, structure and the diligence window. |
| Due diligence and financing | Run together | Charts, equipment, payer mix, staff, and the loan commitment. |
| Lease assignment | In parallel, on the landlord's schedule | Landlord consent runs on the landlord's schedule, not yours. |
| Purchase agreement and closing | Last | Attorneys draft, escrow closes, transition plan agreed. |
What you can do before you find the practice
Get the lender pre-qualification. It costs you nothing, it tells you what is in reach, and it takes time out of the back half.
Line up an attorney who has closed dental transactions and a CPA who reads dental books. Finding them after a letter of intent is signed is how a short window becomes a long one.
Sign confidentiality agreements early with the brokers covering your market. Being on their list is how you see a practice early instead of late.
What actually runs long
Financing. A clean approval should not need much chasing once the package is in. If it does, something is unresolved, and it is usually easier to find out by phone than by sending the file to another bank.
The lease. The landlord is not a party to your purchase and has no deadline of their own. Their consent to an assignment is on their schedule, which is why it gets started early rather than at signing.
See the listings
Keep exploring
Counts as of Nov 14, 2026.
Related questions
Every listing count on this page is computed from the listings published on The Dental Practice Market and was rebuilt Nov 14, 2026. Descriptions of the buying process are general information, not statistics or advice. Supply-side only: we publish how many practices are listed, where and of what type. We never publish an estimate of what a practice is worth.