Good morning. A London dentist may have just solved a 500-year-old mystery using a ruler and a hunch.

Dr. Rory Mac Sweeney claims Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man contains a hidden equilateral triangle aligned with Bonwill’s triangle, the dental geometry that underpins modern occlusion. Some people see art. Dentists see mandibular landmarks.

Inside this issue:
- ADA faces off against critics
- Supply chain, meet private equity

⏰ Your reading time today: 5 mins 18 seconds

👑  Enjoy your coffee break with Word of Mouth, a dental-themed word game inspired by Wordle … guaranteed to leave you grinning, not grinding! Congrats to Karli Peterson at Specialty Smile Partners for joining this week’s leaderboard. 

MARKETS

📈 3D Systems Corp ($DDD) – 1.76 | +0.090 (5.39%)
📉 Align Technology ($ALGN) – 134.82 | -4.10 (2.95%)
📈 Colgate-Palmolive ($CL) – 84.45 | +1.37 (1.65%)
📉 Dentsply Sirona ($XRAY) – 12.53 | -1.79 (12.47%)
📉 Envista Holdings ($NVST) – 20.16 | -0.34 (1.66%)
📉 Henry Schein ($HSIC) – 66.10 | -0.16 (0.24%)
📉 Straumann Holding AG (STMN.SW) – CHF 100.50 | -3.50 (3.37%)
📈 Weave Communications ($WEAV) – 7.41 | +0.16 (2.21%)

Data is provided by Google Finance. Stock data reflects market close at 5:00 p.m. ET, showing changes over the past five days.

THE DRILL DOWN

👁️‍🗨️ Aspen Dental settles class-action for $18.4M over alleged illegal data tracking, resolving claims it used location-based tools to monitor patient behavior without proper consent tracking.

🧾 Delta Dental’s purchase of Cherry Tree Dental continues to spark concern in Wisconsin, as dentists warn the deal blurs the line between payer and provider. When the insurer also books the treatment plan.

📜 AAOMS and ADA outline how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could affect dentistry, including cuts to the dental aspects of Medicaid, warning that new caps, work requirements, and funding limits threaten access for millions. A safety net with fewer threads.

🏛️ Senate committee advances $197B Labor–HHS–Education bill, rejecting cuts to NIH and public health programs while signaling bipartisan resistance to Trump’s proposed consolidations bill. 

🔄 ADHA overhauls governance by replacing its House of Delegates with a streamlined committee, aiming to reduce bureaucracy and better serve hygienists and their patients. Less voting, more scaling.

🛡️ Organized dentistry coalition backs the Protect Our Teeth Act, calling for evidence-based fluoridation policies and warning against political interference in public health. Enamel gets partisan.

LEADERSHIP & INSTITUTIONS

ADA faces off against critics

The American Dental Association is confronting a rare moment of public scrutiny. After years of shrinking reserves, a flawed $50 million tech rollout, and critiques from members, the ADA went public in May with an unusually frank disclosure about its finances and operations.

The institution that long defined organized dentistry is now under pressure to prove it can adapt. We're cutting through the dueling blog posts and forum bickering to look at what happened, what it means, and what comes next. Dentistry’s mouthpiece just bit its own tongue.

What happened: In May 2025, the ADA released a rather direct public article confirming that its reserves had dropped from more than $140 million to, allegedly, below $50 million, according to Dr. Howard Farran. It also disclosed that a $53 million investment in a new Association Management System (AMS) had failed to launch as intended. The platform, meant to streamline membership services and billing, instead disrupted renewals and contributed to missed revenue targets.

As a result, the ADA cut over $20 million, although some say as high as $29 million, from its 2025 budget. Several initiatives were paused or scaled back. The proceeds from its Chicago real estate sale were placed into a quasi-endowment to support cash flow.

How we got here: ADA President Dr. Brett Kessler published a follow-up statement explaining membership had declined 1 to 2 percent annually for 15 years. In 2023, the total percentage of dentists belonging to the ADA was only 57%. While reserves grew during the pandemic, membership did not recover at the same pace. To address this, the association adopted a more expansive business model that included tech modernization, research expansion, and national advocacy investments.

