Category
Industry Insights
Macro trends shaping the dental industry: private equity consolidation, DSO dynamics, PPO regime changes, and the forces redefining practice value.
17 articles
Private Equity Isn't Wrecking Dentistry. It's Pricing It.
Is private equity wrecking dentistry? No. It is pricing it, with an instrument that cannot see where a dental practice's value lives. A former DSO operator on what the machine measures, what it misses, and what owners should actually be angry about.
Between the LOI and the Wire: What Dentists Who Sold to a DSO Said Surprised Them
I asked dentists who sold to a DSO one question: what surprised you between the LOI and closing? Twenty-one answered. They sort into three shapes, and nobody answered the part that mattered most.
The Fifth Seat: I Asked an AI to Build a Seller's Advisor Team. It Named Four.
I asked an AI to build a dental practice seller's advisor team. It named four seats and omitted sell-side diligence — the one seat paid to defend your number.
The Legislative Squeeze and the Pricing of Risk: Why CT HB 5127 Matters to Your M&A Exit
Connecticut HB 5127 bans healthcare providers from promoting medical credit cards like CareCredit starting January 1, 2027. Why the law is a template, how buyers will price financing-dependent case acceptance, and the defense.
Dental Practice Broker Fees: What a 6 to 12% Success Fee Buys, and What It Doesn't
When a QoE re-trade takes $700,000 off your price, the broker's Double Lehman fee drops $24,000. The 6 to 12% success fee buys a buyer and a close, not the audit of your number. What the fee covers, what it never did, and who defends the number instead.
They Knew What They Were Walking Into: Why the Era of Buying a Dental Practice on Faith Is Ending
Most dental practice buyers look at tax returns, check the equipment, and sign the papers. The smartest buyers run forensic evaluations that expose the gap between a broker's prospectus and what the practice management software actually shows.
Sign Here: What a Seller's Refusal to Provide Documents Actually Signals
When a dental practice seller stonewalls on operational reports during due diligence, the refusal itself is data. Why buying a practice without independent diligence is like buying a car based only on the seller's Carfax.
Legal For A Price: How Algorithmic Denials Are Stealing Your Clinical Autonomy
Insurance carriers are deploying AI-driven denial algorithms that override clinical judgment at scale. A 90% overturn rate on appeal proves the denials are engineered for deterrence — but only 1% are ever contested.
The Other Side of the Door: What You Are Actually Trading When You Sell Your Practice
A 45-year practice owner sold into a DSO and was forced out during COVID by someone 75 miles away. The number was right. The trade was not what he expected.
The Same Playbook: What a Harvard Hospital Study Tells Us About the Future of Dental Practice Valuations
A Harvard study on PE-owned hospitals revealed a 13% rise in ER deaths after acquisition. The same debt-loading, cost-cutting playbook runs in dental M&A — and understanding it is the difference between a defended exit and a seven-figure re-trade.
Eyes Wide Open: What I Wish Every Dentist Knew Before Signing a DSO Contract
DSO contracts are built to maximize platform EBITDA, not doctor compensation. Realization rate traps, capitation true-ups, and non-competes explained.
The Trust Fracture: Why the Diagnostic Gray Zone is an Existential Threat to Your Practice
59% of patients doubt the treatment plan and 18% refuse without proof. Why diagnostic variability now reads as fraud, and the three-step forensic framework that makes a diagnosis unassailable.
The Generational Succession Crisis: Why New Dentists Can't Afford to Buy What Retiring Dentists Need to Sell
Graduating dentists carry $296,500 of average debt and can't finance a $2M practice. DSOs are filling the vacuum. What the succession crisis means for sellers and their advisors.
The Dental Tipping Point: Why Waiting 12 Months Could Cost You the Next Decade
The dental industry's ground is shifting: M&A recalibration, AI disruption, and economic pressure are accelerating. Why waiting 12 months to adapt could cost you the next decade.
Navigating the Great Squeeze: 5 Critical Insights from the 2025 ADA Dentist Workforce Report
Ownership fell from 84.7% to 72.5%, DSO affiliation doubled to 16.1%, and median GP net income dropped 13.2%. Five findings from the 2025 ADA workforce report and the metric to watch for each.
The Insurer-Owned Practice: Why the Coming Patient Backlash Is Your Greatest Opportunity
Delta Dental of Wisconsin bought a DSO. When the payer owns the provider, the incentive to deny care becomes internal — and the dentist-owned practice becomes the alternative patients go looking for.
The Great Dental Transformation: How Five Simultaneous Disruptions Are Reshaping the Industry
Five disruptions hitting dental practices at once: AI adoption, workforce shortages, overhead inflation, DSO consolidation, and access inequality. How they compound.