An increasing number of DSOs are leaning toward joint venture partnerships with dentists to support network growth, according to one executive.
Ashish Bagai, co-CEO and head of business development at Vitana Pediatric & Orthodontic Partners, recently spoke with Becker’s about the biggest trends he’s following in the DSO field.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What are your predictions for how DSOs will approach partnerships and growth for the rest of the year and going into 2027?
Ashish Bagai: We’ve already seen more people go into this [joint venture] concept. Traditionally, there were more 100% buyouts, and now people realize that continuity is really important, and that only happens if dentists own a portion of that practice … so that’s going to be a real trend. We hope we see a lot more slowdown in acquisitions, but [ones that] really are driving proper growth and support. I think practices deserve that support they’ve been promised. The industry is forced to now, but I still believe if the conditions open up, most practices or most groups will continue that level of organic growth focus, as they should, to be able to get the return required for their investors. Those are probably two things we’re going to see more and more of going forward.
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