All but one dental specialty experienced a decrease in private equity deals in 2025, according to PitchBook’s “Healthcare Services Report” for the fourth quarter of 2025.
The report analyzes private equity trends during the fourth quarter of 2025 in addition to recent years.
Five notes:
1. Overall, healthcare services deal activity increased by 9.6% year over year, with approximately 747 deals announced or closed.
2. Pitchbook estimated that fourth quarter activity was 15% below that of the previous year, which the company said could be attributed to increased regulatory burdens for private equity ownership of physician practice management company assets in various states.
3. Healthcare services deal value was also 1.6% lower in 2025 compared to 2024.
4. Dental industry deals saw a 37.2% drop in 2025, primarily in endodontics and periodontics.
5. All dental specialties saw a drop in private equity deals, except for oral surgery, which saw an 9.1% increase.
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