Oral Health
Oral Health is one of the most active and rapidly consolidating sectors in all of healthcare. As practice owners face rising overhead, mounting administrative demands, and a new generation of dentists who increasingly prefer partnership over solo ownership, dental and specialty dental practices have become highly sought-after by investors and strategic acquirers. Agenda Health advises dental and oral health practice owners on how to strategically position their businesses for growth, partnership, or sale across general dentistry and every major specialty.
Led by Someone Who's Sat in Your Seat
Agenda Health’s Oral Health practice is led by Dr. Anthony J. Naranja, DDS, Managing Director of Oral Health.
Anthony has spent more than 25 years as a clinician, entrepreneur, operator, and executive leader in oral healthcare. Having owned practices, scaled organizations, led executive teams, and advised healthcare businesses through growth and transition, he understands firsthand what is at stake when an owner begins evaluating the future of their business. Having worked across both founder-led and private equity-backed organizations, he knows what it takes to grow a practice and where enterprise value is created.
That perspective is what owners feel in the first conversation. Anthony pairs clinical fluency with real operational and transaction experience, and he draws on deep relationships across the DSO, specialty, laboratory, technology, and investment communities to connect owners with the partners best aligned with their goals, helping them maximize value while preserving the legacy they’ve worked to build.
Every practice, organization, and founder has a unique journey. Some are focused on growth. Others are evaluating partnerships, succession plans, recapitalizations, or eventual exits. Anthony believes successful transactions begin long before a letter of intent and works with clients to navigate each stage of their journey with clarity, trust, and confidence.
“The oral health industry continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace. Founders and executive teams are facing increasingly complex decisions around growth, capital, partnerships, and succession planning. My goal is to combine deep industry knowledge, operational experience, and strategic advisory expertise to help clients navigate some of the most important decisions of their careers.” — Dr. Anthony J. Naranja, DDS, Managing Director & Head of Oral Health
The Oral Health Landscape: Steady Demand, Fragmented Ownership
Oral Health spans the full continuum of dental care, from the routine and preventive treatment delivered by general dentists to the specialized work of endodontists, oral surgeons, orthodontists, pediatric dentists, and periodontists.
It is a large and resilient market. U.S. dental care expenditures reached approximately $189 billion in 2024, and demand is durable through economic cycles because patients need dental care regardless of conditions. Yet despite its size, the industry remains remarkably fragmented: there are more than 200,000 dental practices nationwide, and only about one-quarter are affiliated with a Dental Support Organization (DSO).
That combination of scale, stability, and fragmentation has made dental the most active subsector in all of healthcare M&A. A generational shift is accelerating the trend of DSO affiliation, which has more than doubled since 2015, and younger dentists are far more likely to partner with a larger organization than to own a practice outright. The result is a competitive, well-capitalized buyer market in which well-positioned practices can command meaningful value.
Who's Buying—and What They're Looking For
Oral Health has become a primary area of focus for healthcare investors seeking stable, recurring revenue and proven, scalable business models.
Private equity firms and DSO platforms continue to pursue practices across both general dentistry and the specialties. With general dentistry already heavily consolidated, buyers are increasingly targeting the higher-margin specialties (oral surgery, orthodontics, endodontics, periodontics, and pediatric dentistry) where strong per-procedure economics and clear barriers to entry are especially attractive. Oral surgery, in particular, has remained one of the most pursued areas of the entire market.
Because so much of the industry is still independently owned, consolidation continues to accelerate. Investors are actively building regional and national platforms through acquisitions, prioritizing practices with strong patient retention, healthy payer mix, associate-driven production, and operations that can scale within a larger group.
Maximizing Value When You're Ready to Transition
Successfully selling a dental or specialty dental practice requires thoughtful preparation and a clear understanding of what today’s buyers value most.
Agenda Health works closely with practice owners to prepare their businesses for a successful transaction. This includes demonstrating recurring revenue and strong patient retention, presenting clean and well-documented financials, highlighting a balanced payer mix, and showing that the practice can thrive beyond the founding owner. Buyers also weigh provider depth, growth potential, and how well a practice fits within their broader expansion strategy.