Kessler emphasized that the AMS rollout did not go as planned, which directly impacted operations. He called the cuts difficult but necessary and noted that paused programs, including DSO outreach and the Institute for Diversity in Leadership, could return under a five-year rebuilding plan.

Where the money went: Between 2022 and 2025, the ADA deployed more than $140 million in reserves. Major investments included:

• $53 million on the AMS project (Fonteva/Salesforce), which remains incomplete

• $22 million to acquire and integrate the Forsyth Institute

• $14 million in relocation costs after selling the ADA’s Chicago headquarters

• Additional funding for state-level dental loss ratio campaigns, strategic communications, and severance packages

Each initiative had strategic intent. But taken together in a declining membership context, they drained reserves and raised questions about board oversight, budgeting, and execution.

What members are saying: Dr. Bob Dokhanchi’s open letter calling for a forensic audit raised quite a few eyebrows in online dentist forums. Dr. Howard Farran and others jumped in to question whether the ADA’s governance structure can support this kind of strategic transformation.

Noted concerns include the use of closed executive sessions, the speed of leadership turnover, and the decision to eliminate Life Member dues waivers while reserves were being spent at a historic pace.

Leadership turnover and next steps: Executive Director Dr. Raymond Cohlmia stepped down earlier this year. Interim leaders are now overseeing stabilization efforts, with the Board of Trustees directing priorities and operations. The organization has said that re-establishing its business foundation is its top priority.

But some of the path remains unclear. No new audit process has been introduced. No external advisory committee has been named. 

What it means for DSOs: The ADA’s recent challenges are only part of the story. Membership has been declining for years, dropping 1 to 2 percent annually, perhaps because younger and mid-career dentists are looking for something different. 

Traditional benefits like dues-based advocacy and quarterly journals potentially no longer carry the weight they once did. 

This is where DSOs have an opportunity. In an era of higher debts and more complex professional context, many early- and mid-career dentists could instead find community and support within their working environment, rather than an association, seeking out community, practical support, peer community, mentorship, and continuing education that feels relevant to their direct professional lives.

Looking ahead: The ADA is not collapsing. But it is resetting. That process will take time, clarity, and trust-building. Members will want transparency. State societies will demand a voice. 

The next chapter for the ADA depends on how openly it addresses its missteps, how effectively it listens, and how quickly it can deliver on the value it promises. DSOs, regulators, and clinicians will all be watching.

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BUSINESS BITES

📈 Heartland Dental posts strong first half of 2025, with 38 de novo offices and 13 new affiliations, expanding HDflex staffing, and scaling AI-powered tools like VideaAI and Curodont™.

📦 Henry Schein Q2 sales up 3.3% to $3.24B, earnings lower, with adjusted EPS down to $1.10 from $1.23 last year and GAAP EPS at $0.70, as lower glove prices and restructuring costs offset gains in technology and specialty products.

🦷 Dentsply Sirona Q2 revenue slips 5% to $936M but profit improves on an adjusted basis, posting adjusted EPS of $0.52 versus $0.51 last year, even as GAAP results showed a loss from impairment charges; company also raised $550M in new debt and added new leadership.

❓ Align CEO Joe Hogan personally buys $1M in company stock as Q2 revenue tops $1B, showing confidence in the company’s recent results, despite law firms launching probes into the company’s performance and reporting. 

🤖 DentalXChange recapitalized by KKR to expand AI in RCM, as Bregal Sagemount exits and the platform accelerates its $2B transaction infrastructure.

🪥 Colgate-Palmolive reports Q2 earnings, with net sales up 1% and organic growth of 1.8%, despite a drag from private label pet sales. Its market share in global toothpaste remains dominant at 41.1%. Still the top dog on the brush beat.

🤖 VideaHealth launches ClaimsAI to help dental groups recover $15B per year in RCM waste, flagging underbilled codes and improving reimbursement accuracy. 

🧪 Smile Source deploys SimplyTest salivary screening in 800+ independent practices, bringing chairside diagnostic testing for caries and systemic markers to small group care. Mo’ spit, mo’ money. 

👓 PDS Health and DEXIS roll out AI-powered 3D imaging tools to over 1,000 practices nationwide, enhancing real-time diagnostics and referral accuracy. Practice vision just grew 3D.

