DSO executives are keeping a close eye on several trends this year as competition heats up in the field.
Four execs recently shared the trends they are following with Becker's:
Mark Censoprano. Co-CEO at Max Surgical Specialty Management (Hackensack, N.J.): I think about [artificial intelligence] and its application to different parts of the business. The second is probably what will happen with recapitalizations in the DSO space moving forward because there have been a couple of organizations that have announced recapitalizations after a long drought. What's going to happen? Is the interest rate environment going to remain high, and are those exits going to be maybe at less than desirable multiples moving forward? We don't know. Will folks want to exit if the multiples are still not at the levels where the organizations expected them to be? We're all kind of hoping that the interest rate environment improves because if the cost of capital goes down, then the valuations of the companies go up, and multiples hopefully will start returning back to a place that everybody I think is rooting for.
Jeff Cellucci. Chief Strategy Officer at MB2 Dental (Dallas): We expect continued consolidation, with smaller groups exploring strategic acquisitions by larger organizations, especially if private equity buyers are less active and acquisition multiples continue to decline.
At the same time, we think it’s great to see more groups adopting joint-venture models that foster shared ownership and alignment with doctors. This approach benefits both doctors and their practices, creating long-term value and stronger collaboration. As the field continues to evolve, these trends reinforce the importance of disciplined growth and a commitment to putting doctors at the center — principles that have always been core to MB2 Dental’s philosophy.
Richard Hall. President and CEO at U.S. Oral Surgery Management (Irving, Texas): There are a number of them. Surgeon recruitment, particularly for oral and maxillofacial surgeons, has become extremely competitive, so that's a trend that's right at the top of our list. General dentists are increasingly performing some procedures that would traditionally be handled by specialists. I think that's a response to the pressure they're feeling in the market and [them] looking for revenue diversification opportunities, but this shift underscores the need for vigilance and quality in patient care as well. You may have seen in the press recently that there were concerns raised around quality and patient care as more general dentists did implantology and full arch cases. We're obviously continuing to stay abreast of regulatory trends that are changing on a state level.
There is a lot of discussion and exploration in technology and operational efficiency tools through [artificial intelligence] and other technologies, and we're continuing to watch those carefully. Our team is continuously evaluating technology for deployment within our platform to gain efficiencies or improve patient care delivery, and we're going to continue to stay focused on that as well.
Alisa Ulrey. COO at U.S. Oral Surgery Management (Irving, Texas): The only thing I would [add] is around how we are able to attract patients into our practices. The traditional oral surgery referral management process is more boots on the ground, and the patient would go in and see a referral and be referred to our offices. As Rick talked about the use of technology and digital transformation, that patient journey is evolving a bit. I don't think you'll ever get away from that day-to-day practical referral development that's more boots on the ground [and] localized, but we have to continue to look at different ways to ensure that when there are patients who need to see an oral surgeon that they have different streams to be able to access care, and not just through the traditional ways we've seen before. So, I think as the world has changed [with] more technological advancement and solutions, we have to continue to stay abreast of those and be on the cutting edge as well.