Dental Practices

ValIndex's multiples table puts Swiss dental practices at 4.0–6.5× EBITDA in transactions and 3.0–5.0× EBITDA on statutory valuations. Group buyers such as Medbase, Colosseum Dental and Adent pay at the upper end for practices with several dentists, a hygiene department, a recall system and a team that stays; a solo practice whose patients follow the retiring owner sells below the range. Market spending is flat (CHF 3,957 million in 2024 against CHF 3,997 million in 2019, BFS), so buyers look at the practice's own patient numbers rather than market growth.

Buyers price: (1) independence from the owner — how many dentists treat the patient base; (2) the patient base and recall system, since 72.6% of dental spending is paid directly by households who can go elsewhere; (3) the treatment mix — hygiene, orthodontics and implantology raise revenue per chair; (4) the team — hygienists and assistants are hard to replace; (5) premises, equipment age and the lease. Dependence on one dentist is the most common reason for a discount.

The Federal Statistical Office counted 3,735 dental practices (NOGA 86.23) in 2024, employing 27,231 people or 18,742 full-time equivalents (BFS STATENT). The number of practices has fallen from 3,993 in 2011 while the number of dentists has risen: 7,393 held a licence to practise at the end of 2024 (BAG). A further 846 dental laboratories are counted separately. Zurich has 718 practices, Bern 441, Vaud 350, Ticino 252 and Geneva 250.

Succession is shifting from owner-to-owner sales to employment in groups. Licensed dentists average 49 years (men 53, women 45), and 63% of new licences in 2024 went to foreign-trained dentists, many of whom start as employees rather than buying a practice (BAG). Owners therefore sell to an associate over several years, to a group — Medbase, Colosseum Dental and Adent all acquire practices — or merge with a neighbouring practice. Practices with several dentists and a stable team are the easiest to sell.

Five trends: (1) fewer practices, larger teams — 3,993 practices in 2011, 3,735 in 2024, with 5.0 instead of 3.8 full-time equivalents each; (2) Medbase (Migros) becomes the largest operator, buying Ardentis in August 2026 after zahnarztzentrum.ch in 2020; (3) international groups such as Colosseum Dental and Adent keep acquiring; (4) spending is flat at about CHF 4 billion and mostly paid by households; (5) foreign-trained dentists fill the pipeline, with 63% of new licences in 2024.

The main risks are: (1) patients leaving with the selling dentist — mitigated by a transition period and a team that stays; (2) flat market spending, so growth must come from the practice itself; (3) household budgets under pressure from rising health insurance premiums, since dental care is mostly paid out of pocket; (4) staffing, especially hygienists and assistants; (5) the lease and the age of equipment. Due diligence should check patient numbers, the recall system and revenue by dentist.

Personnel is the largest cost of a dental practice — indicatively around 40% of revenue — followed by materials and laboratory costs (about 20%), rent (12%) and equipment (10%), leaving an EBITDA margin of around 12% for a typical practice. These shares are indicative, not measured. For scale, BFS data put spending in dental practices at CHF 3,907 million in 2024 across 3,735 practices, about CHF 1.05 million per practice and CHF 208,000 per full-time equivalent.

Zurich is the largest cluster with 718 practices and 5,734 employees in 2024, and the home of zahnarztzentrum.ch, Colosseum Dental Schweiz and swiss smile. Lake Geneva (Vaud and Geneva) has 600 practices and is the home market of Adent, Ardentis and dentalys. Northwestern Switzerland has 571 practices, Eastern Switzerland 460, Bern 441 and Ticino 252 — where practices are smallest, at 3.8 full-time equivalents on average (BFS STATENT 2024).