Building a new practice, need advice where to start

[Timetobuild]

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Hey everyone, haven't been on this forum since I was in dental school. I have noticed a few startup threads but not exactly what I was wondering.

So I have a location, what I am curious about is equipment. I have talked with Schein and Patterson about equipment, but from what I hear I will end up paying top dollar. What do you guys recommend? Are there better vendors for dental chairs/ delivery systems/ sterilization equipment?

I have also seen a ton of dental chairs for sale from China, does anyone have firsthand experience with these unbranded chairs? I have a local person that sells them, but don't know anyone that has worked with them.

Thanks 🙂

 

[Incis0r]

Welcome!

You'll get some good answers here no doubt.

If I may make a suggestion, you should create an account and also ask the same question over at Dentaltown. They talk about this every single minute of the day. You'll get all your questions answered easily over there.

 

[Daurang]

Hey everyone, haven't been on this forum since I was in dental school. I have noticed a few startup threads but not exactly what I was wondering.

So I have a location, what I am curious about is equipment. I have talked with Schein and Patterson about equipment, but from what I hear I will end up paying top dollar. What do you guys recommend? Are there better vendors for dental chairs/ delivery systems/ sterilization equipment?

I have also seen a ton of dental chairs for sale from China, does anyone have firsthand experience with these unbranded chairs? I have a local person that sells them, but don't know anyone that has worked with them.

Thanks 🙂

I'm an extreme cheapskate but DON'T get cheap chair from China. They break down and where you gonna get servicing or parts? Get the Belmont chair from Japan...lasts me 15 year with zero problem and still going; plus company have been around forever. Yes Schein is expensive but you don't have to get everything from them. Just get the two pt chairs, vacuum, compressor, autoclave, pano, and an xray to start off with them designing and helping you through the process. Their expertise and rapid servicing is worth it at least in the beginning when you're clueless. Avoid buying dental cabinetry or minimize cabinetry altogether. You'll just store lots of junks. Don't let them sell you and don't be tempted to go all impressive high tech nonsense cause patients simply don't know and don't care. Go find an Asian or Brazilian general contractor to save at least half your construction cost. Don't know where to find them? Go to a nice nail salon and ask them who built it. I built out my whole practice from scratch for $80k.

 

[bjpenn]

Google dental liquidators. You can get an Adec chair with massage for around 5k

 

[THS]

I agree with Incis0r. Get on DentalTown. Look up Scott Leune. Believe it or not, you CAN set up an office for less than $20k per operatory. That is a decent guideline to follow. Not every operatory needs its own xray. Use a NOMAD (if you are concerned about the exposure risks, check this out: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18239038) or build a pass-through cabinet in the wall so that 2 ops can share a unit. Belmont chairs are apparently great. I would trust that advice from Daurang.

You DO NOT need Schein's cabinets. Hiring a general contractor or cabinet installer from Home Depot can save you a ton. Make sure the cabinets conform to traditional dental cabinet specs, but you don't need to get them from a dental supplier.

Whatever money you can save on the buildout, apply towards marketing.

Good luck!