Who is buying dental practices?
Why dentistry is consolidating
- •Consolidation is generational: DSO affiliation rose from 8.8% of US dentists in 2017 to 16.1% in 2024, more than 25% of dentists within 10 years of dental school are now DSO-affiliated, and the share of dentists who own their practice fell from 84.7% in 2005 to 72.5% (ADA Health Policy Institute).
- •Dental is private equity’s busiest healthcare roll-up: roughly 130 PE-backed DSOs operate today, and US dental recorded 120+ PE add-on acquisitions in 2024 — the highest volume of any healthcare-services category (Lincoln International; ADA HPI).
- •The runway is large: there are about 202,485 dentists across roughly 135,000 dental offices, and even after a decade of DSO growth ~84% of dentists remain unaffiliated and about one in three still practice solo — a deeply fragmented base (ADA Health Policy Institute; US Census).
- •Recession-resistant, needs-based demand, a durable mix of cash-pay and insurance revenue, and a wave of debt-laden younger dentists who would rather affiliate than buy a practice make dental an attractive, repeatable roll-up (Lincoln International; ADA HPI).
The platforms consolidating dental care
The named groups acquiring US dental businesses, with their current owner and a source for each. Most grow through individual partnerships that are not separately disclosed; where a platform publishes named deals, recent ones are listed.
Heartland Dental
Private equity- Owner
- KKR
- Headquarters
- Effingham, IL
- Scale
- 1,900+ supported practices, 3,000+ affiliated dentists across 39 states + DC — the largest US DSO
KKR is the majority owner of the largest US DSO. As with every DSO, Heartland owns the non-clinical support business while affiliated dentists own the clinical practices.
Aspen Dental Management
Private equity- Owner
- Leonard Green & Partners + Ares Management (~80%); American Securities (~20%)
- Headquarters
- Chicago, IL
- Scale
- 1,100+ branded offices across 40+ states
Leonard Green and Ares hold a roughly 80% majority, with American Securities and management owning the rest. Aspen grows largely through de novo offices rather than acquisitions.
MB2 Dental
Private equity- Owner
- Charlesbank Capital Partners + KKR + Warburg Pincus
- Headquarters
- Carrollton, TX
- Scale
- 800+ affiliated practices, 700+ doctor-partners
A November 2024 recapitalization added Warburg Pincus alongside existing investors Charlesbank and KKR. MB2 calls itself a “dental partnership organization” — affiliating dentists co-invest and retain equity.
Smile Brands
Private equity- Owner
- Gryphon Investors
- Headquarters
- Irvine, CA
- Scale
- ~650 offices across roughly 30 states
A PE-to-PE repeat: Gryphon Investors previously owned Smile Brands, sold it, and re-acquired it in 2024.
Western Dental / Sonrava Health
Private equity- Owner
- New Mountain Capital
- Headquarters
- Orange, CA
- Scale
- 580+ offices across 20 states, 1,400+ dentists
New Mountain has held Western Dental (rebranded Sonrava Health) since 2012 — one of the longest holds in the sector; a 2024 sale process did not complete.
Dental Care Alliance
Private equity- Owner
- Harvest Partners + Mubadala Investment Company
- Headquarters
- Sarasota, FL
- Scale
- 400+ affiliated practices, 900+ dentists across ~24 states
Recapitalized in December 2022 by Harvest Partners and Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala. Harvest also co-owns Affordable Care — two separate dental platforms.
North American Dental Group
Strategic / family-owned- Owner
- Jacobs Holding AG
- Headquarters
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Scale
- ~250 affiliated practices across 15 states
Owned since 2019 by Jacobs Holding AG, a Swiss long-term family holding company (not a fund-structured PE firm), as part of a transatlantic dental group.
Affordable Care (Affordable Dentures & Implants)
Private equity- Owner
- Harvest Partners + PSP Investments (Berkshire Partners, minority)
- Headquarters
- Raleigh, NC
- Scale
- 350+ affiliated practices across ~40 states (dentures and implants)
Control passed from Berkshire Partners to Harvest Partners and PSP Investments in 2021 (Berkshire rolled over a minority stake). A dentures-and-implants specialist rather than general dentistry.
DECA Dental Group / Ideal Dental
Private equity- Owner
- Blackstone (Tactical Opportunities)
- Headquarters
- Carrollton, TX
- Scale
- ~200 locations across 9 states
Blackstone made a strategic investment in August 2024 (prior owner Blue Sea Capital exited); founder Dr. Sulman Ahmed retains a meaningful stake. Runs a dentist joint-venture model under the Ideal Dental brand.
Sage Dental
Private equity- Owner
- Linden Capital Partners
- Headquarters
- Boca Raton, FL
- Scale
- 140+ supported offices across Florida and Georgia
A regional (Florida and Georgia) DSO; Linden Capital has backed Sage since 2012.
Dental365
Private equity- Owner
- The Jordan Company
- Headquarters
- Melville, NY
- Scale
- A Northeast multispecialty group (NY, CT, NJ, PA, OH and beyond)
The Jordan Company acquired Dental365 in 2021 from Regal Healthcare Capital Partners; founder Dr. Scott Asnis continues to lead.
Smile Doctors
Private equity- Owner
- Thomas H. Lee Partners + Linden Capital Partners
- Headquarters
- Dallas, TX
- Scale
- 580+ affiliated orthodontic locations across 36 states — the largest US orthodontics platform
Linden Capital has backed Smile Doctors since 2017; Thomas H. Lee Partners joined as an equal partner in 2022. Affiliated orthodontists retain a stake.
