What is a dental practice broker, and do I need one?

What a broker does

Prepares the practice: assembles the financial package, normalizes the books, writes the anonymized listing. Markets it confidentially so staff and patients do not find out. Screens buyers, which is what the confidentiality agreement and the pre-qualification question are for. Coordinates the transaction — financing, due diligence, the lease, the attorneys, escrow — and keeps it moving.

What a broker is not

Not your representative, if they hold the listing. They work for the seller and their fee comes from the sale. That is not a criticism; it is the structure, and a good listing broker is straight about it.

Not your attorney and not your accountant. The purchase agreement is drafted by lawyers and the books are read by a CPA.

Do you need one as a buyer?

You do not need to hire one to buy a listed practice — you contact the listing broker directly and it costs you nothing. Some buyers engage a buyer's representative for a search across many markets; that is a paid relationship you enter on purpose, with terms in writing.

What you do need is your own attorney and your own CPA. Those are the two people at the table whose only client is you.

Finding one

The broker directory lists the 196 sources publishing listings here, alphabetically within region. There is no paid placement and no ranking: this site takes no position on which broker anybody should use, and the owner's own affiliations do not move anyone up the page.

See the listings

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