INVESTMENT STRATEGY

Supply chain, meet private equity

Private equity has reshaped dentistry for the last decade and a half, typically by rolling up dental practices into DSOs. But recently, the big bets haven't focused on small practices or niche operators. Instead, PE investors have turned their attention and capital to the dental industry's supply-side giants: suppliers and manufacturers like Henry Schein, Patterson, and ZimVie. 

But this isn’t your standard roll-up play. PE is aiming to shake up major established companies on the theory that they may have become complacent, undervalued, and yet totally worth some extra TLC. Let’s jump in to see why investors are putting their capital here, what it means for DSOs, and if the bets will pay off. 

What happened: Several major dental suppliers have attracted substantial private equity investment over the last year:

• Henry Schein & KKR (2025): KKR invested $250 million in Henry Schein, securing roughly 12 percent ownership and two board seats. Rather than rolling up smaller entities, KKR aims to streamline Schein's global operations and sharpen strategic focus.
  

• Patterson Companies & Patient Square Capital: Patterson was acquired by Patient Square Capital in a $4.1 billion transaction completed in April 2025. The company, previously public, is now private and will use this opportunity to realign strategically and operationally.
  

• ZimVie & ArchiMed: Dental implant specialist ZimVie agreed to be acquired by ArchiMed for $730 million, nearly double its previous valuation. ArchiMed sees ZimVie as undervalued and will focus on high-margin, growth-oriented dental implant products.
  

• HuFriedyGroup & Peak Rock Capital (2024): Steris Corp carved out its dental instruments division, HuFriedyGroup, selling it to Peak Rock Capital for $787.5 million. Peak Rock intends to build HuFriedyGroup as a standalone platform, optimizing products and operations.

Reshaping giants: Private equity sees major dental suppliers as ripe for strategic recalibration rather than simple consolidation like seen in clinic rollups:

• Operational bloat: The perception was that some of these dental giants had become bureaucratic and slow to innovate. Investors see opportunities to streamline operations and shed underperforming segments.
  

• Undervalued assets: Companies like ZimVie are seen as undervalued, despite holding strong fundamentals, by some analysts. PE believes focused leadership and capital can unlock untapped value.
  

• Improved profitability: PE firms are targeting operational efficiencies, technology integration, and reduced overhead to drive margin expansion at major dental players.

Implications for DSOs: The restructuring of key suppliers will directly affect DSOs:

• Service and technology upgrades: PE-backed suppliers may improve efficiency, offer better technology integration, and enhance service levels. DSOs could benefit from streamlined procurement and advanced supplier capabilities.
  

• Pricing pressures: Fewer, more powerful suppliers could reduce the negotiating leverage of DSOs. Smaller groups, in particular, need to manage supplier relationships and contracts strategically.
  

• Potential vertical integration: With private equity stakes spanning suppliers and DSOs, opportunities may emerge for closer collaboration or integrated supply chain initiatives, reshaping traditional procurement and vendor relationships.

Looking ahead: This shift from small-scale clinic rollups to strategic realignments marks a new, sophisticated era of dental industry consolidation by PE. DSOs should closely monitor supplier dynamics, ensuring competitive pricing, supply chain stability, and leveraging improved technology and services. Proactively engaging suppliers and strategically adapting to these shifts will help DSOs navigate and thrive among the ups and downs of these giants.

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CLINICAL NOTES

🧬 Penn Dental researchers find early pediatric immune challenges disrupt oral microbiome development, showing children exposed to or infected by HIV had less bacterial turnover over time and higher cavity-causing bacteria levels. Little mouths, large microbiome clues.

🔬 Study finds gum disease increases gastric cancer risk by up to 25%, with periodontitis and low tooth count independently raising risk in Sweden’s largest study to date.

🧪 Researchers develop vaccine delivery method using dental floss, showing vaccines applied between teeth and gums can trigger strong mucosal immunity via the junctional epithelium, outperforming sublingual methods and rivaling nasal delivery without neurological risks. Skip the arm, jab the gums.

BEYOND THE CUSP

• Arizona dentist launches travel company that funds care for underserved patients.

• Big pivot: Colorado running back retires to pursue a career in dentistry.

• Woman rebuilds her voice with AI after losing it to tongue cancer.

• House to snoop: Dentist’s Brooklyn mansion hits market at $25M, complete with marble, gold, and a home theatre.