What Is Your Dental Lab Actually Worth? The Seven Valuation Drivers Buyers Use in 2026 dental lab dso & m&a Jul 23, 2026

A dental lab’s value comes down to seven factors, and revenue is only one of them. Buyers price EBITDA margin, client concentration, owner dependency, digital infrastructure, quality systems, team stability, and market positioning into the multiple they’re willing to pay β€” and that multiple can swin...

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How to Become a Myofunctional Therapist: Certification, Training, and Building Your First Caseload hygiene Jul 23, 2026

By Pete Volk, founder of Dental Strategy Institute, with clinical review by Susan Volk, RDH.

How do you become a myofunctional therapist? Confirm you hold a qualifying credential (RDH, SLP, or dentist), complete a certification program from a recognized body like the AOMT or IAOM β€” usually a few mon...

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Where Corporate Practice of Dentistry Law Stands in 2026: A State-by-State Look at the DSO Ownership Fight dso & m&a regulation & compliance Jul 22, 2026

Twenty-some healthcare attorneys have now written some version of "what Colorado's DSO rules mean for your practice." Almost none of them have stepped back to ask the more useful question: is Colorado actually unusual, or is it just the first state to finish what a lot of other states already starte...

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The CDT Code Decoder: What Those Letter-Number Combos on Your Dental Bill Actually Mean patient pricing Jul 22, 2026

D2740. D4341. D6010.

If you've ever looked at a dental treatment plan or an Explanation of Benefits and wondered what those codes mean, you're not alone. Most patients never learn what they're actually being billed for β€” and that information gap has a real cost.

Here's a practical guide to the cod...

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What Is Myofunctional Therapy, and Why Are So Many Hygienists Switching to It? hygiene Jul 21, 2026

By Pete Volk, founder of Dental Strategy Institute, with clinical review by Susan Volk, RDH.

What is myofunctional therapy? It's a program of targeted exercises that correct dysfunction in the muscles of the face, mouth, and throat β€” things like improper tongue posture, mouth breathing, and orofacia...

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What Your Dentist's Fees Are Actually Telling You (And What They're Not) patient pricing Jul 20, 2026

A dental quote is more than a number. It's a data point β€” and like all data points, it means more in context than in isolation.

After 25 years working inside the dental industry, I've watched the same scene play out thousands of times: a patient receives a treatment plan, experiences sticker shock,...

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Should DSOs Pause Colorado Deals? No β€” But Here's What Actually Changes dso & m&a regulation & compliance Jul 20, 2026

Every DSO operator with a Colorado footprint is asking some version of the same question right now: do we pause? Stop signing LOIs, stop closing deals, wait until January 1, 2027 passes and the dust settles?

No. But the reasoning behind that "no" matters more than the answer itself, and it's not the...

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Starting an Independent Hygiene Practice: The Business Basics Nobody Teaches You in School hygiene practice startup & build-out Jul 19, 2026

By Pete Volk, founder of Dental Strategy Institute, with clinical review by Susan Volk, RDH.

What does it take to start an independent hygiene practice? Four things, roughly in order: a legal entity (usually an LLC), your own professional liability insurance that covers unsupervised practice, insura...

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Is Your Dental Quote Fair? Here's How to Know Before You Say Yes patient pricing Jul 17, 2026

You're sitting in the dental chair. The treatment coordinator slides a form across the desk: $1,800 for a crown. $2,400 for a root canal. $4,200 for two implants.

Your first instinct is to trust it. After all, this is a medical professional. Prices are what they are, right?

Not exactly.

Dental Pr...

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State-by-State: Where Independent Hygiene Practice Is Actually Legal in 2026 hygiene regulation & compliance Jul 17, 2026

By Pete Volk, founder of Dental Strategy Institute, with clinical review by Susan Volk, RDH.

Which states allow independent dental hygiene practice? A small group β€” including Colorado, Oregon, and Washington β€” allow something close to a standalone hygiene business with minimal dentist supervision. A...

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The Shortage Everyone's Talking About? Hygienists, That's Your Leverage. career-paths hygiene independent-practice Jul 16, 2026

Co-authored with Susan Volk, RDH

Every industry report this year has said some version of the same thing: recruiting hygienists has never been harder. Owners are describing it as "very" or "extremely" challenging at a rate north of 90%. Practices are raising wages, sweetening benefits, getting crea...

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Adding Operatories vs. Building New: When Dental Office Expansion Actually Pays Off capital planning dso & m&a practice startup & build-out Jul 15, 2026

Adding an operatory to an existing practice typically costs $75,000 to $175,000 for a full comprehensive build, or $35,000 to $80,000 per room before equipment if you're doing a leaner renovation into already-plumbed space. Building new runs the full construction cost we cover in the pillar guide β€” ...

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