Strong Collections Can Hide a Weak Practice
Due Diligence Deep Dive:
Reading Beyond Production and Collections
By Dr. Eric Chatterley, DDS
MEET DR. CHATTERLEY IN DUBLIN ON OCTOBER 24
A free, highly interactive forum for prospective buyers and newer practice
owners - with small-group discussions, recent-buyer panelists and plenty
of time for your questions.
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Saturday, October 24, 2026 | 9:00 a.m. - Noon
REA & Associates Conference Center, Dublin
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FIRST 15 REGISTRANTS RECEIVE A FREE PRACTICE EVALUATION
A $5,000 value from Dr. Eric Chatterley through CTC Pathways.
The evaluation reviews not merely a practice’s financial results but also patient experience, systems & processes, team dynamics & culture, and leadership & management style. Buyers may use it for a practice they’re considering and current owners to see where to improve. This is not an appraisal.
Due Diligence Is More Than a
Box-Checking Exercise
The single most important phase of any practice acquisition is due diligence, and yet it remains the phase that buyers most often rush through. There's a natural urgency once a deal seems to be coming together. You've found a practice you like, the seller seems agreeable, financing is taking shape, and everyone involved wants to keep momentum moving toward a closing date. The temptation in moments like this is to treat due diligence as a box-checking exercise, when in reality it should be the most rigorous and curious phase of your entire journey toward ownership.
Look Beyond Production and Collections
Major red flags almost always surface during due diligence, and they almost always surface in the details rather than the headlines. Production and collections numbers tend to be the first thing buyers look at, and for good reason, but those figures represent the beginning of the conversation rather than the conclusion. A practice can show healthy production and collections while quietly struggling in ways that will become your problem the moment you take ownership. The work of due diligence is to ask deeper questions and follow the answers wherever they lead.
Start With New Patient Flow
Begin with new patient flow. How many new patients has the practice been seeing each month, and how has that number changed over the past three to five years? A practice that brought in thirty new patients a month two years ago and now brings in fifteen is telling you a story, and that story matters far more than the current production figure suggests. Look at the source of those new patients as well. A healthy practice generates a substantial portion of new patients through internal referrals from happy existing patients, which speaks to the strength of relationships and the quality of care. A practice that depends heavily on external marketing to maintain its patient flow is one you'll need to continue investing in marketing dollars to sustain, and that ongoing cost needs to be factored into your projections.
Follow the Collections Trend
Collections trends matter just as much as new patient trends. Are collections steadily increasing, holding steady, or quietly declining? A small decline year over year can be easy to dismiss in the moment, but compounded over time it points to underlying issues that won't fix themselves simply because ownership changed hands. Pair this with a careful look at the accounts receivable aging report. Pay particular attention to anything sitting in the ninety-day-and-older column. Older receivables that haven't been collected often won't be collected, and they tell you something important about the financial discipline of the practice you're considering.
Patient Retention Reveals
Practice Health
Patient retention is another lens that deserves close attention. The active patient count over the past eighteen months is one of the most honest indicators of practice health. A practice can mask declining retention by aggressively marketing for new patients, but the underlying erosion shows up clearly when you look at how many patients are actually returning for care. Alongside this, examine how far out the hygiene and operative schedules are booked. A hygiene schedule booked six to eight weeks out tells a different story than one with openings next week, and the gap between those two scenarios will shape your first year of ownership in dramatic ways.
Team Stability and Insurance Participation Matter
Your team is part of what you're acquiring, and the longevity of team members offers meaningful insight. A practice where most team members have been employed for years generally reflects strong leadership, fair compensation, and a healthy culture. High turnover, especially recent turnover, deserves explanation. Ask the seller directly and listen carefully to how the question is received. Insurance participation also belongs in this analysis. Understanding which plans the practice is in-network with, and what percentage of production flows through each, will tell you a great deal about the patient demographic and the financial mechanics of the business.
Can You Duplicate the Procedure Mix?
Look closely at the production-by-procedure breakdown as well. This is where you discover whether you can genuinely duplicate what the practice is currently doing. If a substantial portion of production comes from procedures you don't perform or aren't comfortable with, you'll either need to refer that work out, build those clinical skills, or accept a reduction in production during your transition. None of those paths are inherently wrong, but each one needs to be planned for rather than discovered after closing.
Understand the Practice Philosophy
Finally, take time to understand the philosophy of the practice. What is the vision the selling doctor has been operating from? What is the mission, spoken or unspoken, that has guided how patients are treated and how team members are led? Practices are not interchangeable financial instruments. They are living organisms shaped by the values and habits of the people who built them, and the closer your own philosophy aligns with what already exists, the smoother your transition will be.
A Complete Picture Creates Confidence
Due diligence done well takes time, costs money, and occasionally surfaces information that changes your mind about a practice you were excited about. All of that is part of the process working as it should. The buyers who emerge from due diligence with a complete and honest picture of what they're purchasing are the buyers who walk into ownership with confidence rather than surprise.
Bring Your Questions to the Forum
If you are considering a practice purchase, due diligence is exactly the kind of work you should understand before you are under the pressure of a closing timeline. The first 15 dentists who register will also receive a complimentary Practice Evaluation from Dr. Eric Chatterley through CTC Pathways, a $5,000 value.
At the 2026 Ohio Dental Practice Ownership Forum, Dr. Eric Chatterley will lead an interactive morning built around real questions from dentists like you. You will take part in small-group discussions, hear from dentists who recently purchased practices and have time to ask the questions that cannot be answered by reading another article or watching another webinar.
The Practice Evaluation is not a formal valuation. It is a practical review of the entire practice, including financial alignment, patient experience, systems & processes, team dynamics & culture, and leadership & management style.
If you are considering a purchase, you may use the evaluation for a practice that interests you or use what you learn to identify changes you may want to make after becoming the owner. If you already own a practice, the evaluation can show you what is working and where improvement may be possible.
The Forum is purely educational and free to attend. Advance registration is required, and the complimentary Practice Evaluations are limited to the first 15 registrants.
Saturday, October 24, 2026
9:00 a.m. until Noon
REA & Associates Conference Center
5400 Frantz Road, Suite 200, Dublin, Ohio.
Dr. Eric Chatterley, DDS
Dental Coaching
Leadership Training and Mentorship
This event is made possible by the generous support of our sponsors:
Bank of America, Provide, REA & Associates, and Huntington Bank
