Reports
Published reports
Source-cited research on the economics of U.S. dental practice.
Volume 1 · April 26, 2026
The State of Dental Practice Values: 2026 Baseline Report
Synthesis of publicly available data from ADA HPI, FOCUS Investment Banking, TUSK Practice Sales, and continuous monitoring of 100+ online dental industry sources establishing baseline benchmarks for dental practice valuations in 2026: ownership trends, the retirement wave, DSO consolidation, and what separates premium from discounted transitions.
Practice valuationOwnership trendsDSO consolidationDental workforceVolume 1 · May 1, 2026
The Complete Dental Practice Transition Decision Framework
Pillar reference framework for U.S. dental practice transitions. Defines and compares the four primary transition paths (DSO sale, internal/associate sale, partnership buy-in, phased external sale) across six decision dimensions, presents four worked examples with realized-value ranges, identifies six circumstances under which the standard framework breaks down, and answers the five most-asked transition questions. Anchored to ADA HPI, BizBuySell, ROI Corporation, Baker Tilly, Dental Economics, and AGD source data.
Practice valuationDSO consolidationPractice transitionsOwnership trendsVolume 1 · May 1, 2026
How Dental Practices Are Valued in 2026: A Framework for Practice Owners
Pillar reference framework for U.S. dental practice valuation. Introduces the PPR Multiple-Decoder Framework, a four-quadrant decision matrix that determines which of three valuation methods (collections multiple, SDE multiple, EBITDA multiple) applies to a practice based on EBITDA size and buyer type. Walks the framework end-to-end with worked examples across all four quadrants, source-cited multiple ranges by tier, and original critique of what these multiples do not capture about deal economics. Built from a synthesis of twelve named broker and industry sources active in the 2026 dental sale market.
Practice valuationDSO consolidationOwnership trendsVolume 1 · May 9, 2026
How Much More Do DSOs Pay Than Private Buyers for the Same Dental Practice?
Quantifies the EBITDA-multiple premium that dental support organizations pay over private (individual-buyer) transactions in the U.S. dental practice transition market. Synthesizes broker-published multiples from FOCUS Investment Banking, TUSK Practice Sales, and McLerran & Associates with ADA Health Policy Institute aggregate data. The premium runs 30-50% on a multiple basis and is conditional on platform fit, with structural disqualifiers (sub-platform-threshold collections, owner-dependence, rural location, specialty mismatch) eliminating the premium entirely.
Practice valuationDSO consolidationVolume 1 · May 11, 2026
How Much Does Owner-Dependence Reduce a Dental Practice's Sale Price?
Quantifies the valuation discount applied to owner-dependent dental practices, defined as practices with single-provider production above 90% of total practice production. FOCUS Investment Banking documents 10-20% multiple compression; cross-source aggregation with TUSK, Henry Schein, and PTS observations produces a 25-40% range when buyer-pool reduction is included. The discount reflects buyer-side transition risk and platform-fit disqualification, not seller misjudgment.
Practice valuationDSO consolidationVolume 1 · May 13, 2026
Unsolicited Offers Underprice U.S. Dental Practices by 50 Percent
Examines the documented 50% price differential between unsolicited single-buyer offers and competitive marketed-process transactions in the U.S. dental practice transition market. The figure originates with TUSK Practice Sales and is corroborated by FOCUS Investment Banking aggregate data and McLerran & Associates broker observations. Marketed process is operationalized as documented prospectus, multi-buyer solicitation across at least three qualified bidders, and structured negotiation through a transactional advisor.
Practice valuationVolume 1 · May 15, 2026
What Is a Healthy Overhead Percentage for a Dental Practice in 2026?
Synthesizes operating-cost benchmarks from ADA Health Policy Institute, Dental Economics annual practice-economics surveys, FOCUS Investment Banking, and TUSK Practice Sales to characterize healthy overhead percentages for U.S. dental practices in 2026. General dentist solo practices target 60-65% (urban-suburban) or 65-72% (rural / high-Medicaid); specialty practices run 55-60%; orthodontic practices 50-55%; pediatric practices 65-70%; DSO-affiliated practices 55-62% post-platform allocation. Overhead percentage is a direct input to defensible valuation.
Practice valuationVolume 1 · May 17, 2026
Internal Sales: Associate Buy-In Mechanics and Where They Fail
A structured framework for evaluating dental associate buy-in transactions, identifying the five most common failure modes (mispriced minority, financing-structure mismatch, owner exit timeline conflict, production-share misalignment, succession-incompetence misread), and applying the PPR Buy-In Failure Mode Decision Tree to surface early-warning signals 18 to 24 months before transaction collapse.
Practice valuationOwnership trendsVolume 1 · May 13, 2026
Is Your DSO Offer Fair? A Practitioner's Framework
A 6-component risk-adjusted-NPV framework for converting headline DSO offers into risk-adjusted realized proceeds, allowing direct comparison across multiple offers and across deal structures within the DSO category. Components: independent valuation baseline, headline-versus-risk-adjusted, tax allocation mechanics, earnout/holdback structure, employment-term cost, multi-bid leverage. Includes worked example reconciling a $1.5M DSO offer against a $950K all-cash competing offer.
Practice valuationDSO consolidationVolume 1 · May 12, 2026
Partnership Buy-Ins: Why Most Are Mispriced
A reconciliation framework for pricing dental partnership buy-ins. Documents the 5 mispricing archetypes (wrong-method-mix, financing-structure mismatch, timing-conflict, production-share misalignment, succession-incompetence misread) and provides a 4-step methodology for calculating a fair partnership share by reconciling income-approach and market-approach valuations on the same practice.
Practice valuationOwnership trendsVolume 1 · May 17, 2026
Types of DSO Buyers and How Each Prices Your Practice Differently
A 4-archetype classification framework documenting how Platform DSOs, Portfolio DSOs, DPOs, and MSOs each price practice acquisitions differently across cash mix, rollover-equity terms, employment commitments, post-close clinical autonomy, and capital-stack exposure. Includes offer comparisons across the four archetypes on a $1.2M practice.
DSO consolidationPractice valuation