# Consolidation and DSOs It depends on what is counted: 16.1% of U.S. dentists were affiliated with a dental support organization in 2024, according to the ADA Health Policy Institute, while an advisory firm has put dentistry at about 35% consolidated without disclosing its measure, as DentistryIQ reported. The two figures answer different questions. By DDSIntel Editorial. Source: DDSIntel, https://ddsintel.com/dso. Published 2026-10-26; data as of 2026-10-25. ## Key numbers - **16.1%** of U.S. dentists were DSO-affiliated (ADA Health Policy Institute, The U.S. Dentist Workforce, 2025 update, 2024; https://www.ada.org/-/media/project/ada-organization/ada/ada-org/files/resources/research/hpi/US_dentist_workforce_2025.pdf) - **35%** consolidated, an advisory-firm estimate with an undisclosed measure (DentistryIQ (Brian Hanks, Aug. 8, 2026), 2026; https://www.dentistryiq.com/business-management-leadership/article/55396386/is-dentistry-really-35-consolidated-lets-check-the-math) - **12.8%** of dentists were affiliated with private equity (Health Affairs study, as reported by DentistryIQ, 2021; https://www.dentistryiq.com/business-management-leadership/article/55396386/is-dentistry-really-35-consolidated-lets-check-the-math) - **6.6%** of dentists were affiliated with private equity (Health Affairs study, as reported by DentistryIQ, 2015; https://www.dentistryiq.com/business-management-leadership/article/55396386/is-dentistry-really-35-consolidated-lets-check-the-math) ## What percentage of dentists are affiliated with DSOs? The ADA Health Policy Institute put DSO affiliation at 16.1% of U.S. dentists in 2024. That is a share of dentists, not of practices or locations, and it counts affiliation with a dental support organization specifically. Unlike broader consolidation estimates, it comes with a published method and a defined population of dentists. ## Where does the 35% consolidation figure come from? An advisory firm said dentistry is approximately 35% consolidated, and DentistryIQ noted the figure was published without identifying which measure it used. Consolidation can mean DSO affiliation, private equity ownership, group practice or multi-location ownership, and each produces a different number from the same market. ## Why do consolidation estimates differ so much? They measure different things. A three-dentist practice owned by its three dentists is a group practice, not a DSO. Private equity affiliation, a narrower measure, roughly doubled from 6.6% of dentists in 2015 to 12.8% in 2021 in a Health Affairs study. Counting dentists, practices or locations also changes the answer. DDSIntel counts DSO-affiliated practice locations from state corporate filings and will publish its own estimate, by state and region, as part of its [market data](https://ddsintel.com/data). Ownership changes are one of the [dental transition signals](https://ddsintel.com/signals) it tracks. The reconciliation is worked through in [how many dental practices DSOs own](https://ddsintel.com/dso/why-dso-counts-differ), and the trend in [how fast DSOs are growing](https://ddsintel.com/dso/dso-growth-2015-2024). ## What do the DSO pages on DDSIntel cover? Seven pages follow the consolidation question from definition to deal. They explain what a DSO is, how fast affiliation is growing, how practices are counted, how practices are acquired, who buys them, how private equity works and what a management services agreement does. Each cites its publisher and states the period of every figure. Start with [what a DSO is](https://ddsintel.com/dso/what-is-a-dso) and [the legal structure behind affiliation](https://ddsintel.com/dso/management-services-agreements). For the seller’s side, read [who buys dental practices](https://ddsintel.com/dso/dso-or-private-buyer), [how DSOs acquire practices](https://ddsintel.com/dso/how-dsos-acquire-practices) and [how private equity works in dentistry](https://ddsintel.com/dso/private-equity-in-dentistry). ## Frequently asked questions ### Is dentistry 35% owned by DSOs? Not by any disclosed measure. The best measured figure is 16.1% of dentists affiliated with a DSO in 2024 (ADA Health Policy Institute). ### Is DSO affiliation the same as private equity ownership? No. Many DSOs are backed by private equity, but affiliation and ownership are different measures; private equity affiliation was 12.8% of dentists in 2021 in a Health Affairs study. ### Does consolidation affect when dentists sell? It changes who the buyers are and what they pay attention to. Retirement timing is covered in [the practice lifecycle](https://ddsintel.com/lifecycle). ### Will DDSIntel publish its own consolidation estimate? Yes, as a count of DSO-affiliated practice locations by state and region, with its method and corrections log. ## Sources 1. ADA Health Policy Institute. The U.S. Dentist Workforce, 2025 update. https://www.ada.org/-/media/project/ada-organization/ada/ada-org/files/resources/research/hpi/US_dentist_workforce_2025.pdf 2. DentistryIQ. Is dentistry really 35% consolidated? Let’s check the math (Brian Hanks, Aug. 8, 2026). https://www.dentistryiq.com/business-management-leadership/article/55396386/is-dentistry-really-35-consolidated-lets-check-the-math 3. Health Affairs. Percentage of dentists and dental practices affiliated with private equity nearly doubled, 2015–21. https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2023.00574 --- DDSIntel is a dental transition intelligence platform that detects pre-market dental practice transition signals for brokers, DSOs, lenders and the firms that serve them.