Browse by Topic: DSO & M&A · Practice Operations · Hygiene Career Track · Practice Finance · Regulation & Compliance

North Carolina Just Opened the Gate — And Park Dental Walked Through It in 34 Days dso & m&a practice transitions practice valuation Aug 12, 2026

Thirty-four days.

That's how long it took. North Carolina's new law killing the dental board's pre-approval requirement for management agreements took effect on July 7, 2026. On August 10, Park Dental Partners announced it was buying Village Family Dental — twelve locations, forty-eight doctors, ea...

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Dentists Are Buying Software Instead of Operatories in 2026 2026 data ada hpi capital planning dental economy dental equipment dso & m&a practice finance Aug 07, 2026

I spent twenty-five years on the manufacturing side of this industry, which means I've sat through a lot of forecast meetings where somebody held up a survey showing dentists planned to buy equipment. Those forecasts were usually wrong in a predictable direction.

The ADA's Q2 2026 report just publi...

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The Pillars of Dental Strategy: A Framework for Practice Owners and DSO Operators dental equipment dental strategy dso & m&a hygiene insurance & ppo practice finance regulation & compliance Aug 06, 2026
Dental strategy is the set of financial, operational, and regulatory decisions that determine whether a dental practice survives, scales, or gets sold on someone else's terms. It breaks into six working pillars: practice transitions and DSO affiliation, equipment as a capital asset, insurance and re...
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43% of Dentists Now Use AI. The Real Story Is Where They Won't. 2026 data ada hpi ai in dentistry dental economy dental technology dso & m&a practice operations Aug 06, 2026

The ADA added an AI section to its Q2 2026 economic report, and the headline number is doing the rounds already: 43.3% of dentists use AI for at least one task in their practice.

Fine. Adoption is real, faster than most people expected, and that's a legitimate finding.

The number I can't stop look...

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Same Squeeze, Different Shock Absorbers: Private Practice vs. DSO in 2026 2026 data ada hpi dental economy dso & m&a practice finance practice valuation Aug 06, 2026

Every time the ADA publishes economic data, the comment sections split into two camps. One says the numbers prove independent practice is dying. The other says they prove corporate dentistry is overhyped and the independents are fine.

Both readings are lazy, and the Q2 2026 report is a good place to...

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The Busyness Paradox: Dentists Are Working Harder in 2026 for the Same Money 2026 data ada hpi dental economy dso & m&a practice finance practice operations Aug 05, 2026

The ADA Health Policy Institute published its Q2 2026 economic report in July, and buried on slide 30 is a sentence I've been chewing on for two weeks. After laying out that dentists are busier and that consumer dental spending grew only 1% over twelve months, the authors offer three possible explan...

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The ADA's Q2 2026 Dental Economy Report: What the Numbers Actually Say 2026 data ada hpi ai in dentistry dental economy dental strategy dso & m&a insurance & ppo practice finance Aug 05, 2026

The ADA Health Policy Institute released its Q2 2026 update on the state of the U.S. dental economy in July. Forty-seven slides, four core sections, plus a new section on AI usage in dental practices.

Most of the coverage has focused on two numbers: dentist confidence is up, and 43% of dentists now...

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North Carolina Dropped Its DSO Approval Requirement — Here's What Actually Changed dso & m&a regulation & compliance Jul 27, 2026

By Pete Volk, founder of Dental Strategy Institute.

North Carolina just eliminated its requirement that DSOs get advance approval from the State Board of Dental Examiners before signing a management agreement. Under Session Law 2026-41, enacted July 7, 2026, parties can now execute a management arra...

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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 — and that multiple can swin...

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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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Should DSOs Pause Colorado Deals? No — 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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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 — ...

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