Growth for many dental organizations is often measured by new practices added. But for U.S. Oral Surgery Management, 2026 has been less about the size of the network and more about what happens after a practice joins it.
Alisa Ulrey, COO at Irving, Texas-based U.S. Oral Surgery Management, recently spoke with Becker’s about how the company’s growth strategy has shifted from expanding its network to building the internal capabilities and support systems behind it — and what that means for patient care, M&A discipline and workforce retention going forward.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: How would you describe USOSM’s growth this year?
Alisa Ulrey: It’s been a good year. We keep bringing on strong surgeon partners and entering new markets, but honestly, a lot of my focus this year when it comes to growth has been on what happens after a practice joins us. That means making sure the people, systems and support are in place to help practices succeed as part of USOSM.
Growth is easy to talk about in terms of new practices added, but I spend much of my time focused on making sure we deliver on growth through the value creation work we do for our practices every day.
Q: USOSM was recently ranked among the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. What would you attribute the company’s growth to?
AU: A few things. We’re in a specialty where there’s real opportunity, and we’ve been fortunate to attract a strong group of surgeon partners. Our model also just works. Surgeons stay focused on patients and surgery, and we handle the business side of the practice.
From where I sit running operations, we’ve built significant capability behind the scenes over the last several years. We have more data, more resources, and, frankly, more experience than we did even a few years ago. That allows us to apply what we’ve learned across the organization rather than solving the same challenges practice by practice.
But none of that works without the right people. We have a highly skilled and engaged team that’s aligned on where we’re headed and genuinely wants these practices to succeed.
Q: What goals does USOSM have for the rest of the year?
AU: Keep growing, while staying disciplined about it. We’ll keep looking at new partners and markets that make sense, while also focusing on the real opportunities within our existing practices. Organic growth — helping the practices we already have perform even better — will remain an important focus for us.
From my side, that means making sure our practices have the support they need without piling on unnecessary complexity along the way. As we grow, we have to keep asking whether the way we have always done something still makes sense and be willing to change it when it doesn’t.
Really, it all comes back to patient care. If something we are doing isn’t making it easier for our surgeons and their teams to take care of patients, then we need to rethink it.
Q: What are some challenges USOSM has had to overcome this year regarding the economy, patient demand, M&A trends, etc.? What lessons were learned?
AU: Like most of healthcare, we’ve navigated a tougher environment this year, with higher costs, a tight labor market and the same economic uncertainty everyone’s dealing with. On the M&A side, we’ve had to be even more disciplined about who we partner with and where we know we can genuinely add value.
When it comes to patient demand, we’ve stayed focused on building strong relationships with referring providers and making sure we are meeting the needs of the communities we serve. If I had to name the lesson in all of this, it’s that staying grounded in quality patient care is what counts, no matter what the market is doing. Our ability to support the business essentials for our practices is what allows our partners and their teams to stay focused on delivering that care.
Staying close to our partners and making sure their patients’ needs are met is foundational to what we do every day.
Q: How has USOSM’s growth strategy evolved over the years to its current state?
AU: USOSM was founded on the idea of building a management model designed specifically for oral and maxillofacial surgeons. As we’ve grown, my job, and my team’s job, has shifted from primarily building the USOSM network of practices to building the capabilities and support systems that let a company this size function well.
We still have an active M&A strategy, but we spend just as much time now on helping the practices we already have grow and perform. We’ve learned a lot along the way, like where scale actually creates value, where centralizing something makes sense, and where practices need room to run things their own way because their individual market calls for it. So really, we went from growing the network to building the organization behind it.
Q: What trends are you following in the DSO/MSO field right now?
AU: Technology and AI, for sure. There are real, practical opportunities to use both across the business, particularly in scheduling, revenue cycle and administrative work that eats up our team’s time. At the same time, if it doesn’t make our teams’ jobs easier, improve the patient experience or help a practice run better, we keep looking.
A stable and talented workforce is the other big one for me. Finding and keeping good people takes strategy and investment, so culture, development and giving our teams tools that make their day easier matter more than ever. Practices are looking for the resources and expertise to deal with an operating environment that keeps getting more complex. I always keep our focus on how we use our size and scale to make life easier for our surgeons and their teams while continuing to deliver an excellent experience for patients.
At the Becker's 5th Annual Future of Dentistry Roundtable, taking place September 14-15 in Chicago, dental leaders and executives will gain insights into emerging technologies, practice growth strategies and the evolving landscape of dental care delivery, with a focus on innovation, patient experience and operational excellence. Apply for complimentary registration now.
