If you own a dental practice, the most active buyers today are dental support organizations, known as DSOs, many of them backed by private equity, that bring practices into a regional or national group. Groups owned by dentists are buying too, and so are other dentists: a nearby practice that wants to grow, an associate who wants to own, or a dentist buying a first practice.
What makes those buyers pay more is mostly predictable: a steady base of active patients and new patients coming in every month, a payer mix they are comfortable with, a strong hygiene department, associates and staff who are staying, and a practice that does not depend entirely on the owner’s own chair time.
The short version
- Who buys: DSOs and the private equity behind many of them, groups owned by dentists, nearby practices and group practices, associates and individual dentists.
- What they pay more for: active patients and new-patient flow, payer mix, hygiene production, associates and staff who stay, a sound lease and equipment, and low dependence on the owner.
- How DSO deals usually work: in most states only dentists can own the clinical practice, so the DSO takes over the business side under a services agreement. Sellers often keep practicing for a period and keep part of their equity.
- How to get the best result: put the practice in front of several of those buyers at once, confidentially, instead of taking the first offer that arrives.
Why DSOs and private equity are buying dental practices
More dentists work with a DSO every year. The American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute found that 13% of US dentists were affiliated with a DSO in 2022, up from 8.8% in 2017, and that in 2024 more than one in four dentists within ten years of dental school were.
Investors have kept putting money into the groups that buy practices:
- Warburg Pincus invested in MB2 Dental in November 2024. MB2 said it was the company’s third recapitalization in seven years and that the deal gave its doctor partners an option to sell shares.
- GTCR completed its acquisition of dentalcorp, the Canadian network of dental practices, in January 2026. Some of dentalcorp’s partner dentists rolled all or part of their shares into the new ownership.
- Thurston Group combined SGA Dental Partners, Gen4 Dental Partners and Modis Dental Partners under the SGA Dental Partners name in June 2026, a group of more than 250 locations and 500 dentists across 26 states.
- Guardian Dentistry Partners agreed to acquire a majority of Select Dental Management, a New Jersey DSO with 38 locations, in July 2026.
What that means for a founder
There are more buyers with more capital looking for practices than there used to be. If you sell to a DSO, expect questions about the structure of the deal as much as the price: how much you receive in cash at closing, whether part of the price is equity in the DSO, how long you are expected to keep practicing, and what you will be paid while you do. Groups backed by private equity also usually sell or recapitalize later, as MB2 has done three times, so if you keep equity, ask what a future sale would mean for you.
How the structure works
In most states, a dental practice must be owned and controlled by licensed dentists. So a DSO does not usually buy the clinical practice itself. It buys the business assets and runs the nonclinical side, such as billing, marketing, staffing, purchasing and technology, under a services agreement with the practice, while dentists keep making every clinical decision. The ADA describes DSOs this way and urges dentists to have a healthcare attorney review any business services agreement before signing.
The rules differ from state to state and have been changing, so your own attorney and your state dental board are the authority for your practice. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Who buys dental practices
The deals on this page come from public announcements. None of them is a Hello Exit transaction, and naming a buyer here does not mean it works with Hello Exit or is looking for any particular practice.
DSOs and the private equity behind them
National and regional DSOs buy practices one at a time and add them to a shared support platform. Many are backed by private equity and buy steadily. Some keep the practice’s name and team, and some bring it under their own brand.
Smaller and dentist-owned groups
Not every buyer is a national platform backed by private equity. Park Dental Partners, a Minnesota dental support company that listed on Nasdaq in 2025, agreed to acquire Village Family Dental, a dentist-owned DSO in eastern North Carolina, in August 2026. Groups owned by the dentists who practice in them often appeal to owners who want a partner that thinks like a dentist.
Nearby practices and group practices
A practice down the street, or a group in your region, may want your patients, your location or your team. These buyers often know your market well and can move patients into their own schedule.
