Building or Refreshing Your Dental Practice. American Dental Association

      If you have a good head for reading municipal code and consulting various public maps, you may be able to determine the zoning and use limitations that apply to the property in question. At minimum, you should understand the two fundamental aspects of the code that affect the legal “use” of a dental office.

      “Land use” along with zoning is regulated by the land use or zoning code while “building use” is governed by the building code. You need to carefully study both code sets to make sure a dental office is legal at your chosen location. Be aware that the two codes will often classify dental offices differently. For example, it is common for the land use code to categorize dental offices as “medical - dental” or something similar while the building code will group dental offices into “business” use (IBC Group B).

      Even if you are leasing a space, validating that your practice can move into the space is often best done with a simplified feasibility study. This is where the issue of “change of use” becomes critical. For example, consider the following. You are interested in a storefront along Main Street that was a former retail store that closed after thirty years in business. Dental offices are allowed outright along Main Street. However, the retail store never had sprinklers. The change of use from a retail store to a dental office triggers the requirement that commercial buildings need sprinklers. Before you know it, you are footing the cost to connect to the city water main in the middle of Main Street (often tens of thousands of dollars), repairing the trench you dug across the street and sidewalk (another $20,000 easy), and restoring any street trees or plantings. Only then can you install the sprinkler system itself. You can easily spend $100,000.00 on new sprinklers.

      So do your research. Verify if a dental practice is allowed on the site and then verify if change of use is required for any existing buildings in question.

      All of the above questions may quickly lead you to conclude that you need to meet with the municipality. Appendix 2 at the end of this chapter offers a list of questions to ask at pre-application conferences.

      A Quick Note About Nitrous Oxide and Other Sedatives

      In the 2012 revisions of the National Fire Protection Association 99 Code (NFPA 99) and the International Building Code (IBC), the language was changed regarding sedation and the level of care needed to support sedated patients. The result is that some municipalities have been moving toward considering dental practice that use sedatives like nitrous oxide as “Ambulatory Care Facilities.” This sets the bar higher for many aspects of the construction of your office. Be sure you explain the needs of your particular office and sedation use with the building official.