Revenue Lies.
The EBITDA-Per-Chair Metric Doesn’t.
Episode 62
Key Revelations:
The “2-2-2 Method”: $2M in revenue, 2 full-time doctors, 2 full-time hygienists, and a path to $500K in EBITDA per location.
Reverse engineer your EBITDA, and sell the locations that won’t get there. Work backward from that target to get the chairs, new patients and active patients you need, and how many years it will take.
EBITDA per chair is the metric that ends the ego contest. Location count and revenue are ego metrics. EBITDA per chair (or per operatory) is the ultimate normalizer.
Beware the point-solution AI trap. Audit feature overlap before chasing the next shiny thing. If a tool covers 80% of what you need, that’s usually enough.
The Metric That Ends the Ego Contest
Dr. Dipesh Patel, CEO of Blueprint Smiles, shares the uncomfortable truths behind building a dental group that lasts. His group bought a practice, built it up, and sold it 18 months later.
“What’s the best accounting software for a growing dental group?”
💡 The “Ask Dallin” Question:
Dallin’s answer: QuickBooks Online is the standard for roughly 1 to 12–14 locations, whether you use one file or several with a consolidation tool. Past about 14–15 locations, you need an ERP like Sage Intacct or NetSuite. Expect your software bill to jump, but you’ll save significant accounting time and get cleaner, more detailed reporting. Ken adds a warning: these systems often require credentialed accountants to run them, so your payroll costs will rise too.
AVAILABLE ON
(E.33) Flying Blind: The Data Gap Killing Your DSO - David Janash, Underbite Dental
(E.5) The DSO Valuation Crash No One Talks About - Gareth Petsch, pH Partners
(E.30) "Can't You Just Do It?" — The Question Every Dentist Needs to Be Ready For - Dr. Jan Bublik, Bublik Dental Implant and Surgical Center
Top 3 Episodes Of The Dental Truth Project. Listen Now!
Most operators brag about location count and revenue, yet he knows owners with 10 offices and under $1M in EBITDA, and others with $20M in revenue and none. One metric, he says, tells you who is actually running a healthy business. And the tech stack you’re proudly assembling may be quietly eating your P&L.
'Roll the Equity - How Smart Dental Founders Sell Their DSO'
Learn how sophisticated dental founders navigate a DSO sale
Selling your DSO is one of the most consequential decisions of your career. Roll the Equity: How Smart Dental Founders Sell Their DSOs is the playbook for founders who want to approach private equity transactions with clarity — not guesswork.
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