Building a dental practice is one of the most rewarding things a dentist can do, but it can also be incredibly stressful and expensive if you make avoidable mistakes. I learned this the hard way. When I started my own practice, I made some first-timer errors that cost me close to $500,000 and countless hours of stress. I want to share these mistakes so you don’t have to repeat them.
While searching for my first practice space, I made the mistake of thinking I could handle the whole process on my own. I knew about what tenant improvement (TI) money was, so I put on my negotiator hat and managed to secure $200,000. At the time, I thought I’d done well. Later, I realized that with the help of a real estate agent who understood dental practices, I could have negotiated $465,000. That’s $265,000 lost just because I tried to do something that required expertise naively. It’s a painful lesson, but one I’ll never forget.
Another huge mistake was thinking I could save money by hiring a patient who "claimed" construction experience. Let’s call him our Conman. On paper, he seemed trustworthy, promised a crew of ten, and said he would do it fast and cheap. But, starting on day one, there were just six people, including his daughter, son-in-law, and two random guys. The “experienced crew” he had promised apparently only showed up at night, which, of course, never happened.
From there, things went downhill fast. Flooding in a neighboring suite, fire alarms going off in the middle of the night, and unfinished work everywhere became the new normal. I had to personally move $30,000 worth of materials that were left sitting outside, redo some walls built with the wrong studs, scrape grout off tiles, hire extra staff, and even change the locks because keys were lost. Every day was a battle. What I thought was a bargain turned out to be a nightmare.
Part of the problem was on me; I ignored the early warning signs. The contractor constantly missed deadlines, had poor communication, and half-hearted excuses should have set off my “red flag” radar. But I kept hoping it would work out. It didn’t. Mixing Conman’s team with my main dental construction company only made matters worse, doubling the work and causing more delays.
After months of chaos, I thought a lawsuit might fix things. It didn’t. The court process took a year, and the outcome was a partial fault ruling on both sides. I lost even more time and energy, realizing that legal battles rarely recover lost money, and often drain far more than they’re worth.
Looking back, here’s what I learned. Never hire unlicensed patients or contractors for construction work. Don’t hire based on promises of cheap or fast results. Always have a detailed contract, act immediately on red flags, and carefully vet anyone you hire. Pay only for completed work and make sure communication is crystal clear. Mistakes early in construction compound quickly, and trying to fix them later costs time, money, and your sanity.
In the end, everything that could go wrong with my build did go wrong, but I survived. I’m grateful for the experience because it made me wiser, more prepared, and better equipped to run a practice. My advice to anyone building a dental office now is simple: hire professional dental contractors, protect your time, and don’t try to cut corners. Construction and hiring mistakes are expensive lessons, but learning from them before they happen is priceless.