Signal horizon

The signal horizon is the 18-month period within which a dental transition signal indicates a practice is likely to change ownership.

It describes likelihood across many practices, not a forecast for any one practice: a signal is not a sale. It is distinct from the 12-month look-back used in transition readiness.

Part of the DDSIntel glossary. See how the figures are built in the methodology. Markdown version: /glossary/signal-horizon.md.

Other terms

• Dental transition signals
• Dental transition intelligence
• Pre-market dental practices
• Dental exit window
• Dental retirement cohort
• Dental Transition Index (DTI)
• Consented signal
• Observed signal
• Transition readiness
• Active patient
• Add-on acquisition
• Adjusted EBITDA
• Administrative dissolution
• Asset purchase
• Associate buy-in
• Build-out permit
• Buy-side search
• Collections multiple
• Collections vs. production
• Compliance signal
• Consumer report (FCRA)
• Corporate practice of dentistry (CPOD)
• Corporate signal
• Data-as-of date
• De novo practice
• Dental consolidation
• Dental HPSA
• Dental partnership organization (DPO)
• Dental support organization (DSO)
• DPMS
• DSO-affiliated location
• Due diligence
• Earn-out
• EBITDA multiple
• Facilities signal
• Holdback
• Independent practice
• Letter of intent (LOI)
• Lifecycle signal
• Management services agreement (MSA)
• Management services organization (MSO)
• New entity or license
• Non-compete (dental sale)
• NPI (Type 1 / Type 2)
• NPPES
• Observed ownership change
• Off-market practice
• OIG LEIE (exclusion list)
• Overhead ratio
• Payer mix
• Platform acquisition
• Practice goodwill
• Practice location
• Practice transition
• Practice valuation
• Practices per 10,000 residents
• Professionally active dentist
• Provider density
• Quality of earnings (QoE)
• Recapitalization
• Region
• Registered agent
• Regulatory signal
• Roll-up
• Rollover equity
• Saturday access
• SBA 7(a) practice loan
• Second-source confirmation
• Sell-side process
• Small-cell suppression
• State annual report
• Stock purchase
• Succession plan
• Walkaway sale
• Work-back (transition period)
• Working capital peg