Although private equity has largely defined the last few years of consolidation in dentistry, many executives agree that this era is now over, and that financial performance will begin to decide who survives long term.
Three dental executives joined Becker’s Future of Dentistry Roundtable Sept. 14-15 to discuss where private equity is headed next for dentistry.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: Is the PE-backed dental model still in a period of expansion, or are we entering a more mature and selective phase of investment?
Richard Hall. Chair of the Board for U.S. Oral Surgery Management (Irving, Texas): Yes and yes. I think it’s still expanding because we’re still so fragmented. The percentage of dentists that belong to a dental service organization is still relatively small, less than 35% nationally. In some specialties, it’s significantly less than that. In oral surgery, we think it’s somewhere around 14% or so. So [there is] still significant upside for consolidation.
Source: ‘Rapid consolidation is over’: The next step for private equity in dentistry / Becker’s Dental