Find a dentist who answers to patients, not shareholders.
One in six American dentists now works for a dental service organization. Most patients never find out. Put in your ZIP Code and see who on your street still owns their own practice.
Dentistry is being bought out.
Almost none of this is visible from the waiting room. The sign stays up, the hygienist might stay the same, but the ownership moves to a holding company three states away. Here is what the ADA's own research arm has measured.
of US dentists were affiliated with a DSO in 2024, up from 7.2% in 2015.
ADA Health Policy Institute, 2025of dentists within ten years of graduating are DSO-affiliated. More than one in four.
ADA Health Policy Institute, 2025of dentists still own their practice, down from 84.7% in 2005.
ADA HPI, practice ownership trends, 2025more dental implants placed per visit by year four after a private-equity acquisition.
Health Services Research, 2026The bill goes up. The reimbursement doesn't.
After a private-equity acquisition, patient charges rise about 3.3%, climbing past 5% by year three (while negotiated insurance rates stay flat). More than 40% of US dental spending is paid straight out of pocket, so patients are paying the difference.
The procedure mix moves too: away from preventive and diagnostic work, toward restorative, surgical and specialty treatment.
Oregon is still mostly independent for now.
Oregon isn't among the high-consolidation states, and only two DSO affiliations were logged here in 2025, against 18 in California. That's the good news, and the reason a list like this is worth keeping current.
The counter-example is local: Timber Dental, founded in Northeast Portland in 2014, was acquired by the DSO network GPS Dental in January 2025. Its website still doesn't mention it.
Four labels, and we'll show our work on every one.
Ownership is rarely a public record. Everything here comes from a practice's own website, published trade reporting, or the owner telling us directly. Every listing shows which.
- IndependentOwned by a dentist who practices there. One or two locations, no DSO or management-company affiliation we could find. The strongest listings are the ones an owner has confirmed.
- Local groupThree or more offices, still owned by the dentists who founded it. Not corporate, not quite a single independent practice either.
- DSO / corporateAffiliated with a dental service organization, private-equity platform or national brand. Sometimes obvious from the branding, sometimes only from a trade-press acquisition notice.
- UnverifiedA real practice we couldn't classify. Most single-office practices simply never say who owns them. Gray isn't an accusation. It's an open question, and the owner can close it in about a minute.
What we don't do
We don't rank practices, take payment for placement, or accept advertising. We don't publish an ownership claim without a source we can point to, and we'd rather leave a listing grey than guess at it.
Tell us we're wrong
If your practice is mislabeled, say so and we'll fix it the same week. Sold recently? Bought your practice back? Same form, and the change is logged publicly.
Own your practice? Take two minutes and say so.
Claimed listings get a verified badge, your own description, and a direct link to your site. It's free, it stays free, and there's nothing to buy at the end of it.