U.S. Oral Surgery Management (USOSM)
Private equity- Owner
- Oak Hill Capital
- Headquarters
- Irving, TX
- Scale
- A national oral & maxillofacial surgery platform
Oak Hill Capital acquired a controlling stake from RiverGlade Capital in 2021; the surgeon partners retain ownership.
Paradigm Oral Health
Private equity- Owner
- BlackRock Long Term Private Capital
- Headquarters
- Lincoln, NE
- Scale
- ~75 facilities, 100+ surgeon partners (oral & maxillofacial surgery)
BlackRock Long Term Private Capital took a majority stake in September 2022, acquiring it from InTandem Capital Partners.
Specialized Dental Partners
Private equity- Owner
- Quad-C Management
- Headquarters
- Dallas–Fort Worth, TX
- Scale
- A surgical-specialty platform (endodontics, oral surgery, periodontics)
Quad-C invested in 2021; the platform was renamed from U.S. Endo Partners to Specialized Dental Partners in 2023 as it expanded beyond endodontics.
Rodeo Dental & Orthodontics
Private equity- Owner
- Bain Capital Double Impact
- Headquarters
- Fort Worth, TX
- Scale
- General, orthodontic and specialty care, serving largely underserved and Medicaid communities
Bain Capital Double Impact (the firm’s impact-investing arm) recapitalized Rodeo Dental in 2019 alongside management.
Gen4 Dental Partners
Private equity- Owner
- Thurston Group
- Headquarters
- Tempe, AZ
- Scale
- ~110 offices across 14 states (platform formed 2021)
A younger Thurston Group platform (formed 2021); not to be confused with TPG, which a common listicle wrongly names as the owner.
Frequently asked
Who are the largest dental DSOs in the US?
By scale: Heartland Dental (KKR), Aspen Dental (Leonard Green + Ares), MB2 Dental (Charlesbank + KKR + Warburg Pincus), Smile Brands (Gryphon), Western Dental / Sonrava Health (New Mountain) and Dental Care Alliance (Harvest Partners + Mubadala). Private equity is also rolling up specialties — Smile Doctors (Thomas H. Lee + Linden) in orthodontics and U.S. Oral Surgery Management (Oak Hill) in oral surgery.
How can private equity own a dental practice?
Through the dental support organization (DSO) structure. Because most states bar non-dentists from owning a clinical practice (the “corporate practice of dentistry” doctrine), the practice splits in two: a licensed dentist owns the clinical professional corporation, and a separate management company — the DSO, which is what private equity invests in — owns the non-clinical business and provides support under a management services agreement.
What multiple do dental practices sell for?
It depends heavily on size. M&A advisers report single-location practices selling for roughly 5x-7x EBITDA, with larger multi-location groups and platform-grade businesses commanding about 10x or more. Single-doctor tuck-ins are often valued lower, around 3x-6x. Private-equity-backed DSOs pay up for scale and recurring patient bases.
How do I sell my dental practice to a DSO?
DealSeam works confidentially with dental-practice owners to understand their options and, where there is a fit, introduces them to qualified buyers — with the buyer paying the success fee, so sellers pay nothing. DealSeam is not a traditional business broker.
Methodology & sources
Platforms were identified from dental-industry M&A coverage (Group Dentistry Now, DrBicuspid, Becker’s Dental, and dental-sector reports from Lincoln International) and then each one’s current owner, headquarters and scale were verified against a primary public source — the PE sponsor’s portfolio or news page, the DSO’s own press release, or a dated trade-press report. Every entry uses the dental “support organization” structure: because most states’ corporate-practice-of-dentistry laws bar non-dentists from owning a clinical practice, the PE-backed DSO owns the non-clinical management business (real estate, billing, HR, marketing, equipment) under a management services agreement, while a licensed dentist owns the clinical professional corporation — so “KKR owns Heartland” means KKR owns the support company, not the practice of dentistry. Ownership churns, so several widely-repeated facts were corrected: Affordable Care’s control passed from Berkshire Partners to Harvest Partners and PSP in 2021 (Berkshire is now a minority); Dental365 is owned by The Jordan Company (not Bain); Gen4 Dental Partners is a Thurston Group platform (not TPG); and U.S. Endo Partners is the same entity as Specialized Dental Partners (renamed in 2023). Great Expressions Dental Centers was excluded because its current owner could not be confirmed against a primary source after multiple ownership changes. North American Dental Group’s owner, Jacobs Holding, is a Swiss family holding company rather than a PE fund, and is labeled accordingly. Not every large DSO is private equity: Pacific Dental Services (~1,000 supported practices) is founder-owned, Mortenson Dental Partners is employee-owned through an ESOP, and PepperPointe Partnerships is a dentist-owned partnership that explicitly markets itself as the alternative to PE. Revenue and EBITDA are private and intentionally omitted; the multiple band shown is industry-typical, not any single deal’s multiple. Market-size, affiliation and deal-count figures are sourced externally (ADA Health Policy Institute, US Census, Lincoln International). Last updated June 2026.
Market sources
- ADA Health Policy Institute — Practice Modalities Among US Dentists (DSO affiliation, 2024) ↗
- ADA Health Policy Institute — Dentist Workforce (2024) ↗
- Lincoln International — Dental’s Global Sector Health in 2025 ↗
- ADA Health Policy Institute — The Dental Care Market (2024) ↗
Last updated June 2026. Ownership in this sector changes frequently; figures reflect the most recent public sources available and are not investment, legal, or tax advice.
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