Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

Nobel Biocare UK LTD, Telephone: + 44 (0) 208 756 3300. Fax: + 44 (0) 208 573 6740 Ireland, Telephone: 1800 677306. Fax: 1800 677307 © Nobel Biocare Services AG, 2011. All rights reserved. Nobel Biocare, the Nobel Biocare logotype and all other trademarks are, if nothing else is stated or is evident from the context in a certain case, trademarks of Nobel Biocare. Disclaimer: Some products may not be regulatory cleared/released for sale in all markets. Please contact the local Nobel Biocare sales office for current product assortment and availability. – Wide range of training and educational events – Excellent customer service – Patient support materials – Backed by scientific evidence – Common restorative platforms – New flexible returns and exchange policies REGISTER NOW M eet w orld class speakers at the Nobel Biocare UK Sym posium , 9–10 Septem ber 2011. “Nobel Biocare UK is back to its winning form. They are listening to their clients and providing a very high standard of customer support.” Robert Banks, BDS Consultant Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon The only complete solution provider.The complete solution provider, supporting you with: – Innovative marketing tools to increase patient flow – Tools to help increase patient case acceptance – Nationwide programme of training and education events – Proven product performance backed up by scientific evidence – Range of restorative platforms – New flexible returns and exchange policies Call + 44 (0) 208 756 3300 (UK), 1800 677306 (Ireland) or visit nobelbiocare.com Nobel Biocare UK LTD, Phone +44 (0) 208 756 3300; Fax +44 (0) 208 573 6740, Nobel Biocare Ireland, Phone 1800 677306; Fax 1800 677307 © Nobel Biocare Services AG, 2012. All rights reserved. Nobel Biocare, the Nobel Biocare logotype and all other trademarks are, if nothing else is stated or is evident from the context in a certain case, trademarks of Nobel Biocare. Disclaimer: Some products may not be regulatory cleared/released for sale in all markets. Please contact the local Nobel Biocare sales office for current product assortment and availability. «Nobel Biocare UK is back to its winning form. They are listening to their clients and providing a very high standard of customer support.» Rob Banks BDS, FDS RCS(Eng), MBBS, MRCPS(Glas), FRCS OMFS(Ed) Consultant Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon R Banks_Compl solu prov A3 UK rev.indd 1 2012-09-03 11.36 S etting up your own practice is an exciting career move for any practitioner. There will be a myriad of decisions that will need to be made. The first and most obvious is ‘Where do I start?’. Before deciding to establish your own practice, make sure you understand what’s involved, the most critical steps, the timetable and costs. It will take thought, planning, management skills and appropriate advice. First, you will need to decide if you are going alone or with a colleague and if the latter, in what type of entity. Here, we look at un- incorporated business structures. A single-handed ownership where you are the only dentist in a new environment can be a daunt- ing position. Therefore, many dentists (who are not buying an established practice) opt to start from scratch with a colleague. There are various forms of joint venture and it is important to choose at an early stage the most suitable arrangement. The two forms of unincorporated joint ventures which may be familiar to dentists are expenses sharing ar- rangements and partnerships. Expense sharing arrange- ments can be distinguished from partnerships by the degree of in- tegration between the dentists. It is important that dental practition- ers understand the differences be- tween expense sharing and part- nerships to ensure their business is protected and that there are no nasty surprises at a future date. The expense sharing arrange- ment is most commonly used where dentists operate separate dental practices but in close prox- imity.Whilsttheycontinuetotrade as distinct businesses, the parties agree to share common expenses such as common areas, staff- ing costs, utilities or marketing. A partnership is an integrated joint venture and the dental busi- ness is the business of the partner- ship rather than of the individual parties. A partnership business is a closer relationship than that envisaged by an expense sharing arrangement. Whilst many dental practition- ers in partnership set out with the express intention of being a part- nership, there are a number of dental practitioners who believe they operate under an expense sharing arrangement when in fact they are partners. This can lead to entirely unforeseen and undesir- able consequences. NHS dentists face particular problems with such a mix up as it has the potential of putting the NHS contract in jeopardy. GDS Contracts can be made with an individual dental practitioner, a partnership and a dental corpora- tion. Accordingly, where multiple dentists are signing up to a single GDS Contract, they are almost cer- tainly doing so as a partnership. PDS Agreements differ in that they cannot be made with partnerships and are instead entered into by a group of individuals (although they are likely to be in partnership by virtue of this arrangement). Dental practitioners who sign an NHS contract as a partnership, are holding themselves out to be a partnership to the PCT and are jointly responsible under that NHS contract for the obligations under that contract. If you are looking to operate your new dental practice under an unincorporated business struc- ture, think very carefully how you wish the relationship with your colleague is to be governed. DT Setting up on your own Puja Patel discusses Unincorporated Business Structures About the author Puja Patel is a member of the Com- mercial Team at Lockharts and works primarily in advising dentists, dental care professionals and dental corpo- rate bodies on the commercial aspects of dentistry. 9BusinessOctober 29 - November 4, 2012United Kingdom Edition