Updated October 22, 2026
This dental practice valuation calculator starts from the numbers a buyer looks at: annual collections, overhead before the owner's pay, the add-backs that are really owner benefits or one-time costs, and what it would cost to pay a dentist to do the owner's clinical work. That gives adjusted EBITDA, which your multiples turn into a value range, alongside a percent-of-collections range. Then it checks the buyer's side: whether the practice's earnings cover a loan payment at the midpoint price.
Quick answer: Adjusted EBITDA = collections × (1 − overhead %) + add-backs − owner's collections × associate pay %. Value = adjusted EBITDA × EBITDA multiple (low to high), or collections × a percent of collections. Debt coverage = adjusted EBITDA ÷ yearly loan payment at the midpoint value.
An estimate from the numbers you entered, not a market price. Put in your own costs for a number you can stand behind.
Owners spend about 11 to 16 hours/week on admin, and a lead reached within an hour is nearly 7 times more likely to turn into a real conversation (HBR). The math is the easy part; the money leaks out in the calls you can't take, the follow-ups nobody sends and the invoices that sit unpaid. Unmanually is a 24/7 AI Office Manager for dental practices that you run by voice from your phone:
Sources: admin hours, Time etc / Censuswide 2023 and Amex SME Barometer 2026; speed to lead, HBR audit of 2,241 US companies (2011).
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before owner pay = collections × (1 − overhead %)adjusted EBITDA = before owner pay + add-backs − collections × owner's share × associate pay %value by earnings = adjusted EBITDA × EBITDA multiple (low to high)value by collections = collections × percent of collections (low to high)yearly loan payment = 12 × midpoint × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−months), r = rate ÷ 12debt coverage = adjusted EBITDA ÷ yearly loan payment
These are assumptions for illustration, including the multiples and the loan rate. Get real ones from an appraiser and a lender.
A practice collecting $1,200,000/year with overhead of 62% before owner pay and $30,000 of add-backs. The owner produces 80% of collections, and an associate would be paid 30% of what they collect. EBITDA multiples of 4× to 6×, 60% to 80% of collections, and a buyer's loan at 8% over 10 years.
Before owner pay the practice earns $1,200,000 × 38% = $456,000. Add back $30,000 and subtract $1,200,000 × 80% × 30% = $288,000 for the owner's dentistry: adjusted EBITDA is $198,000, 16.5% of collections. At 4× to 6× the value is $792,000 to $1,188,000; at 60% to 80% of collections it is $720,000 to $960,000. At the $990,000 midpoint, the buyer's loan costs $144,137/year, so earnings cover it 1.37×, leaving $53,863.
With overhead at 68% instead, adjusted EBITDA falls to $126,000 and the earnings value to $504,000 to $756,000, while collections haven't changed. Overhead is where practice value is made or lost.
Buyers start with collections and overhead, then normalize: add back owner perks and one-time costs, and subtract what it would cost to replace the owner's clinical work. That adjusted EBITDA is what a buyer actually buys. A practice with high collections and high overhead can be worth less than a smaller, leaner one.
Valuations are often discussed as a multiple of adjusted earnings or a percentage of collections. The calculator shows both with numbers you enter, because the right multiple depends on location, payer mix, growth, equipment, lease terms, the hygiene program and the buyer. A formal appraisal from someone who values dental practices in your market is the number to take into a sale.
Most buyers borrow. If the practice's earnings barely cover the loan payment at your asking price, the deal is hard to finance and the price comes down. The debt coverage check tells you early whether the price and the earnings fit together. Use a current rate quote, not an old one. Notice that coverage depends on the multiple and the loan terms: a higher multiple on the same earnings always means a bigger payment against the same cash flow.
A strong hygiene schedule with patients reliably coming back for recall shows steady future collections. New patient flow shows the practice will keep growing. Both are easy for a buyer to check in the schedule and the practice management software.
Clean books, a transferable lease, updated equipment, a stable team and documented systems make the numbers believable. Start two or three years ahead: fixing overhead and recall takes time to show in the financials.
The same numbers are useful even with no sale in sight. Adjusted EBITDA is a cleaner view of how the practice performs than the tax return, and tracking it yearly shows whether new hires, equipment and marketing are paying off.
New patients call the first dental office that answers and can book them. Unmanually is an AI Office Manager that works 24/7 and that you run by voice: the AI Office Manager answers, asks the reason for the visit, insurance and preferred times, books the appointment and texts the confirmation and forms, runs recall reminders to fill hygiene, then sends statements and chases balances. See what Unmanually does for dental practices, or get a free website that calls every new lead back in about a minute.
What the AI Office Manager does for dental offices, from new patient calls to recall.
Filling the schedule and handling insurance questions.
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Buyers usually start from adjusted EBITDA (collections minus overhead, plus add-backs, minus the cost of replacing the owner's dentistry) and apply a multiple, or look at a percentage of collections. The calculator shows both with multiples you enter.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for owner perks, one-time costs and a market cost for the owner's clinical work. In the example it is $198,000 on $1.2 million of collections.
It depends on the market, the practice and the buyer. The calculator's defaults are assumptions for illustration, not quotes; a dental practice appraiser or broker can give you a range for your area.
Expenses a buyer won't have: the owner's personal car or travel, family members on payroll who don't work there, one-time repairs or legal costs. Keep the list honest; buyers and lenders check it.
Check debt coverage: adjusted EBITDA divided by the yearly loan payment at your price. The calculator works it out from a rate and term you enter; ask lenders what coverage they need.
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