Dental Practice Startup Checklist (DSO-Free)
Opening a dental practice without DSO support means stacking 9 separate workstreams. This is the full checklist with realistic timelines.
A solo dentist opening a startup practice should plan on 6–9 months from lease signing to first patient. The work splits into clinical licensing, business formation, facility build-out, compliance, and payer credentialing.
Checklist
- State dental license active in practice state
- State controlled-substance registration
- DEA registration (Form 224) — one per practice address
- Type 1 (individual) and Type 2 (group) NPI
- Professional liability (malpractice) policy bound
- General liability + property insurance
- OSHA bloodborne-pathogen program + sharps plan
- HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach policies
- BAAs with every vendor touching PHI
- CAQH ProView profile complete
- Credentialing applications to top 5 dental payers
- Medical waste vendor contract
- Radiation safety / state x-ray inspection
Frequently Asked Questions
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