AI is not the only thing that could change the dental industry.
The dental industry is finding itself in an increasingly complex landscape of regulatory reform, increased oversight and surprising policy changes. Economic...more
7/2/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Business Strategies ,
Corporate Practice of Dentistry ,
Dentists ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Operating Costs ,
Partnerships ,
Private Equity ,
Professional Associations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Tariffs
Summary The Ohio State Dental Board (the “Board”) recently updated its position statement, “Role of the Dentist in the Treatment of Sleep-disordered Breathing.” ...more
On June 9, 2025, Oregon enacted Senate Bill (“SB 951”). SB 951 significantly limits the ability of management services organizations (“MSOs”) and professional medical entities to engage in the traditional structures of...more
Bipartisan legislation was recently introduced in the Ohio Senate that would ban employee noncompete agreements in Ohio. Ohio Senate Bill 11 would prohibit any restriction on an employee’s or independent contractor’s ability...more
Indiana currently has a reporting requirement related to health care entity mergers and acquisitions that requires parties to covered health care entity transactions—including Dental Support Organization (“DSO”)...more
5/15/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Corporate Practice of Dentistry ,
Covered Transactions ,
Dental Practice ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Market Conditions ,
Mergers ,
New Legislation ,
Private Equity ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Attorneys General
DSOs have experienced several challenges amid the slowing private equity space in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic and the tightening of the private equity space, however, there are signs of a shift, with a number of...more
5/6/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
Corporate Practice of Dentistry ,
Data Breach ,
Dental Practice ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Innovative Technology ,
Investment ,
Mergers ,
Partnerships ,
Private Equity
ADA Advocating for Fluoridation, Says Medical Devices Should Not Be Subjected to Tariffs -
The dental industry and DSOs are experiencing change as both continue to embrace technology, including AI.
The political and...more
4/23/2025
/ American Dental Association (ADA) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
China ,
Corporate Practice of Dentistry ,
Dental Practice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Imports ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Medical Devices ,
Mexico ,
Private Equity ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Tariffs
The second Trump administration is planning changes that will impact the dental industry, and ADA and other outfits are concerned.
The FDA also approved suzetrigine, a non-opiod pain manager, and DSOs are expected to see...more
Moving into 2025, the dental industry faces a series of transformative shifts driven by evolving patient expectations, the rise of Dental Support Organizations (DSOs) and persistent operational challenges. The industry will...more
1/31/2025
/ Business Operations ,
Business Strategies ,
Corporate Practice of Dentistry ,
Dental Practice ,
Digital Health ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Innovative Technology ,
Partnerships ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain
Dental organizations see benefits from embracing sustainable practices -
Dentsply Sirona highlighted its progress in ESG initiatives in its sustainability report, which can give DSOs a competitive edge and build brand...more
12/31/2024
/ Class Action ,
Controlled Substances ,
Corporate Practice of Dentistry ,
Dental Practice ,
Dental Schools ,
Dentists ,
Fraud ,
Health Care Providers ,
Innovative Technology ,
Partnerships ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Private Equity ,
Securities Fraud
Dentologie shares thoughts on growth by building on its unique brand identity -
While other DSOs have focused on growth through acquisitions, Dentologie instead builds on its unique culture, modern aesthetic, and consumer...more
11/11/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Practice of Dentistry ,
Dental Practice ,
Dental Schools ,
Dentists ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Innovative Technology ,
Partnerships ,
Private Equity
Guardian Dentistry leads among fastest growing DSOs and has emphasized its commitment to continuous learning -
Guardian Dentistry Partners ranked highest among DSOs on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies. As a...more
Background on Indiana’s “Baby HSR” Law -
Indiana passed Senate Bill 9 in March 2024, which requires an Indiana healthcare entity involved in a merger or acquisition with another healthcare entity with a value of at least...more
8/23/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
American Dental Association (ADA) ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Corporate Practice of Dentistry ,
Dentists ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Indian Health Service (IHS) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Medicaid ,
Mergers ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Partnerships ,
Pending Legislation ,
Private Equity
A study at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry developed a chatbot using information reviewed by faculty members to answer questions about clinical procedures.
Cortino Sukotjo, DDS, PhD, a professor of...more
7/24/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bots ,
Corporate Practice of Dentistry ,
Dental Practice ,
Dentists ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Innovation ,
Licensing Rules ,
Partnerships ,
Private Equity ,
Technology
The AI sector continues to experience regulatory growing pains. Tech companies are struggling to comply with the EU’s new AI laws, which require more transparency in their model training. Meta, in particular, had to halt its...more
7/18/2024
/ Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Copyright Infringement ,
EU ,
Google ,
Machine Learning ,
Microsoft ,
Minors ,
NAD ,
Regulatory Agenda
The expansion of artificial intelligence (“AI”) applications in healthcare (“Healthcare AI”) has made recent headlines, from the transformation of clinical diagnostics with increased accuracy, to use of personalized medicine...more
7/12/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Health Care Providers ,
Machine Learning ,
OCR ,
OMB ,
Personalized Medicine ,
Regulatory Standards
ADA, and other organizations move to boost workforce development, training for dental hygienists -
In addition to several legislative moves aimed at boosting the training and development of dental hygienists, dental...more
6/28/2024
/ American Dental Association (ADA) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Practice of Dentistry ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Dentists ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Partnerships ,
Private Equity ,
Robotics ,
Training ,
UnitedHealth
DSOs have been recognizing the strong demand for pediatric dental services, driven by factors such as a growing population of children and expansions in state reimbursement programs. Other factors that are influencing a...more
On Feb. 27, the FBI and HHS issued a warning urging network defenders to review their joint advisory for healthcare organizations to protect against malicious activity after a ransomware group leader said it will be focusing...more
4/4/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Practice of Dentistry ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Dentists ,
Health Insurance ,
Medicaid ,
Pain Management ,
Private Equity ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Technology
Conceived and founded by 16 doctors, EPIC4 is a unique entity—a Specialty Partnership Organization where dental specialists can maximize potential at all stages of their life and practice. Forming EPIC4 was something of an...more
2/28/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Practice of Dentistry ,
Data Breach ,
Dental Practice ,
Dentists ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Insurance ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Innovative Technology ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Partnerships ,
Private Equity ,
Robotics
Profitable Dental Practices Push to Increase Patient Satisfaction Through Automation -
A report by NexHealth, a digital scheduling platform, conducted a survey to determine the state of the dental industry in 2023 by...more
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...more
7/25/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Capital Raising ,
Corporate Financing ,
Corporate Practice of Dentistry ,
Dentists ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Investors ,
New Legislation ,
Partnerships ,
Private Equity ,
Telemedicine
Data Breaches risk legal consequences—both from state and federal governments and consumers, as well as reputational harm.
Last month, MCNA—a dental benefit provider—provided notice of a data breach that exposed the...more
6/8/2023
/ Covered Entities ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Dental Practice ,
Health Care Providers ,
HIPAA Breach ,
HIPAA Breach Notification Rule ,
PHI ,
Popular
Dental practice consolidation to continue in 2023 despite economic uncertainty -
Despite the rapid increase in consolidation in the past decade, analysts believe that it is only the beginning for the DSO industry, with...more
AI can improve dental services by complimenting, not eliminating, human performance -
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly important role across a variety of industries and can benefit dental practices...more