Key Issues -

Nation’s largest DSOs successfully weather the pandemic -

Data from the American Dental Association (ADA) shows a steady, long-term growth trend for DSOs. In 2017, the ADA found 7.4% of U.S. dentists were affiliated with DSOs but in 2019 that number had grown to 10.4%.

More recently, there are signs the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t curb DSO growth - at least for the largest organizations in the country. Heartland Dental remains one of the largest DSOs in the country, growing by about 200 practices in almost two years. Heartland is poised to grow even more with the recently announced acquisition of American Dental Partners.

Other leading DSOs have reportedly grown during the pandemic, though the data is largely inconsistent and largely derived from press releases. The ADA has not yet curated its own data on the growth of DSOs during the COVID-19 pandemic.