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Residents’ Skewed View of the Orthodontic Industry

Chris Bentson had the opportunity to spend some extended time with the first and second year residents attending two Mid-western programs a while back. Prior to the visit, he requested each resident complete a basic questionnaire regarding general information for U.S. orthodontic practices. Here is a list of the resident questions:

1. Approximately how many private orthodontic practices exist in the U.S.?
2. What is the average annual collections of a single doctor practice in the U.S.?
3. What is the average overhead of a private practice in the U.S.?
4. What percentage of practices in the U.S. are using Invisalign?
5. Name a ratio of revenue of collections per full time employee in the orthodontic industry.
6. Name some common rules of thumb used to express a practice value.
7. How much money will a lender loan to purchase or start-up a practice?
8. What are the expectations of income for a first year, full-time associate?
9. Would you consider using a practice management consultant in the first two years of practice ownership or start-up? Why or why not?
10. Name some considerations that need to be examined when considering a long term partnership.

It was fun to compare the residents’ responses before and after the presentation. Chris compiled answers to all the questions given prior to the lecture. Using the extreme answers, below is a radical, fictional description of the U.S Orthodontic market from the mouths of residents:

There are 1,000 practices in the U.S., having average annual collections of $300,000 and an overhead of 75%. One-hundred percent of the practices in the U.S. currently use Invisalign. The average revenue per employee is approximately $50,000, and I’m planning to employ six employees in my practice that grosses $300,000 per year. I will pay about 30% of annual collections to purchase an orthodontic practice. A lender will loan up to $2,000,000, and I expect to take home $250,000 within my first year of practice. I would consider hiring a consultant because they only cost about $100 per day and probably have some good ideas. If I go into a partnership arrangement, my biggest concern is tracking vacation time.

Obviously everyone in the orthodontic industry has a lot of work to do when it comes to residents’ knowledge of the industry.

Bentson Clark & Copple Announces Upcoming Speaking Schedule

The Bentson Clark & Copple team have a busy upcoming fall schedule. We always enjoy the opportunity to speak at orthodontic society meetings, study clubs, orthodontic schools, and resident functions. This fall we have been provided numerous opportunities to do so! Chris Bentson will be crisscrossing the country presenting to the orthodontic community.

Some of Chris’ presentation will be solely directed towards the orthodontic resident community, while others are targeted toward the general orthodontic doctor population. He will be speaking on a number of topics including, but not limited to: locating a practice opportunity, today’s orthodontic marketplace, orthodontic trends, practice transition (from both buyers’ and sellers’ perspectives), practice valuation, and the future of the orthodontic industry.

Below is a list of Bentson Clark & Copple’s upcoming speaking and exhibiting schedule.

September 20-23, 2012
Middle Atlantic Society of Orthodontists (MASO) Annual Session
Baltimore Hilton
Baltimore, MD
Booth # 405
Doctor Lecture: Benchmarking the Orthodontic Practice
Resident Lecture: The Process of Locating a Practice to Build, Join, Partner or Purchase

September 27-29, 2012
Southern Association of Orthodontists (SAO) 2012 Annual Meeting
Grove Park Inn
Ashville, NC
Booth # 605
Doctor Lecture: Today’s Orthodontic Practice & Marketplace
Resident Lecture: How to Locate a Practice Opportunity

October 9, 2012
AAO Sponsored Resident Webinar
Resident Webinar: Path to Ownership, Partnership or Associateship

October 11-13, 2012
OrthoVoice 2012
Bally’s Hotel
Las Vegas, NV
Booth # 311
Practice Transition Panel Discussion

October 18-20, 2012
OrthoSynetics’ 2012 Practice Meeting
Loews Ventana Canyon
Tucson, AZ
Doctor Lecture: Today’s Orthodontic Marketplace and How It Will Shape Tomorrow

October 25, 2012
TP Orthodontics Resident Presentation
TP Orthodontics Headquarters
La Porte, IN
Resident Presentation: The Resident Pathway to Future Practice Ownership

Be sure to attend one of Chris Bentson’s lectures, visit our booth (if we are exhibiting at that particular meeting) and pick up of the most recent copy of the Bentson Clark reSource!

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