Where the benchmarks come from
The main benchmark is the Federal Statistical Office's cost structure statistics for the medical sector (Destatis, Kostenstrukturstatistik im medizinischen Bereich), reporting year 2024, published on 23 July 2026. It is a representative sample of at most 7 % of practices, projected to all practices, and since 2021 it is collected every year. The figures are averages per practice, for all dental practices and for four revenue size classes; shares are in % of revenue.
The second benchmark is the KZBV Jahrbuch 2025 (financial year 2023), based on the dental practice panel (ZäPP) of the Zi. It reports per practice owner and splits western and eastern federal states. Its cost structure is given as shares of total costs, not of revenue.
What the figures mean
Destatis calls revenue minus costs the Reinertrag. In Destatis' words, it is not the same as the profit or the income of the dentists: owners' pension and health insurance, for example, are not deducted. The mean Reinertrag per dental practice in 2024 was €305,000, the median €217,000. Half of all practices lie below the median.
The KZBV's Einnahmen-Überschuss is the income before tax per owner from the tax accounts: €214,700 on average in 2023, median €180,300.
Which figures to enter
Take the figures from last year's profit and loss statement (EÜR) or annual accounts. Revenue means all income from your dental work (statutory and private fees and other self-employed dental work). Staff costs follow the Destatis definition: gross pay, the employer's social contributions and fees for occasional assistance and locums. Only the revenue is required; every other field is optional, and a share is only shown for the figures you enter.
Destatis and the KZBV draw some lines differently. Destatis lists rent for practice premises and heating, electricity, gas and water separately; the KZBV's premises costs include energy and the deductible share of costs for premises you own. The calculator adds your rent and energy for the KZBV comparison and shows that line.
Limits of the comparison
The benchmarks are averages across very different practices: single practices, group practices and MVZ, orthodontics and oral surgery included. A ratio above or below the average is not good or bad in itself. The size class is chosen by your revenue only. For decisions, talk to your tax adviser.
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Sources
- Statistischer Bericht – Kostenstrukturstatistik im medizinischen Bereich, 2024 (EVAS 52571, Artikelnummer 2020161247005) (Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis)) · Tables 52571-02, 52571-03, 52571-12, 52571-13 (dental practices)
- Pressemitteilung Nr. 262 vom 23. Juli 2026: Arztpraxen 2024: Einnahmen stiegen erstmals seit zwei Jahren wieder stärker als Aufwendungen (Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis)) · Second source for revenue, costs, net return, median and persons
- Einnahmen übersteigen erstmals wieder Aufwendungen (23.07.2026) (zm – Zahnärztliche Mitteilungen (zm-online.de)) · independent report of the same figures
- KZBV Jahrbuch 2025, Kapitel 5 Betriebswirtschaftliche Daten der Zahnarztpraxen (Auszug S. 116–121, 130, 131) (Kassenzahnärztliche Bundesvereinigung (KZBV)) · Tab. 5.3 (p. 118), Fig. 5.4 (p. 119), Tab. 5.15 (p. 130)
Every figure was transcribed from these tables and is re-checked against the live source by a script; values that Destatis does not publish or marks as of limited reliability are left out.