New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed a new law that will allow registered dental hygienists in the state to practice without the direct supervision of a dentist by mid-2027, pursuant to collaborative agreements with dentists. The legislation broadens permissible practice settings to include foster care agencies, signaling a path toward a semi-independent business model
Aspen Dental Settles Data-Sharing Class Action
Dental service organization (DSO) Aspen Dental has agreed to pay $18.7 million to resolve claims that it secretly shared web user data with Meta and Google, without obtaining users’ consent or informing them.
The claims are part of a class action lawsuit brought against Aspen Dental in Illinois State Court, accusing the DSO of violating
ADA Joins Coalition Seeking Tariff Exemption for Medical and Dental Supplies
The American Dental Association (ADA) has joined a coalition of other healthcare organizations in writing a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer urging the Trump administration to exempt medical and dental supplies, equipment and devices from the President’s newly announced widespread tariffs.
The coalition’s letter explained, “Given the important role of our work in
Connecticut Dentists Settle Kickback Claims
Three Connecticut dental practices, together with their owners, have agreed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut to pay $1.7 million to settle allegations that the practices violated federal and Connecticut False Claims Acts and the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. This and other recent settlements seem to be suggesting that a crackdown on
CA Dental Offices Pay $6.3M to Resolve FCA Claims
West Coast Dental Administrative Services LLC, which operates more than 40 dental and specialist locations in Southern California, and its affiliates have paid $6.3 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act (FCA). The alleged violations were in connection with loans received by the affiliated offices pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
New HHS Rule for Nursing Home Ownership and Manager Disclosure
A new rule will require nursing homes enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid to make disclosures about certain facility ownership, management and other operational information. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the rule on November 17, with lawmakers emphasizing that greater transparency in the operation and ownership of nursing homes will improve
Due Diligence: A Critical Component of any Transaction
In our previous article, we detailed the role and importance of the letter of intent (LOI) in establishing a framework for selling a dental practice. Now we will discuss the next step in the transaction – performing due diligence.
Due diligence is the process through which each party evaluates the other party(ies) to determine
Letters of Intent – Negotiating the Framework of Your Transaction
In our last installment, we discussed some of the initial steps involved in the process of selling a dental practice, including preparing your practice for sale and finding a potential suitor. Specifically, we described ways in which sellers can find potential buyers and work with advisors and brokers to evaluate the best fit. In
Contemplating Selling Your Practice? Consider These First Steps
In our last installment, we discussed that the dental services industry has undergone large-scale consolidation in recent years, primarily driven by Dental Services Organizations (DSOs) and private investors. We described what a DSO is and why it is a prevalent vehicle through which private investors are seeking to consolidate the dental services industry. We
DSO’s Computer Systems Hacked
A recent data breach involving the computer systems of Great Expressions Dental Centers (GEDC) compromised the records of more than 500 Michigan patients. GEDC operates almost 350 dental practices in 10 states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, making it one of the largest dental services organizations (DSOs) in the country.
GEDC’s website explains: