Ownership and management
In New York, a dental practice generally must be owned by licensed dentists, which shapes how practices can be bought, sold, or financed. Dental service organizations often provide administrative support, staff, and equipment, but the arrangement has to leave clinical decisions with the dentist and avoid fee structures that look like splitting professional fees. Contracts with management companies, landlords, and lenders are where these lines most often blur. Reviewing them before signing is far easier than restructuring after a regulator or a buyer raises the issue. Dental practice compliance therefore starts with the corporate and contract structure, not only with the clinic floor.
Staff, prescribing, and safety
Hygienists and dental assistants work within scopes of practice and supervision requirements that vary by task, and delegating beyond them can put both the staff member and the dentist at risk. Prescribing controlled substances brings DEA registration and New York's prescription monitoring requirements into play. Infection control training and rules for radiation equipment apply in most offices, and proof that they are followed is what an inspector or a board will ask to see. Patient records must be kept for a period set by state rules and handled in line with HIPAA. Keep training certificates, equipment registrations, and written office protocols together so they can be produced quickly.
Billing, payers, and a first review
Insurance and Medicaid billing are a common source of audits, particularly around procedure coding, documentation of necessity, and billing for work done by others under the dentist's number. We start a review with the practice's ownership, how management services are provided, and which payers the practice bills. Then we look at any letters received from a board, a payer, or a state agency and whether something carries a response deadline. If a buyer, partner, or lender is involved, we consider what their diligence is likely to ask. The result is a list of what to correct now, what to document better, and what to keep watching.
