---
title: "What Is DSO? Dental Practice Glossary | Copeland Consulting Services"
description: "The short form of dental service organization, a business that provides non-clinical support such as billing, marketing and human resources to dental practices..."
url: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dso
publisher: Copeland Consulting Services
email: drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com
contact: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact
---

Dental service organizations

# DSO

The short form of dental service organization, a business that provides non-clinical support such as billing, marketing and human resources to dental practices under contract.

DSO is the common short form for a dental service organization or dental support organization. The ADA says DSOs are entities that dental practice owners contract with to manage the administrative, marketing and business sides of a practice.

The ADA Health Policy Institute counts a practice as affiliated with a DSO if an outside entity manages some or all of its non-clinical functions, such as billing, marketing and human resources. The ADA also notes that DSOs vary in size and structure.

See [dental service organization](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dental-service-organization) for the full name. A related model is the [DPO](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dpo), and the topic of ownership by investors appears under [private equity in dentistry](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/private-equity-in-dentistry). This entry defines the term only.

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## Related terms

-   [Dental service organization](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dental-service-organization)
-   [Dental support organization](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dental-support-organization)
-   [DPO](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dpo)
-   [Private equity in dentistry](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/private-equity-in-dentistry)

## Sources

1.  [ADA News, What are the main types of DSOs?](https://adanews.ada.org/ada-news/2022/march/main-types-of-dsos/)
2.  [ADA News, More dentists affiliating with DSOs](https://adanews.ada.org/ada-news/2023/june/more-dentists-affiliating-with-dsos/)

## Talk with Dr. Copeland

[Contact Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact)[Email](mailto:drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com)