With over 25 years of hands-on experience in the dental industry, Chris Vandiford is the founder and CEO of TransitionOne, one of the Midwest’s leading dental transition firms. He has a bachelor’s degree in Business from Wittenberg University and has helped over 600 dentists successfully transition to ownership. Chris’s expertise spans dental practice valuations, buyer and seller coaching, strategic deal structuring, and bank lending strategies. He has developed proprietary tools for addback analysis, practice scorecards, and valuation strategies that are used by buyers, sellers, and banks. He is also the founder of DDS Refinance, a national refinance company for dentists.

Chris stands out by teaching clients to evaluate practices like CEOs, bringing a mentor-driven approach that empowers them long after the deal closes. His mission is to open the doors of ownership to more dentists, helping them break free from burnout and step into lives of purpose, leadership, and legacy. He built TransitionOne from scratch with no outside backing because he believed the industry needed a more honest, strategic, and values-driven approach to transitions. This integrity-first approach is driven by his deep understanding of how ownership decisions can impact a dentist’s life and finances.

As an author and speaker, Chris wrote the book, Dentist to CEO: The Blueprint for Breaking Free from Associate Life, as a battle-tested roadmap for aspiring owners. He is passionate about seeing clinicians step into business with clarity and courage. He is currently building a library of tools and platforms, including the PracticeWorth valuation app, coaching programs, and CE workshops based on his book, to further elevate the industry and reshape how dental transitions are done nationwide.