{ "question": "How many dentists own a practice, and how many work for DSOs?", "answer": "16.1% of US dentists were affiliated with a dental support organization (DSO) in 2024, per the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute, up from 7.2% in 2015. Among dentists in private practice, 72.5% owned their practice in 2023, down from 84.7% in 2005. A third of US dentists (33.6%) still worked in a solo practice in 2024.", "period": "2024", "key_numbers": [ { "value": "16.1%", "label": "US dentists affiliated with a DSO", "note": "ADA HPI, 2024; 7.2% in 2015", "stat": "dental-marketing/dentist-dso-affiliation-2024" }, { "value": "72.5%", "label": "Dentists in private practice who own their practice", "note": "ADA HPI, 2023; 84.7% in 2005", "stat": "dental-marketing/dentist-practice-ownership-2023" }, { "value": "26.5%", "label": "Dentists up to 10 years out of school affiliated with a DSO", "note": "ADA HPI, 2024; 9.1% of those more than 25 years out", "stat": "dental-marketing/early-career-dentist-dso-affiliation" }, { "value": "33.6%", "label": "Dentists in solo practice (one location, one dentist)", "note": "ADA HPI, 2024", "stat": "dental-marketing/dentists-solo-practice-2024" } ], "tables": [ { "id": "by-career-stage", "title": "DSO affiliation, solo practice and the largest groups, by career stage and sex, 2024", "columns": [ "Group", "Affiliated with a DSO", "Solo practice", "Practice with 100+ locations" ], "rows": [ [ "All dentists", "16.1%", "33.6%", "10.8%" ], [ "Up to 10 years out of dental school", "26.5%", "14.9%", "18.2%" ], [ "11 to 25 years out", "14.4%", "35.1%", "9.7%" ], [ "More than 25 years out", "9.1%", "47.6%", "5.8%" ], [ "Female dentists", "17.6%", "28.0%", "12.1%" ], [ "Male dentists", "14.8%", "37.4%", "9.7%" ] ], "row_ids": [ "cs-all", "cs-early", "cs-mid", "cs-late", "sex-female", "sex-male" ], "note": "ADA HPI data file for 2024, sheet 'Summary - US Data'. Shares of dentists HPI could match to a practice location: 198,117 of 212,459 practicing US dentists. Solo practice is HPI's '1 location & 1 dentist' group and leaves out solo offices tied to a DSO. A practice with 100+ locations may or may not be DSO-affiliated.", "source": "ada" }, { "id": "by-practice-size", "title": "US dentists by size of their practice, 2024", "columns": [ "Practice size", "Share of dentists" ], "rows": [ [ "100 or more locations", "10.8%" ], [ "50-99 locations", "2.7%" ], [ "10-49 locations", "3.8%" ], [ "2-9 locations", "9.9%" ], [ "1 location, 2 or more dentists", "39.1%" ], [ "1 location, 1 dentist (solo practice)", "33.6%" ] ], "row_ids": [ "size-100-plus", "size-50-99", "size-10-49", "size-2-9", "size-group-1", "size-solo" ], "note": "Size is the number of locations in the practice across the US, whether owned directly or linked through other arrangements, regardless of DSO affiliation. Shares add to 100% before rounding.", "source": "ada" }, { "id": "by-specialty", "title": "DSO affiliation and solo practice by practice area, 2024", "columns": [ "Practice area", "Affiliated with a DSO", "Solo practice" ], "rows": [ [ "General practice", "15.5%", "34.9%" ], [ "Endodontics", "20.8%", "26.9%" ], [ "Oral and maxillofacial surgery", "21.8%", "23.4%" ], [ "Orthodontics", "22.8%", "38.4%" ], [ "Pediatric dentistry", "15.0%", "21.8%" ], [ "Periodontics", "14.3%", "30.0%" ], [ "Prosthodontics", "11.1%", "32.7%" ], [ "Other specialties", "10.5%", "24.1%" ] ], "row_ids": [ "spec-general", "spec-endodontics", "spec-oral-surgery", "spec-orthodontics", "spec-pediatric", "spec-periodontics", "spec-prosthodontics", "spec-other" ], "note": "Same ADA HPI 2024 file and sheet, columns GP to Other.", "source": "ada" }, { "id": "ownership", "title": "Dentists in private practice who own it, 2005 and 2023", "columns": [ "Group", "2005", "2023" ], "rows": [ [ "All dentists in private practice", "84.7%", "72.5%" ], [ "Female dentists", "68.1%", "59.9%" ], [ "Male dentists", "88.5%", "79.9%" ] ], "row_ids": [ "own-all", "own-female", "own-male" ], "note": "ADA HPI infographic 'Practice Ownership Among Dentists Continues to Decline' (November 2023), from the Distribution of Dentists survey, the Survey of Dental Graduates and the Survey of Dentist Practice Choices, weighted for nonresponse. The base is dentists in private practice, not all dentists.", "source": "ada" }, { "id": "history", "title": "US dentists affiliated with a DSO, 2015 to 2024", "columns": [ "Year", "All dentists", "Up to 10 years out of school", "Solo practice, all dentists" ], "rows": [ [ "2015", "7.2%", "Not published", "Not published" ], [ "2016", "8.1%", "Not published", "Not published" ], [ "2017", "8.5%", "Not published", "Not published" ], [ "2019", "10.0%", "Not published", "Not published" ], [ "2020", "10.7%", "Not published", "Not published" ], [ "2021", "11.1%", "Not published", "Not published" ], [ "2022", "12.7%", "22.7%", "36.5%" ], [ "2023", "13.8%", "24.1%", "35.2%" ], [ "2024", "16.1%", "26.5%", "33.6%" ] ], "row_ids": [ "dso-2015", "dso-2016", "dso-2017", "dso-2019", "dso-2020", "dso-2021", "dso-2022", "dso-2023", "dso-2024" ], "note": "2015-2021: chart labels on slide 31 of the ADA HPI report 'The U.S. Dentist Workforce - 2025 update' (HPI analysis of the ADA dentist office database; the chart has no 2018 point). 2022-2024: the ADA HPI practice size and DSO data files for each year, which also give the career-stage and solo columns. HPI says its method slightly undercounts DSO affiliation.", "source": "ada" } ], "sources": [ { "name": "Health Policy Institute research and data", "publisher": "American Dental Association, Health Policy Institute", "type": "industry", "url": "https://www.ada.org/" }, { "name": "Occupational Outlook Handbook", "publisher": "US Bureau of Labor Statistics", "type": "official", "url": "https://www.bls.gov/" } ], "content_changed_on": "2026-10-30", "page_url": "https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/dental-marketing/dental-practice-ownership", "csv_url": "https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/dental-marketing/dental-practice-ownership.csv" }