Here are five statistics Becker’s has reported on in recent months that could lead to opportunities for growth and progress in the DSO field:
1. Smaller DSOs have seen between 26% and 32% year-over-year network growth in the last year compared to larger organizations, according to Dentira’s Dental Spend Index.
2. DSOs have added more than 1,200 locations in the South Atlantic region, more than any other region of the U.S.
3. DSO affiliation among U.S. dentists has more than doubled since 2015 — from 7.2% to 16.1% — as practice ownership has dropped to a 20-year low of 73%, according to TUSK Practice Sales’ Q4 2026 Dental Market Report.
4. More than 20 PE-backed dental platforms are seven or more years into their hold periods — setting up a wave of DSO recapitalizations, secondary sales and potential IPOs that is expected to reshape the acquisition landscape over the next 12 months.
5. Younger dentists are far more likely than their senior colleagues to be tied to a DSO or a multilocation practice, with about 27.1% of dentists up to 10 years out of dental school being affiliated with a DSO, compared with 15.5% of those 11 to 25 years out.
