How much is my dental practice worth to a DSO?
Current DSO multiples by practice profile, how adjusted EBITDA is calculated, a worked example, and why the headline number is not what you take home.
Seller guides: selling a dental practice to a DSO
Plain-language answers to the questions dentists ask before, during, and after a DSO sale. Every guide leads with the answer, then shows the math.
What Is My Dental Practice Worth?
Learn how dental practices are valued, which factors affect the price, how DSOs use EBITDA, and why two practices with the same collections can have very different values.
How Do DSOs Value a Dental Practice?
Learn how DSOs evaluate EBITDA, owner production, hygiene, payer mix, growth, associates, geography and seller transition when acquiring dental practices.
What EBITDA Multiple Will a DSO Pay for My Dental Practice?
DSO valuations are commonly discussed as a multiple of normalized EBITDA, with a broad planning range around 4x to 9x. Here is what moves a practice up or down within that range.
What Makes a Dental Practice Attractive to a DSO?
DSOs prefer durable EBITDA, manageable owner dependency, strong hygiene, stable providers, growth capacity and a seller willing to support transition. Revenue alone does not determine attractiveness.
Should I Sell My Dental Practice to a DSO or an Individual Dentist?
A DSO may offer greater enterprise value and equity upside; an individual dentist may offer a simpler deal and shorter transition. Neither is automatically better. How to compare them.
Selling to a DSO
How Do I Compare Two DSO Offers for My Dental Practice?
Do not compare DSO offers on purchase price or multiple alone. Compare cash at closing, rollover equity, earn-outs, holdbacks, doctor compensation, tenure and restrictive covenants side by side.
What Is Rollover Equity in a DSO Deal?
Rollover equity is the portion of a practice sale reinvested into the DSO instead of paid in cash. What it is, why DSOs use it, the "second bite of the apple," and the questions every seller should ask.
What Happens to My Compensation After I Sell My Dental Practice?
After a DSO sale the dentist is usually paid on personal collections or production, commonly in a 28%–35% planning range. Why it changes, collections vs. production, and how it interacts with the purchase price.
What Happens After I Sign a DSO LOI?
After a letter of intent, the buyer runs confirmatory diligence while both sides negotiate definitive documents. The five stages between LOI and closing, and why deals fall apart.
How Do I Choose the Right DSO for My Dental Practice?
Choose a DSO on total economics, cultural fit, clinical autonomy, staff treatment, integration approach, compensation, equity structure and ability to close, not simply the highest headline valuation.
DexCompare: compare offers side by side
Every offer on a DentalDex listing presented in one format: cash, rollover, earn-out, holdback, compensation, tenure, covenants.
Free tools
- Price my practice: instant EBITDA, private-buyer range, and DSO range.
- DSO Compatibility Index: a 10-question read on which kind of DSO buyer fits your practice.
- Provider Dependency Risk Estimator: how much value depends on you staying.