Younger Dentists are Affiliating with DSOs at Higher Rates in the U.S.

Financial constraints, stronger need for work/life balance is driving this trend -

The ADA Health Policy Institute (HPI) released data in May that found 13% of dentists in the U.S. had affiliated with a DSO organization in 2022, and for dentists less than 10 years out of dental school, the rate was significantly higher, at 23%. The current data is up from a rate of 10.4% in 2019 and 8.8% in 2017. Marko Vujicic, Ph.D., ADA chief economist and vice president of the Health Policy Institute, said that the updated data reflect changing practice modalities. Dentists are increasingly affiliated with DSOs, and favoring group practices over solo ones.