Your Practice Valuation Multiple Is Set in December—Don't Mess This Up

Your practice valuation multiple is set in December. Year-end numbers drive your 2026 asking price. Don't mess this up.

What buyers are looking at right now: General dentistry practices are trading at 9-11x EBITDA in 2025 for platform deals, or 5-8x for add-on acquisitions. Specialty practices are 1.0-1.8x depending on type. Those multiples are stable. They're not climbing. But they're also not falling. You're in a balanced market.

The catch: Your multiple depends entirely on your back half performance. If you're flat year-over-year or declining in Q4, a buyer will rebase. That 10x multiple drops to 8.5x because the trend is wrong. Conversely, if your last two quarters show growth, you keep the premium multiple. This is why DSOs are pushing hard on Q4 case acceptance and production. They know buyers look at trailing twelve months.

Why this applies to you right now: It's mid-November. Your December production is what matters. Not 2024. Not Q1-Q3. December. New case production, case acceptance, collections activity. A strong finish changes your valuation math on January 1st.

Action: Run your numbers weekly through December. Review case acceptance daily. Push your team hard on collections. Not because you need the cash. But because your practice's price tag depends on the next seven weeks looking strong.