When a dentist hands over their own practice, two perspectives meet that are rarely congruent. Wilhelm Hakim, founder of the continuing education company IFG and of the Dental Summer at Timmendorfer Strand, has worked in the dental sector for around three decades and is currently in the middle of a generational change in his own company. In the episode “Wie übergibt man ein Lebenswerk?” of the podcast Queens & Sons of Dentistry, he describes why the handover of a dental practice follows its own rules – and which developments are currently shaping the profession.
Family succession is the exception in dental practices
Asked about parallels between his own generational change and that in dental practices, Wilhelm Hakim answers in differentiated terms: he does not see major parallels, because dental practices are handed over differently. A child joining the parental practice occurs relatively rarely. Whereas in his continuing education company the son takes on responsibility step by step and can draw on the knowledge and the contacts of his father, practices generally pass to external successors – with all the points of friction that such a change between generations who are strangers to one another entails.
The expectation gap over practice value
Hakim describes one central conflict particularly vividly: dentists handing over often regard what they leave behind as “absolutely great” and as their retirement provision. They expect a corresponding payment for everything that has been built up and invested over the years. The younger generation, however, enters the negotiation with a completely different outlook: from their point of view, much of it could simply be “thrown out”, because today everything is digital, artificial intelligence is making its way in, and instead of the familiar systems, new programmes are needed. What appears valuable to those handing over – the podcast offers the pointed example of index cards maintained over many years – often no longer has any material value for those taking over. This gap between perceived and actual practice value is therefore one of the most emotional hurdles of a handover: on the one side stands a working life full of investment, on the other a generation that thinks of a practice as digital from the outset.
Urban drift and a professional profile in upheaval
In addition, according to Hakim's observation, structural changes are further shifting the market for practice handovers. He first mentions the drift away from rural areas: many young dentists no longer want to work in the countryside but are drawn to the cities – a difficult starting position for owners of rural practices who wish to hand over. Moreover, the role of the dentist as a whole is changing. The profession is becoming increasingly female, and for many female dentists the family takes priority in certain phases of life: having children, raising children, later returning to the profession – and then possibly the wish no longer to carry the full entrepreneurial responsibility of a practice of one's own. All of this is fundamentally different from 30 years ago, when he himself entered the dental sector. His conclusion in the podcast: dental entrepreneurship as a whole has changed, or rather is in the middle of a process of change.
What can be transferred from the family business
Even though Hakim considers the direct parallels limited, his experiences from his own generational change contain principles that can be applied to practice handovers. His guiding motto is: committed to the proven, open to the new. The basis that has made a company – or a practice – what it is must not be forgotten; at the same time, openness to new ideas is needed. His image for this is the tree that may be pruned and grows new branches, but whose roots must remain. Handing over responsibility he finds considerably harder than building something up – whoever hands over must accept that the successor decides differently and must not constantly interfere. His son Chris adds the view of the younger generation: those handing over should grant freedoms and not give advice in a know-it-all manner; those taking over should take tips seriously and respect what has already been built up, instead of believing that they can do everything better on their own. The podcast episode thus paints a realistic picture: a practice handover is not merely a question of valuation and contracts, but the encounter of two generations with different ideas of value, technology and working life.