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A dental partnership usually starts the same way: hopeful, handshakes all around, maybe even a celebratory dinner where everyone swears, “This is going to be great.” I’ve seen it, I’ve lived close to it, and I’ve heard the war stories. Two doctors are sitting in a coffee shop with their laptops, excited to finally have someone to share the load with. In that moment, it feels like the safest, smartest decision of their careers.
Fast forward a few years… and sometimes those same partners can’t even make eye contact in the hallway.
The truth? Partnerships can be powerful, but when the cracks show, they get expensive fast, financially, emotionally, and even clinically. So here are seven mistakes I’ve seen dentists make that end up costing more than they ever imagined.
Money makes people weird. Even best friends. One dentist I knew pulled distributions to remodel his kitchen while his partner was quietly putting off a family vacation just to keep personal cash flow in check. Guess how long it took for resentment to bubble up?
The mistake isn’t in the kitchen. It’s never sitting down and saying, “Here’s how we’re going to handle profits. Here’s what’s fair.” If you don’t hammer that out, every dollar becomes a silent competition.
It’s romantic to think, we’re professionals, we don’t need lawyers. But try explaining “trust” in front of a judge after litigation starts.
Partnership agreements aren’t just legal fluff; they’re your playbook when emotions run high. Who buys who out? How are profits split? What happens if one of you wants to slow down? If that isn’t clear on paper, someone will pay dearly to figure it out later. Usually, both of you.
This one stings. I’ve watched partnerships crumble because one doctor worked 40 hours a week while the other coasted at 28. On paper, their paychecks looked the same. In reality, one was exhausted and bitter, the other defensive and detached.
Counting patients like tally marks on a prison wall isn’t healthy, but neither is pretending effort doesn’t matter. Clear systems for measuring contribution matter more than “trust me, bro.”
Here’s where it gets messy. Imagine refinancing your practice loan, only to discover your partner has a tax lien you never knew about. Suddenly, the bank won’t move forward, the deal stalls, and your collective dream gets torpedoed.
That’s not just a financial hit, it’s betrayal by omission. Partnerships mean shared tax IDs, shared liabilities, and, unfortunately, shared skeletons. If you’re not being transparent about personal debts or messy divorces, you’re handing your partner a live grenade without telling them.
You’d think it’s all business, but no, dentistry itself can split a partnership. One dentist pushing full-mouth cosmetic makeovers, another happy with bread-and-butter restorative work. Patients get confused. Staff whispers about “whose way is right.” Suddenly, your office feels like two practices awkwardly stitched together.
Partnerships thrive when there’s alignment on treatment philosophy. Without it? You’re just running parallel clinics under one roof, and that’s chaos waiting to happen.
Nobody likes to think about the end when they’re still in the honeymoon phase. But here’s the thing: one day, someone’s going to want out. Retirement, burnout, relocation, life always shows up.
Without a clear exit strategy, the remaining partner can get trapped, forced into buying out shares at inflated values, or stuck with a hostile partner who doesn’t want to budge. It’s like avoiding a prenup because it feels “unromantic,” only to realize later that you’re chained to a sinking ship.
Dentists are trained in precision, not conflict resolution. But partnerships don’t blow up over spreadsheets; they blow up over trust, pride, and the little human irritations that never get addressed. “He took another Friday off.” “She micromanages staff.” Tiny pebbles turn into avalanches.
If you don’t check in on the relationship, not just the numbers, you’ll wake up resenting someone you used to celebrate wins with. And that resentment? It costs more than any lawsuit.
I’ve seen partnerships flourish beautifully. Shared overhead, shared ideas, shared laughs after a tough day, it can be wonderful. But only if you go in eyes wide open.
So if you’re a dentist dreaming about bringing on a partner, pause for a moment. Ask the awkward questions now. Put everything in writing. Share the skeletons, even the embarrassing ones. And for heaven’s sake, don’t assume “we’ll figure it out.” Because the cost of avoiding hard conversations is always higher than you think.
Theory is one thing, but hearing how dentists actually face these challenges hits differently. For stories, lessons, and the raw side of practice ownership, tune in to the conversation that brings it all together.Listen to Episode 127 of The Dental Boardroom Podcast and explore these principles in a real-world context.
Wes knows what's best for dental practices. He's been doing this for a long time and he sees lots of practices. He can tell me how our practice is doing, and what we can do to increase our productivity. With past CPA's, there were no ideas. It was all coming from me, saying "I think I can do better, but I don't know how." I come in to meet with Wes and he says "You CAN do better, and I know how."
PracticeCFO is in hundreds of dental offices around the country. They know what numbers should look like. They know what percentages of payroll, rent and supplies should be, and they will hold you accountable to those numbers, which will really help you stick to your plan and your path of growth and savings. That is invaluable
Whenever something comes up, whether it's building or practice related and we weren't sure where the numbers would go, PracticeCFO has been instrumental in helping us figure that out. I can't say enough of how important that is - that it goes beyond that initial partnership. They make sure this business marriage works.
When I go home from work, I don't spend a whole lot of time stressing about what my books look like, or how much I owe in taxes. By using PracticeCFO, the burden of keeping track of a lot of the big financial numbers and metrics are taken off my plate.
PracticeCFO helped me develop a plan for the future. I have colleagues that work with other accountants that don't have a plan - they just look at the numbers of the practice and that's it. There's no plan for 10, 20 years from now. But with PracticeCFO, you get that. PracticeCFO makes you feel like you're they're only client.
(In reference to his practice sale) What could've been super stressful, wasn't! When picking John and Wes, it was from word of mouth recommendations and other people's experiences from the past that really did it for me. And it turns out that those recommendations were right on the line.
Wes knows the business side of dentistry. His comprehensive plan will organize your personal and professional finances so you can focus on taking care of patients. Massive ROI.
I can’t say enough good things about everyone at PracticeCFO. Everyone on the team is professional, organized, knowledgeable, helpful and kind. They also respond to emails and phone calls immediately and are always happy to help. They have helped me navigate year-to-year as a business owner. PracticeCFO gives me peace of mind that my business is in good hands.
I love Practice CFO! They have helped me obtain a practice and maintain a practice. They are incredible people who are on top of everything and make owning and running the business portion of a practice easy. They couldn’t be better for my business and my sanity. They have every detail of the business and taxes taken care of where all I have to do is show up and follow their easy steps to success!
Practice CFO has the best tools I’ve seen for personal tax and financial planning in addition to top-tier corporate tax and accounting services. I have been very pleased with the level of quality service. They manage my monthly bookkeeping and accounts payable. It is a great system and saves me a ton of time, and it allows us to have monthly financial statements within a week of month end.
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