by DSOs continue to transform the dental industry thanks to benefits to patients, practitioners and investors.
By Andrew Smith, Chief Executive Officer, ADSO
Over the last two decades, dental support organizations (DSOs) have revolutionized the dental industry, quickly becoming the preferred model for dentistry thanks to the benefits they offer patients, practitioners and investors.
DSOs are catalyzing positive change by providing essential capital for growth, fostering innovation through strategic business expertise, and expanding access to critical dental care. By offering non-clinical support to dental practices, DSO-supported dentists can better focus on what they do best: providing high-quality oral care. By handling the business side of dental clinics, DSOs enable practices to run more efficiently and profitably.
The growth of DSOs is continuing to transform the traditionally fragmented dental industry. Small, independently owned practices often struggle to keep up with the demands of running a business. It’s a situation further exacerbated by the dental workforce shortage, with many dentists spread too thinly and forced to take on additional duties typically handled by administrative staff and dental assistants. But thanks to better access to capital, efficiencies of scale and the ability to commercialize, DSOs are leveraging new technologies and best practices and have more effective workforce mobility. They are also putting patients more in control of their dental care due to more flexible digital scheduling and access to state-of-the-art technology.
According to data from the ADA Health Policy Institute, more and more dentists are also increasingly choosing DSOs as their career homes. In 2022, for instance, 13% of American dentists were affiliated with a DSO. This is an increase from 10.4% in 2019 and 8.8% in 2017. Those numbers are higher among those who graduated from dental school less than 10 years ago, with 23% of them affiliated with a DSO. More dental school students are also planning to join a DSO-supported practice, including 34 percent of graduating seniors in 2023, according to the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). This is a sharp increase from 12% in 2015.
As DSOs continue to capture a larger share of the dental market, they present a promising investment opportunity – with their global market size expected to reach $454.7 billion by 2030. This growth represents a fundamental shift in how dental care is delivered, with DSOs leading the way.
One of the most compelling aspects of services provided by DSOs is the alignment of interests among the dental industry’s key stakeholders: dentists, patients, and investors. Dentists are increasingly drawn to the professional and administrative support and the financial stability that these organizations provide. Patients are seeing the benefits in the dental chair, thanks to more face time with their dentist, more flexible scheduling, better access to state-of-the-art technologies and more affordable care. And for investors, this alignment translates into a stable and scalable business model with strong growth prospects. DSOs are not just a good investment – they are a smart one.
By offering a blend of innovation, growth and stability, DSOs have become a driving force in providing high-quality dental care and helping to close the oral care access gap for millions of Americans, including those in underserved communities. In a rapidly evolving market where innovation, accessibility and efficiency are key, DSOs offer a compelling investment opportunity.
