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Chairside
For dentists building anywhere in the US

Most dental startups get their construction education after the damage is done.

Chairside is a virtual commercial construction advisor for dentists nationwide. Built by a general contractor who has spent years on dental build-outs. Ask the questions before they cost you.

Join the waitlist How it works

We'll email you when we open access, and that's the only reason we'll email you.

Project snapshot
4-op startup, Roseville CA
Live
Budget range
$625K – $820K
Timeline
9 – 13 months
50 states + DC
Where Chairside works
Jurisdiction-aware
Not national averages
GC-built
By someone who ran the jobs
No referrals
No vendor kickbacks
The situation

You've never built a commercial space. You're about to spend $400K–$1.5M.

One wrong assumption in the first thirty days can cost six figures. The problem isn't that dentists make bad decisions. It's that the questions they don't know to ask get answered for them, by default.

  • 01
    The lease you signed had landlord work assumptions you didn't see
    TI allowances get quoted in gross dollars, not net. By the time you find out, the deal is signed.
  • 02
    The permit timeline you planned around isn't how that city actually works
    Sacramento plan check is not Oakland plan check. Assuming national averages is how openings slip a quarter.
  • 03
    The operatories came in 18 inches too short
    Equipment clearance, cabinet depth, and delivery system routing don't forgive a tight plan.
  • 04
    The TI allowance covered half of what you thought it would
    Compressor rooms, panel upgrades, and medical gas lines have a way of not being "landlord work."
How it works

A straightforward way to get your footing.

Chairside works the way a seasoned GC would: ask, listen, give you a grounded view, and stay available as the questions keep coming.

01

Tell Chairside about your project

Practice type, location, stage, timeline, scope. Takes about ten minutes.

02

Get a project snapshot

Realistic budget range, timeline, jurisdiction-specific callouts, and the risk flags worth watching.

03

Ask anything, anytime

Lease questions, landlord negotiations, permit timing, contractor meetings. Ongoing advisor access.

04

Walk into every meeting prepared

Generate memos and checklists for your architect, lender, landlord, or contractor.

What you get

Three things we think you'll notice first.

Cost clarity

Know what your project should actually cost in your specific market, not a national average pulled from the wrong data set.

Timeline realism

See where projects actually get stuck. Plan review, long-lead equipment, landlord coordination. So you can plan around it, not through it.

Risk reduction

Catch lease, permit, site, and scope issues before they become change orders. Most of the expensive surprises are foreseeable.

What it looks like

A few of the things Chairside produces.

Everything below is representative of the outputs you'd take into your next architect call or lease review.

Project Snapshot
Generated from your intake
4-op dental startup · Roseville, CA
Second-gen space, 2,400 SF · Target open Q3 2026
Budget range
$625K – $820K
TI + FF&E, excl. equipment finance
Timeline
9 – 13 months
Lease exec → CO, most likely
Jurisdiction note
Placer County plan check
Budget 6–10 wks, two rounds typical
Title 24
Required: MEP scope
Factor into MEP engineer fees
Top risk flags
  • Electrical service. 2nd-gen retail may not have panel capacity for 4 ops + compressor.
  • Landlord TI gross-up. Confirm $ are net of landlord supervision fee and management overhead.
  • Plumbing below slab. No central vacuum or drain rough-in visible. Verify before design starts.
Next Steps Checklist
Pre-lease phase
  • Verify power capacity with PG&E before signing lease
    Existing service may be 200A; four ops + compressor typically need 400A+
  • Request a landlord work letter with itemized scope
    Distinguish base-building work from tenant-paid scope line by line
  • Schedule a site walk with an architect before LOI
    45-minute walk-through can surface $40K+ of hidden scope
  • Confirm HVAC tonnage and zoning for clinical use
    Retail HVAC is rarely sized or zoned for operatory loads
  • Pull permit history for the suite from the city portal
    Open or expired permits can delay your own permit intake
Lease Questions
Memo · draft
Questions to send the listing broker
Before you sign the LOI
  1. Is the TI allowance gross or net of landlord supervision and coordination fees?
  2. What base-building work (if any) is landlord's responsibility vs. tenant-paid?
  3. Electrical service capacity to the suite, and cost to upgrade if needed?
  4. Any existing plumbing rough-ins below slab that can be reused?

Illustrative outputs. Numbers shown are representative ranges for second-generation retail conversions; your project will vary based on site, market, and scope.

Why Chairside

I'm a general contractor, not a software founder.

Before Chairside, I spent years running commercial general contracting projects — hundreds of dental and healthcare build-outs. Chairside is that experience, made available to dentists anywhere in the country before they sign a lease or hand over a deposit. Every answer it gives comes from projects that were actually built, not from a general-purpose model guessing at averages.

  • Built on the details that catch first-time builders out
    The MEP, envelope, and health-facility nuances behind a dental build — down to California Title 24 and HCAI, where the requirements are among the most demanding in the country.
  • Costs and timelines that reflect your jurisdiction, not an average
    Plan review queues, inspection patterns, trade availability. Our deepest local knowledge is Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Reno; everywhere else, Chairside tells you what to verify with your local architect or building department.
  • Not a marketplace, broker, or referral engine
    Your subscription is the whole business model, which means there are no vendor kickbacks or hidden placement fees shaping what we tell you.
Morgan Davis Founder of Chairside, commercial general contractor, Sacramento
Boundaries

What Chairside is not.

Being clear about what we don't do is part of doing the job right.

  • Not a replacement for your architect, engineer, attorney, or contractor.
  • Not a bidding or estimating platform. We don't produce binding numbers.
  • Not a generic AI tool. Every answer is grounded in real dental construction expertise.
  • Not legal, engineering, or financial advice. We help you ask better questions of the people who provide it.
FAQ

Answers to the questions we get most.

Something we didn't cover? Email waitlist@chairside.build.

When does Chairside launch?

We're opening access in waves. Waitlist members hear first. Join below to be included.

What does Chairside cost?

Pricing will be announced when we open the platform. Waitlist members get first access and launch pricing.

Who is Chairside for?

Dentists planning a startup practice, a second location, an expansion or relocation, a tenant improvement build-out, a ground-up build, or a building purchase. If you're about to spend meaningful capital on a space, Chairside is for you.

What states do you cover?

Available to dentists nationwide, all 50 states plus DC. Our deepest local market knowledge is in Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Reno, but the product works wherever you are building. For state-specific permit timelines or code interpretations, we point you to a local architect or AHJ in your jurisdiction.

How is this different from a general-purpose AI tool?

A general AI will cheerfully give you a national-average answer. Chairside is built on real dental construction experience: things like Title 24 and HCAI requirements, utility interconnection timelines, how a given plan review queue actually behaves, and the specific ways dental operatories are laid out and serviced. Where we don't have local depth, it says so and tells you who to ask.

Does Chairside replace my architect, contractor, or attorney?

No. Chairside helps you walk into those relationships prepared, with better questions, realistic expectations, and context. It is not a substitute for licensed professional services, and doesn't pretend to be.

Do you share my project information?

No. We don't sell your data, and we don't pass your project information to third-party vendors or brokers. Your subscription is the product. That's how we stay aligned with you.

How do I get started?

Join the waitlist below. We'll reach out when we open doors for dentists in your region.

Get early access

Join the Chairside waitlist.

Be first to know when we open doors to dentists nationwide. After your confirmation, the next email you get from us is the one saying your turn came up.

  • Early access pricing for waitlist members
  • First invite when we open your market
  • No vendor spam. We don't sell your information.

We'll email you about your access to Chairside and nothing else. We don't share your information. You can unsubscribe any time.