Financial Strategy

Dental Practice

Three Major Dental Labs Merged. Your Local Lab Just Became a Box on Someone's Spreadsheet.

Dental lab consolidation is accelerating. When your lab gets acquired, turnaround slows, prices rise, and your priority drops. Here's what to do about it.

Dental Practice

Congress is Fighting Over Medicare Dental. Either Way, Your Reimbursement Sucks.

Medicare dental coverage is debated every cycle but unlikely to materialize. If it does, reimbursement rates will force most practices to decline participation - the administrative burden isn't worth 30% lower revenue.

Dental Practice

New CAD/CAM Resins Are Better. They're Also Expensive. Does It Matter?

CAD/CAM resins are materially superior, but the business case depends entirely on utilization rates and your annual restoration volume. Most practices don't mill enough to justify the investment.

Dental Practice

Three Major Dental DSOs Got Hit By Ransomware This Summer. Yours Isn't Immune.

Three major DSOs hit by ransomware in summer 2024. Independent practices have different risk profiles - lower ransom targets, but vulnerable to data extortion. Backup strategy and basic security are essential.

Dental Practice

When Insurance Merges, Your Reimbursement Gets Worse. Guaranteed.

Insurance mergers always precede reimbursement reductions (2-5% in year 2-3). Practices with concentrated insurance revenue lose the most.

Dental Practice

Scanner Prices Are Collapsing. Your Equipment Resale Value Just Did Too.

CBCT and intraoral scanner prices have collapsed 40-70% in five years as market saturation hit. Your resale assumption is wildly optimistic.

Dental Practice

DSOs Are Copying Amazon's Playbook. Most Will Fail.

DSOs are failing to replicate Amazon's scale strategy because dentistry has no network effects, pricing power, or logistics use. The math breaks.

Dental Practice

Private Equity's $4.2 Billion Dental Bet Is Getting Nervous

Heartland Dental's $4.2B portfolio is restructuring after PE realized DSO consolidation math doesn't work. Expect more dominos to fall.

Dental Practice

M&A Update: PE Deals Down 37%, But Not Dead

PE DSO deals dropped 37% in 2024, but consolidation is shifting, not stopping. Independent practices face lower valuations and longer integration timelines. Know your options.

Dental Practice

Associate Recruitment: Student Debt Just Got More Expensive

New dental grads owe $270K-300K in student loans. DSOs offer signing bonuses + debt assistance ($30-50K value). Independent practices offering no debt help can't compete for top talent.

Dental Practice

Infection Control: New OSHA Guidance Raises Compliance Costs

Infection Control: New OSHA Guidance Raises Compliance Costs OSHA updated infection control mandates in June 2025. New standards for sterilization validation...

Dental Practice

Implant Market: Growing, But Consolidating

The implant market is growing 6-8% annually, but 5 companies control 88% of market share. Consolidation means pricing power for manufacturers and margin pressure for practices.