Heartland Dental, Aspen Dental and Pacific Dental Services are the top three largest DSOs in the U.S.
Here is how each DSO performed during the first quarter of 2023:
Heartland Dental (Effingham, Ill.)
Heartland Dental added practices in Arizona, Pennsylvania and Florida. In January, the company launched a partnership with the American Dental Hygienists’ Association to offer educational programs and events for students and professionals.
Heartland Dental most recently began working with marketing agency Fusion92 to provide its network with marketing, digital and branding services.
The DSO's network includes more than 2,600 dentists and more than 1,650 practices in 38 states.
Aspen Dental (Chicago)
Aspen Dental recently announced that it surpassed 1,000 dental practices in 2022. The DSO now has offices in 43 states.
The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office said in January that it reached a settlement with Aspen Dental to resolve claims that the DSO used deceptive advertising campaigns on thousands of Massachusetts consumers. Under the settlement, Aspen Dental will pay $3.5 million, including returning up to $750,000 to patients who paid for new patient examinations, X-rays and oral cancer screenings at its Massachusetts offices.
The DSO was named a top workplace for diversity by Newsweek in January and began offering membership plans for uninsured patients at select offices in February.
Pacific Dental Services (Irvine, Calif.)
Pacific Dental Services Founder and CEO Stephen Thorne most recently joined the board of directors of the Forsyth Institute, an independent institution that researches the link between oral health and overall wellness.
Pacific Dental Services and the Workman School of Dental Medicine at High Point (N.C.) University partnered to implement the Epic electronic health record system at the university. The DSO also invested in RevBio to support clinical trials of a bone adhesive biomaterial for implant dentistry.
Pacific Dental Services started several initiatives to support dental assistants in honor of Dental Assistants Recognition Week in March.
The DSO supports more than 2,700 dentists and more than 900 practices in 25 states.