The Storm has Arrived for Private Dentistry

Back in 2011, I gave a lecture called “The Coming Storm for Dentistry.”

I warned that insurance companies would choke reimbursements while corporate dentistry scaled up and swallowed private practices.

Fourteen years later… well, here we are.

In this week’s Practice Autonomy Podcast, we open that time capsule and compare those predictions to the real 2025 data — and it’s chillingly accurate:

🦷 PPO reimbursements are lower than last year for one-third of dentists.

💰 Overhead is rising faster than collections.

DSOs now employ more than 1 in 4 new grads, backed by billions in private equity.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. I also share the same three-part counter-strategy that still works today:

1️⃣ Get Bigger – Build multiple sources of new-patient flow.

2️⃣ Get Faster – Run your practice with precision systems that out-produce corporate offices.

3️⃣ Get Stronger – Align your team so you can move faster than any DSO.

If you’ve felt that “Viking raid” from corporate recruiters or insurance clawbacks, this episode will hit home — and give you a roadmap to fight back.

Stay independent, stay sharp, stay private