Practice modality by the numbers
New dentists drive DSO trends
Data from the ADA Health Policy Institute shows practice modality is changing, with higher rates of dentists affiliating with dental support organizations and practicing in groups than in the past.
In 2022, 13% of U.S. dentists were affiliated with a DSO, an increase from 10.4% in 2019 and 8.8% in 2017. That rate is higher among dentists who graduated less than 10 years ago, with 27% of dentists who graduated five or less years ago and 18% of dentists who graduated six to 10 years ago affiliated with a DSO.
“Our data consistently show this, that early-career dentists are not practicing in typical models that, for example, a generation ago, dentists would be practicing in,” said Marko Vujicic, Ph.D., ADA chief economist and vice president of HPI.
According to data on practice sizes, regardless of DSO affiliation, 24% of dentists who graduated 10 or less years ago are working in practices with 10 or more locations. In comparison, 12% of dentists who graduated 11-25 years ago and 8% of dentists who graduated more than 25 years ago are working in practices with 10 or more locations.
The distribution of dentists in solo practice follows similar trends across career stages, with 17% of dentists who graduated 10 or less years ago working as solo practitioners compared with 38% of dentists who graduated 11-25 years ago and half of dentists who graduated more than 25 years ago.
HPI’s analysis is based on all practicing dentists in the U.S. for whom the institute can assign at least one practice location address. This includes 191,669 dentists out of 202,401 practicing dentists.
The HPI team continues its research into practice modality by examining how long dentists remain in a particular practice modality; whether there are differences across modalities in terms of career satisfaction, work-life balance, earnings and patient outcomes; and what role private equity plays in driving practice consolidation.
To view the full data set, visit ADA.org/HPI.
