Join Kevin Cumbus, President of TUSK Practice Sales, and Josh Swearingen, Director of Mergers & Acquisitions at TUSK Practice Sales, for the first episode of our three-part Seller’s Journey podcast series. In Episode One, Kevin and Josh take a deep dive into the motivations, objectives, and acquisition strategies that are commonly used by Dental Support Organizations (DSOs) and private equity-backed groups when they’re approaching dental practice owners about a sale.
With the addition of Josh’s firsthand experience working on the buy-side, this episode also provides valuable insight into how these organizations value your practice, what drives their interest in your practice, and the factors that influence the strength of the offer they’ll present to you. Whether you are considering a transition in the near future or simply want to better understand the evolving dental M&A landscape, this episode offers an inside look at the mindset and tactics of today’s most active buyers.
Speaker Kevin Cumbus
Founder & President, TUSK Practice Sales
Kevin has worked in the healthcare industry for close to two decades. He has valued and sold over 200 dental practices, worked in operations and business development for one of the world's largest DSOs, Affordable Dentures, and successfully founded and exited his own dental practice, Mundo Dentistry. Today he leads TUSK Practice Sales, helping practice owners maximize the value of their life's work. He earned his BA from Washington & Lee University and his MBA from Wake Forest University.
Speaker Josh Swearingen
Director, TUSK Practice Sales
Josh brings over 15 years of leadership experience in the dental and healthcare industry. Most recently, he served as CEO of Vesper Alliance, a DSO operating across Cincinnati and Columbus, OH. Prior to that, he served as Director of Corporate Development at American Dental Partners, where he quarterbacked several of the firm's largest transactions. Josh earned his B.S. from The Ohio State University.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose the right buyer for my dental practice?
The buyer that’s the best fit for your practice depends on your goals, your timeline, and what you want for your team and patients after the deal closes. DSOs, DPOs, and private equity-backed groups are all structured differently, and things like clinical autonomy, post-close expectations, and cultural fit matter just as much as the number on the LOI. That’s where having an experienced M&A advisor makes a real difference. An advisor gives you access to a vetted pool of buyers, helps you compare offers on the terms that actually affect your outcome, and makes sure you’re not making one of the biggest decisions of your career without feeling fully informed.
What factors influence the sale price of a dental practice?
Several key factors shape what a buyer is willing to pay for your practice. EBITDA is the starting point, and most offers are structured as a multiple of your earnings, but the factors that shape that multiple go deeper. Revenue trends, payer mix, patient retention, hygiene production, staff tenure, and how much of the practice’s success is tied to the owner personally all influence what buyers are willing to pay and how they structure their offer. Location, facility condition, and equipment age matter too. The practices that attract the strongest offers are the ones that look stable and transferable on paper. An experienced M&A advisor knows how to frame all of it, get your practice in front of the right buyers, and make sure the details that drive value don’t get lost in the process.
How do I value my dental practice before selling?
Knowing what your practice is worth before you go to market is one of the most important steps you can take as a seller. Most dental practice valuations are based on EBITDA, with buyers applying a multiple that reflects your specialty, size, growth trajectory, and market conditions. But getting to a number you can actually rely on takes more than a rough estimate. A credible valuation accounts for your financials, addbacks, payer mix, and overhead, and puts your practice in context against what buyers are paying right now. TUSK’s complimentary TUSKVal analysis walks through all of it with you, so you have a realistic, market-informed valuation in hand from the very beginning.
What is the role of a dental practice broker?
A dental practice broker, or M&A advisor like TUSK Practice Sales, guides practice owners through the process of selling their practice from beginning to end. That means determining what your practice is worth, preparing the financial and operational materials buyers will scrutinize, contacting the right buyers, and managing the entire process so you are not doing it alone while still running a practice. An experienced advisor also creates competitive tension in the market, which is one of the most effective ways to drive stronger offers. Beyond the transaction itself, they help you evaluate what buyers are actually proposing, because the structure of a deal, earnout terms, equity rollover, and post-close expectations can affect your outcome just as much as the headline number. At TUSK, that work is backed by over $1.3 billion in completed transactions and relationships with hundreds of active buyers nationwide.