DSOs have begun to place more emphasis on doctor satisfaction as competition in the industry heats up and providers become more selective and critical of DSOs.
As consolidation in the industry has picked up over the last several years, new organizations have entered the playing field with unique models to position themselves as standouts in the industry to attract and retain new partners.
Sharon, Mass.-based Qualitas Dental Partners describes itself as a "game changer" in the industry that prioritizes clinical autonomy and doctor equity.
CEO Robert Rubino said the company was organized in a way that protects the "entrepreneurial spirit" of dental practice owners.
"There are many dentists who went into dentistry to be business owners, to take their practice in the direction they wanted it to go. Unfortunately, many of the existing corporate dentistry models undermine and degrade that entrepreneurial and business owner mindset," he said. "We want to be the opposite. We think Qualitas is the perfect symbiosis of clinical excellence and well-aligned supporting resources."
Mr. Rubino added that one of the biggest challenges facing DSOs right now is the negative reputation in the field, saying "the current state of affairs is checkered." He said some DSO models are flawed in how they support team members and patients, leading these companies to underperform.
"The dental community, like a lot of sectors, is very tight," he said. "So if things are not going particularly well for one dentist who joined a DSO, it gets out there fast … DSOs have to be thoughtful about their treatment of their teams and treatment of patients. Both patient and team members should be at the heart of everything they do. The current narrative out there suggests that this is not happening everywhere."
Another unique DSO in the field is Metairie, La.-based Smilebliss Orthodontics, which was founded in 2021 as an alternative model to support orthodontists. The organization provides orthodontists with marketing, operational and equipment support without having them give up a portion of ownership.
Angela Weber, president of Smilebliss Orthodontics, said the company's growth since its 2021 launch reflects independent orthodontists' search for something different as they deal with post-COVID stressors, such as hiring and retaining staff.
"Smilebliss' market launch really struck at a good time when the market was prime for support like this," she told Becker's. "It's a three-year contract and a 5% fee, so we have skin in the game to help a practice grow, and we know how to do that. Our operational model and brand are consistent so that we can provide a well-worn path to success. Growth predictors are off if every practice a DSO acquires is doing things differently. Smilebliss has a more predictable model for growth."
REV One Dental launched earlier this year as the first DSO to have a regional footprint majority-owned by its founding dentists. Another unique component of REV One Dental is that the organization is funded entirely by dentists.
CEO Brady Frank, DDS, told Becker's he launched the DSO to support the many dentists who want to be the majority shareholders of their organizations.
"We have been working with a variety of other DSOs where the dentists were not the majority owners. Many of our dentists really want to be part of majority dentist-owned DSOs, so we formed this DSO for those dentists who really wanted to be the majority shareholders," he said. "There's still a place for dentists to sell to DSOs, but for those dentists who are more entrepreneurial and don't want a bunch of cash up front and want to play the role of more of a founder, they can acquire their own debt and funding to be that first stage of a DSO."
Overall, delivery of value proposition has become a top priority for DSO executives and a key differentiator for which companies experience more growth.
Imagen Dental Partners COO Andrew Jones told Becker's that one of the DPO's main focuses is delivering value propositions for its providers, adding that Imagen has a "comprehensive" approach to provider retention that includes offering economic opportunities and ways for providers to elevate their careers.
"Doctors join Imagen to grow, and a core part of our ability to deliver that value proposition is to actually deliver the growth for the practices," he said. "I think part of the reason why we're continuing to grow the number of partner practices we have is because we are delivering that value proposition. We have partners who are excited to be here. We think our economic structure for partnership is something that's attractive to growth-oriented doctors, and we think we've been able to deliver on what we've promised."