On December 2, Smile Brands, one of the largest providers of dental support services in the United States, announced its new partnership with Dentistry of Sarasota. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Smile Brands has provided business support services to general and multi-specialty dental groups since its founding in 1998. The company supports nearly 700 affiliated practices, with more than 7,500 dedicated team members across 30 states. Smile Brands is a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors, a leading middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, California.
Founded in 2010, Dentistry of Sarasota, led by Dr. Paul Jaworski and Dr. Benjamin Moricz, delivers general, preventive and restorative care, specialty care, cosmetic care, cosmetic dentistry and emergency services to patients in Sarasota, Florida and the surrounding areas.
This partnership will allow the Dentistry of Sarasota office to put all of its efforts towards patient care, while Smile Brands provides administrative support and services to the practice including purchasing, payroll, accounting, IT, billing, facilities management and marketing.
According to results found in the LevinPro HC database, this marks Smile Brands’ fifth acquisition in what is proving to be an exciting year for the dental service provider. In April 2021, Smile Brands added Santa Ana Dental Group and Burmeister Atteberry Family & Cosmetic Dental to its portfolio. In June, Smile Brands scooped up Eby Dental Care, an Okemos, Michigan-based practice led by Dr. Eric Eby. Finally, in September, the Gryphon-backed company acquired Rose Family Dentistry, a premier dental practice located in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Dentistry of Sarasota acquisition echoes a trend highlighted in our November issue of Health Care M&A News: the takeover of management services organizations (MSO) in the PMG space. We have also seen major players like CEI Vision Partners, U.S. Oral Surgery Management (USOSM) and Collaborative Health Partners making major acquisitions in this sector.
“I believe dealing with the challenges presented by Covid-19 caused many practices to evaluate whether remaining independent or joining a platform with deeper resources was a more desirable path,” said Richard Hall, president and CEO of USOSM. “The attraction of significantly reducing or eliminating the management responsibilities to focus 100% on clinical care is very compelling.” If Smile Brands’ busy year is any indication, it’s clear this trend is here to stay.
