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Professional Courtesy: New Equipment Can Buy Happiness by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine

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by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine

The end of the year is upon us and for many dentists it is a time to make an equipment purchase. In fact, many businesses will make large purchases at the end of the year, when they have a clear picture of their expected profits or losses and prior to closing their books. For those motivated by tax benefits like Section 17 9, they can realize some tax savings very soon after the purchase, if they file their returns in the first quarter of the New Year. Let me be clear, you should never make a purchase decision solely for perceived tax benefits. If this is a strategy you depend on, read the collected works of Dr. Doug Carlsen, a regular contributor to Dentaltown Magazine.

This year, I was one of the thousands of dentists that made a large purchase at the end of the year. I can assure you it was not for a tax break. At the time of this writing, the Section 179 deduction has been reduced to its original limit of $25,000. I spent something in the neighborhood of $200,000. So what did I buy? I purchased seven new operatories worth of equipment: chair, light, delivery unit, stools and assistant’s station. In the four doctor ops, I added electric handpieces. I know many of you reading this have been using electric handpieces for many years, but this is a first for me. I never wanted to bother having something tacked onto my existing unit and quite frankly, the units I have seen were heavy, bulky and expensive to maintain. Now that I have been using the new equipment for a few weeks, I don’t know how I survived without an electric high speed for so long. If you are still sitting on the sidelines with this technology, please give electric handpieces a serious look. The current options are smaller, lighter and better than ever. Y ou will love the added torque and smooth operation of these handpieces.

Let’s get back to the big stuff, the seven rooms of equipment. Why now? I have been a dentist for 20 years and started my own practice from scratch nearly 13 years ago. Some of my equipment was starting to show its age and I had become a bit frustrated with repairs and design flaws. I reasoned that this was a great time to buy because the right equipment could carry me for the remainder of my career and I would have an opportunity to enjoy it. I have seen too many dentists slave away in shag carpet with wood paneling only to remodel their office so it can be sold as soon as possible to a young dentist. I wanted an opportunity to enjoy the remodel, be more productive and maybe find the energy to practice a few more years.

My bit of advice for anyone reading this story who is contemplating a similar project: take time to plan ahead. The first step is selecting the equipment you want to purchase, and depending on the scope of your project, this single step can take months. I know some of you will make a decision much faster, but you will be surprised at how the time flies. Especially when you are trying to find the time to meet with equipment reps, visit showrooms or travel to a dental meeting. Once the purchase was set, I had a meeting with the installation team. This was critical to our success with this project. We identified a number of installation challenges that could be solved in advance and developed a plan that would minimize the down time for my practice.

When the equipment was delivered the installation went very smoothly. Let me be clear, every project has a few bumps, but having an installation team that can handle the unexpected makes a big difference. I would also say that the doctor needs to be involved in the project to some extent. Too often, dentists tell the installation crew to call them when they are done, and then the dentist is upset when they discover something was not done according to their preferences.

If you are contemplating some new equipment in 2015, start by reading the Townie Choice Awards in this issue. Make your wish list and start planning. Finally, for those interested, I purchased A-dec equipment because I have visited their facility and learned first-hand about their attention to detail. My equipment was installed by a terrific team from the local branch of Patterson Dental Supply.

If you have a question or comment to share, please post it online at Dentaltown.com. I’m available via email at tom@dentaltown.com or on Twitter @ddsTom.

Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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