Through our deep understanding of the Oral Health sector and our relationships with DSOs, private equity groups, and strategic acquirers, Agenda Health helps owners navigate a complex, fast-moving market and connect with the partner best aligned with their goals, both financially and culturally.
Thinking About Selling?
With 50+ years of combined healthcare M&A expertise and over $850M in transaction value, we’ll give you a clear, honest assessment of your business’s worth. We specialize in healthcare services and will help you understand all your options, whether you’re ready to transition now or planning for the future.
Hear From Our Partners
Insights from Those We’ve Served
Hear from those who have gone before you and learn how our unique approach has helped healthcare organizations like yours achieve their transition goals and sell their business.
Having spoken with several agencies before making our decision, the transparency of Agenda stood out. That made it real simple: if we were going to do business, we wanted to do business with a firm of that integrity. They were present at every meeting, and the prep and debrief conversations meant we always knew what to expect. As we got closer to the end of the deal, it was new terrain for me and I didn’t know how to navigate it, but Agenda did a great job helping us work through those difficult talking points. In the end, they came through with everything promised on the front end, and that exceeded expectations.
Initially, the process felt overwhelming since it was my first time selling a business, but Agenda Health helped ease my concerns and answered all my questions. Agenda filled in the gaps where I lacked understanding … in the end, Agenda made a very complicated process feel simple.”
The Agenda Team was patient and went at the pace that we needed to go, which was important for us. They also provided education on the various dynamics of the process, which we greatly appreciated. We were introduced to a variety of buyers, which opened our eyes to various possibilities and gave us a good idea of what we were looking for in an acquirer. We would highly recommend Agenda for the value they bring.”
My overall experience working with Agenda was very positive. The team was professional, supportive, and ultimately delivered a great outcome. The valuation they provided was very insightful and valuable in understanding my company’s position, and I really appreciated the constant communication throughout the process, which kept me informed at every stage. Overall, the guidance, insights, and consistent support were invaluable in reaching a successful outcome, and I’m pleased with the experience.”
Agenda really understands ABA – they understood the differences in my practice and others and had great knowledge of the ABA-specific M&A market. They were able to clearly express our mission and program to potential buyers and understood what made my business different. Everyone was aligned on my goals and worked hard to accomplish them.”
Working with Agenda Health was a first-class experience. As first-time sellers, their clear communication and steady support helped calm our nerves throughout the process. We hadn’t planned to sell until Agenda provided a valuation, but we never felt pressured in this process. After Agenda presented our valuation information and the pros and cons of selling, we felt equipped to make an informed decision and committed to partnering with Agenda to sell our business.”
Agenda Health’s deep understanding of the ABA space and knowledge of the market made all the difference in my transaction. They knew exactly how to position our business and connected us with the right partner quickly. Agenda’s expertise gave us confidence every step of the way, and the outcome exceeded my expectations.”
Agenda gave us peace of mind and ease in selling our business. It’s such a big decision and undertaking, and Agenda takes something that’s probably one of the biggest decisions that a company owner is going to make and makes it easy and smooth. I would highly recommend it to anybody that is in our same kind of situation.”
Initially, the process felt overwhelming since it was my first time selling a business, but Agenda Health helped ease my concerns and answered all my questions. Agenda filled in the gaps where I lacked understanding … in the end, Agenda made a very complicated process feel simple.”
I needed an M&A firm with the connections to assist me with small, targeted home health investment opportunities that I could grow. Not only did Agenda Health deliver on that need, but they also managed the sale of that large agency at its maximized value. This team is able to excel at both large and small levels in M&A.”
Starting as a small hospice owner with a passion to grow, Agenda Health was instrumental in helping us identify acquisition opportunities and managing the process. Once we grew our company to over 600 patients in 7 states, Agenda found a buyer that allowed us to maximize our value and ensure that our family could retire comfortably. With over 10 years of experience working with their team, I can attest to their commitment to building long term relationships.”
Our family-owned, hospice company was only a small part of our $40 million healthcare enterprise, but it was intertwined with our home health business. Agenda Health worked with us to structure that divestiture and find the right partner. I recommend them to owners looking for a trusted and skilled partner.”