What should I ask about hygienists when buying a dental practice?

Hygiene visits are often the steady base of a dental practice, and the hygienists are usually the people patients see most. Ask for the hygiene schedule: how full it is, how far ahead patients book, and how many appointments each hygienist handles. Then ask what share of patients came through the hygiene chair first. Next, ask how the hygienists are engaged and paid, what their hours are, and what they are promised. Meet them with the seller’s agreement. Listen for how they feel about the practice, the equipment and the culture. A good hygienist who feels unsettled may be hard to replace.

Ask also about patient records and recall systems. Patients should be recalled by the practice, not by the individual. Your lawyer can explain how privacy obligations apply to the records you will hold, and the regulator can answer questions about practice rules. Finally, ask what the seller has done to cover absences, and whether temporary help is easy to find locally. If a hygienist does leave, ask the seller how quickly past vacancies were filled, and what the schedule looked like in the meantime.

Key takeaways

• Review the hygiene schedule and how far ahead it is booked.
• Learn how each hygienist is engaged, paid and scheduled.
• Meet the hygienists before closing and ask about their plans.
• Check that patient recall belongs to the practice, not one person.