Dentists like to think they’re in control of their profession. They decide how many crowns to prep, how many implants to place, how many patients to see.

But let me rip the curtain wide open: you’re not in control.

Private equity is.

They’re the puppet masters. The ones writing billion-dollar checks. The ones snapping up practices at a record pace. And unless you know how their money game works, you’re nothing more than a pawn on their chessboard.

Follow the Money

Here’s how the game really works:

• Private equity firms raise giant pools of cash from investors.
• They look for industries that are fragmented, profitable, and ripe for consolidation. (Hint: dentistry checks all three boxes.)
• They buy practices, bundle them into DSOs, and squeeze out efficiencies.
• Then they flip those DSOs for massive paydays—often 10x or more what they originally paid.

Sounds great, right? Except here’s the part nobody tells you: the dentists are usually the ones left holding the short end of the stick.

Why? Because You Don’t Know the Rules

Private equity doesn’t care about your “baby.” They don’t care that you’ve been serving patients for 30 years. They don’t care how much sweat equity you’ve poured into your practice.

They care about numbers. EBITDA. Multiples. Scalability.

If you walk into a negotiation talking about how much you “care about your patients,” you might as well show up wearing a sign that says: “Please, take advantage of me.”

Meanwhile, the private equity sharks are circling, calculating exactly how much of your hard work they can scoop up for pennies on the dollar.

The Harsh Reality: They’re Getting Rich. You’re Getting Table Scraps.

Let me make this crystal clear:

• The investors are cashing checks.
• The DSO executives are cashing checks.
• The brokers are cashing checks.
• Even the lawyers are cashing checks.

And the dentist?

All too often, the dentist is left celebrating what they think is a big payday—when in reality, they left millions on the table.

They’re the only one in the room who doesn’t know they just got played.

The Good News: You Can Flip the Script

Here’s the shocker: private equity isn’t your enemy. In fact, they can be your best friend—if you know how to position yourself.

Private equity has to spend their money. They’re desperate to buy. But they’re not stupid.

If your numbers are dialed in… if your practice is structured the right way… if you negotiate like a pro—you don’t get crumbs. You get a seat at the table.

You don’t just sell your practice. You sell it for life-changing money.

Your Choice: Be the Shark’s Lunch… or Sit at the Shark’s Table

The future of dentistry is already written. Consolidation is happening. Private equity is driving it. That’s not an opinion—it’s a fact.

The only question is this: will you be one of the dentists who gets eaten alive… or one of the dentists who cashes out big?

Because here’s the bottom line: the money is flowing, with or without you.

And if you don’t learn how to play the private equity game, you’ll keep grinding, keep struggling, and keep pretending you’re in control—until one day, you wake up and realize you gave away your fortune.

To your unstoppable success,
Your Team at Everything DSO