Why the next generation of dentists isn’t buying practices: 8 things to know

The next generation of dentists is moving away from private practice ownership for a number of reasons, including the high cost of building a new practice and student loan debt upon graduation, according to an Aug. 19 report from TUSK Practice Sales.

Here are eight things to know from the report:

1. According to the American Dental Education Association, the share of dental students who intend to join a DSO-affiliated group has more than doubled since 2018, rising from 16% to 34%.
2. Dentists who graduated before 2010 owned practices early in their careers at rates of 60% to 70%, compared with just 21% of dentists who graduated between 2016 and 2020. 
3. Private dental practice ownership has fallen from 85% in 2005 to 73% in 2023, and solo practice has declined from about 67% of dentists in 2005 to about 50% in 2024, according to data from the American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute
4. Dental school graduates in the class of 2025 carried an average of $297,800 in education debt, according to the American Dental Education Association.
5. Building a new, competitive dental practice now costs between $900,000 and $1.7 million.
6. There are some DSOs that report dentist retention rates as high as 98%.
7. More than one-quarter of associate dentists changed employers in 2024, and nearly half of associates were considering or actively pursuing a new position within the year, according to DentalPost’s 2025 Dental Industry Salary Report.
8. When a dentist decides to sell to another dentist, the deal can look different than selling to a DSO. Lenders may require the selling dentist to carry a seller note, typically between 10% and 25% of the purchase price, rather than the lender financing the entire acquisition themselves.

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