What is a dental service organization (DSO)?

A dental service organization (DSO) is a separate entity from the dental practices that delivers centralized administrative services such as human resources, marketing, technology, revenue cycle management, call center services, etc.

A dental service organization (DSO) is sometimes called a management service organization (MSO), a company providing similar services.

DSOs have become more popular in the previous decade with dental consolidation happening at a strong clip because it is such a fragmented industry that it attractive to private equity.

It is important to note that a DSOs and MSOs do not provide any clinical services or guidance to the practice. The owner of the professional corporation of the practice (the providers) still make clinical decisions on their own.

The larger the dental support organization, the more services they typically centralize. While a smaller DSO with less than 40 offices may answer calls at the office-level, larger DSOs typically provide:

• Operational Support
  • Leadership training
  • Call center services
  • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Insurance management and EOB posting
  • IT/software support and training
• Human Resources
  • Doctor and staff recruitment
  • Interviewing
  • Benefits management
  • Payroll management
  • Compliance
• Procurement
  • Preferred supply pricing
  • Reduced marketing costs
  • Preferred lab pricing
  • Inventory management
• Marketing
  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
  • Social media management
  • Online review management
  • Offline marketing campaigns
  • Demographic analytics
  • Web design and development
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Customized internal campaigns
  • Patient referral marketing
• Professional Services
  • Legal/Advisory
  • Accounting
  • Finance
• Strategic Planning
  • Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
  • Practice evaluations
  • Custom exist strategies
  • Practice buy-outs