Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Imagen Dental Partners uses a different value proposition to fuel its growth compared to traditional DSOs.
The company, which recently reached 100 total practices, is not backed by any private equity funds or investors and instead the partners and dentists have a stake in the entire DSOs, not just their individual practice.
The model has allowed Imagen Dental Partners to expand and grow to 100 practices in four years, according to Michael Augins, co-founder of Imagen Dental Partners.
"When we started Imagen, what we found was that doctors certainly are willing to work hard, but they want to work hard for their benefit, not necessarily for the benefit of an investor group," Mr. Augins told Becker's. "The Imagen model enables them to do that, so you start with deep partner alignment and aligned economics, and then you add on the ability to truly help our partners grow so to provide them clinical education beyond what most groups can provide, the ability to expand the capabilities and practice at the top of their license."
By every dentist and partner having some stake in every single practice in the network, it has led to cross-collaboration and the mindset of a rising tide lifts all ships.
Another idea behind Imagen's plan is to create a place that dentists can spend their entire career and have dentists double down on their commitment to the partnership.
The business process differs from many in the DSO space, who look to grow their network with plans to eventually sell. According to Mr. Augins, that plan is not a negative and is effective for many DSOs and dentists, but Imagen has a different approach.
"We have always wanted to position Imagen as a great place to spend your career, a place where you'd go in when you weren't looking for an outside exit, but you were committed for the long term," Mr. Augins said. "This is the place where you wanted to practice and grow and learn dentistry and as a result, we have always been built to grow rather than built to sell."
Because of the way Imagen is structured, partner dentists are incentivized to stay with the organization for a longer period of time than most other DSOs, which has helped Imagen stay in the growth mindset.
"We certainly are more growth oriented, and our partners all know, coming in, that their maximum benefit is derived by spending 10 years within the community," Mr. Augins said. "Our partners make at least a five year commitment, but they know that their value is maximized after a 10 year partnership. You're signing up for something fundamentally different than some other groups are designed for."
The DSO's approach helps their partner practices drive growth in a more effective and efficient way compared to how their dentists operated prior to joining.
"We create an annual budget for each of our practices, we create a growth plan for each of our practices, we create an educational plan for each of our practices," Mr. Augins said. "And I'd say, without exception, that process for growth and planning is more robust than the process that they had when they were practicing as a sole proprietor."