Everything about the business side of dentistry.
Dental school teaches you to practice dentistry. It doesn't teach you how to read a contract, evaluate a practice, negotiate a lease, run Open Dental, or fire someone. This is that education: organized, in depth, and free.
Start where you are
Six tracks, each a progression rather than a pile of articles.
Student → New Grad
Choosing between associate, DSO, and residency. Understanding production vs. collections. Reading your first contract. Surviving year one.
- Before you graduate
- Choosing your first job
- How you actually get paid
- Your first contract
- First year survival
Practice Acquisition
Finding practices, understanding valuation, running real due diligence, securing financing, and closing without surprises.
- Should you own?
- Finding a practice
- Practice valuation
- Due diligence
- Financing and closing
Real Estate & Facilities
Lease versus buy, the lease clauses that matter, site selection, and what an operatory buildout actually costs.
- Lease vs. buy
- Commercial lease terms
- Site selection
- Operatory buildout
- Equipment planning
Open Dental: Full Course
A complete course on the software, scheduling, charting, insurance setup, billing, and the reports that actually matter.
- Setup and navigation
- Scheduling and recall
- Clinical charting
- Insurance and claims
- Billing and reporting
Practice Operations
Systems, scheduling strategy, case acceptance, insurance and revenue cycle, financial benchmarks, compliance, and marketing.
- Systems and workflows
- Scheduling strategy
- Case presentation
- Revenue cycle
- Compliance and marketing
Team & Hiring
Most owners say this is the hardest part. Hiring, interviewing, onboarding, managing performance, and handling terminations.
- Building the team
- Hiring and interviewing
- Onboarding
- Managing performance
- Culture and retention
How this guide works
Real numbers
Ranges, benchmarks, and actual costs wherever we can give them, not "it depends." Where it genuinely does depend, we explain on what.
No vendor bias
Nobody pays us to recommend software, labs, or suppliers. When we recommend something, we explain the reasoning so you can disagree.
We say when to hire a pro
Contracts, taxes, employment law, and compliance need your own attorney or CPA. We'll teach you enough to ask good questions, not replace them.
This guide is educational content and does not constitute legal, financial, tax, or clinical advice. Consult qualified professionals for your specific situation. ChairsideSource is not affiliated with Open Dental Software, Inc., the American Dental Association, or any equipment manufacturer or software vendor referenced in our content.