Associates and individual dentists
An associate who already works in the practice, or a dentist buying a first practice, is often the buyer for a smaller practice. They usually finance the purchase with a loan, and the transition tends to be the easiest on patients because the new owner may already know them.
What dental practice buyers pay more for
Every buyer looks at collections and earnings first. After that, these are the things that most often move what a buyer will pay and how much of the price comes at closing.
Active patients and new-patient flow
Buyers want to see how many patients are active, how many new patients come in each month, and where they come from. A practice that keeps attracting new patients without relying on the owner’s personal network is easier to grow.
Payer mix
Buyers look at how much of your revenue comes from fee-for-service patients, PPO plans and public programs, and whether any single plan dominates. Know your mix and your fee schedules, because they shape both price and which buyers fit.
Hygiene production
A strong hygiene department with a reliable recall system brings patients back on a schedule and feeds restorative work. Buyers look at how much of production comes from hygiene and how full the hygiene schedule is.
Associates and staff who stay
Patients are loyal to the people they see. Buyers ask whether your associates, hygienists and front office team are staying, how they are paid, and whether any of them have agreements that would survive a sale.
How much the practice depends on you
If most of the production is your own dentistry, a buyer will ask what happens when you step back. That is a major reason DSO deals often ask the seller to keep practicing for a period. The more production your associates and hygienists already carry, the more options you have.
Lease, equipment and systems
A long lease that can be assigned to a buyer, well maintained equipment, current imaging and practice management software, and clean records make a practice easier to take over. A short or unassignable lease can stall a deal.
Clean financials
Buyers will ask for several years of financial statements, production and collections by provider, and the add-backs that show what the practice really earns. Numbers that match from one report to the next build confidence quickly.
Why it pays to have several buyers at the table
The same practice can look very different to different buyers. A DSO entering your region may value your location and team. A dentist-owned group may value your clinical culture. A nearby practice may value your patient base most of all. When you talk to only one of them, you only learn what that one will pay and on what terms.
Putting the practice in front of several qualified buyers at once, confidentially, tests price and structure against each other. Buyers learn who you are only after signing an NDA, so staff and patients do not find out early.
Hello Exit is a sell-side M&A advisor for founders selling businesses from $1 million to $400 million, and it is the team behind 1,000+ acquisitions and exits. Every engagement starts from accurate information. Hello Exit’s Exit Report is an advisory estimate that shows the strategic case, where strategic buyers exist, and the financial case side by side, along with an honest read on readiness. If the practice is not ready to sell, Hello Exit says so and helps you get there first.
See how the process works, from the first confidential call to closing, what Hello Exit does, and what M&A advisors charge.
Size matters too. Below roughly $1 million in value, a dental practice broker or transition specialist is usually the practical route. Above $400 million, an investment bank is usually the better fit.
Before you talk to buyers
- How to value a small business for sale: the methods buyers use and what moves the number.
- The free Valuation Report: an advisory estimate range for your business in minutes.
- Preparing your business for sale: a checklist: what to have ready before the first buyer call.
- Sell my business: the full path from first decision to closing.
Common questions
Who buys dental practices?
DSOs, many backed by private equity, groups owned by dentists, nearby practices and group practices, associates and individual dentists. Which of them fits depends on your size, your location, your payer mix and how long you want to keep practicing.
Can a DSO or private equity own my dental practice?
In most states, not the clinical practice itself. A DSO usually buys the business side and provides nonclinical services under an agreement, while licensed dentists own the practice and make the clinical decisions. The rules vary by state, so check with your own attorney.
Will I have to keep practicing after I sell to a DSO?
Usually for a period, so patients and staff move smoothly to the new structure. Many DSO deals also ask you to keep part of your equity. The more of the production your associates and hygienists already carry, the shorter and lighter that commitment tends to be.
Is my practice big enough for an M&A advisor?
Hello Exit works with businesses from $1 million to $400 million in value. Below roughly $1 million, a dental practice broker or transition specialist is usually the better route.
