Who Owns Your
Peoria Dentist?
Over 40% of U.S. dental practices are now owned by private equity-backed DSOs, not dentists. Here is how to check who actually owns the practice treating you in the Peoria area and why it matters.
What Is a DSO and Why Does It Matter?
A dental service organization (DSO) is a management company that owns or controls dental practices. They handle billing, staffing, supply purchasing, and business operations while licensed dentists provide clinical care.
Private equity began acquiring dental practices in earnest around 2010. The model is straightforward: buy dozens or hundreds of practices, centralize operations to cut costs, and increase revenue per patient visit. By 2024, analysts estimated that DSOs controlled more than 40% of dental practices in the United States, with the Phoenix metro area among the most consolidated markets in the country.
Peoria is among the most DSO-saturated zip codes in the metro. The 85383 corridor along Happy Valley Road alone contains five confirmed corporate-owned dental organizations within a few miles of each other — Pacific Dental Services operating three locations under different entity names, plus Smile Brands running two co-located orthodontic entities at the same address. For patients who assume they are choosing between independent offices, this level of consolidation is rarely disclosed at the front desk.
At an independent practice, the dentist owns the business. They set their own clinical standards. There is no investor expecting a return, no management company setting production quotas, and no regional director overseeing how many crowns get placed per hour. The dentist’s interests and the patient’s interests are aligned.
Production Quotas
DSO-employed dentists frequently report being given daily dollar targets or minimum procedure counts. Meeting these targets can influence what gets recommended to patients.
High Staff Turnover
DSO practices experience significantly higher associate dentist turnover than independent offices. This means you rarely see the same dentist twice, and continuity of care suffers.
Investor-First Decisions
PE-backed DSOs often operate on 5-7 year investment cycles. Decisions about equipment, staffing, and care protocols are made to maximize the practice’s sale value, not your long-term health.
How to Check Any Practice Yourself
The federal NPPES NPI registry is a public database of every licensed healthcare provider and organization in the United States. It contains a key piece of information that most patients never look at: the authorized official.
Step 1: Search NPPES
Go to the NPI Registry at npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov (or use the widget below). Type the name of the dental practice. Select "Organization" for the entity type.
The registry returns every registered entity matching your search, including their address, taxonomy, and the person designated as the authorized official for insurance billing.
Step 2: Read the Authorized Official Title
When a dentist owns their practice, they are typically listed as "Owner," "Owner/Dentist," "Sole Member," or "President" with a clinical credential (DDS, DMD).
When a DSO owns a practice, the authorized official is usually a corporate employee: "VP of Operations," "SVP of Finance," "Regional Manager," or "National Director of Revenue Cycle Management." These are not dentists. They are business executives.
Important caveat: NPPES data is a signal, not proof of ownership. Some independent practices bill through a group NPI with a non-dentist administrator listed. Some DSO locations bill under the individual dentist's personal NPI with no group record visible. The authorized official title is the most reliable public signal available, but when in doubt, ask the practice directly: "Who owns this office?"
DSO-Affiliated Practices in the Peoria Area
The following practices have a corporate or DSO-affiliated authorized official on record with NPPES as of May 2026. This list is not exhaustive. Some DSO-owned practices are not captured by NPPES because they bill under individual dentist NPIs.
Peoria — Strong Corporate Ownership Signal
8392 W Thunderbird Rd, Peoria 85381 • NPI 1093851883
AO phone routes to 714-480-3000 (Orange CA) — the corporate number for Western Dental Services Inc., now rebranded Brident Dental & Orthodontics. Mailing: 530 S Main St, Orange CA — Western Dental’s headquarters. Western Dental is a PE-backed DSO with 300+ locations across the Southwest.
10613 W Olive Ave, Peoria 85345 • NPI 1558482968
Authorized official on record: National Director of Revenue Cycle Management — no clinical credential. The same AO title appears on Perfect Teeth and DCP AZ LLC locations across the Phoenix metro. Perfect Teeth was acquired by Aspen Dental Management in 2019. The “National Director of RCM” title is a consistent DSO billing-office fingerprint.
10144 W Lake Pleasant Pkwy Ste 11, Peoria 85382 • NPI 1811223373 • DBA: Smile Today
Authorized official: Insurance Coordinator — no clinical credential. Operates under the DBA “Smile Today.” Heartland Dental is the largest DSO in the United States with 1,700+ locations, backed by KKR private equity. This is the only confirmed Heartland location found in NPPES for the Glendale/Peoria area.
10006 W Happy Valley Pkwy Ste 1220, Peoria 85383 • NPI 1912883695 • DBA: Redstone Orthodontics
AO: Charlotte Dasch | Sr Director of Credentialing — no clinical credential. Mailing: 1610 54th Ave N Ste 205, Nashville TN — Smile Brands Inc. headquarters. The same AO (Charlotte Dasch) appears on multiple Smile Brands entities across AZ, including the co-located AZ SPECIALTY DENTAL SERVICES LLC below. Smile Brands Inc. owns Bright Now! Dental, Monarch Dental, and Castle Dental chains.
10006 W Happy Valley Pkwy Ste 1220, Peoria 85383 • NPI 1053136663 • DBA: Redstone Orthodontics
Identical AO (Charlotte Dasch, Sr Director of Credentialing) and identical mailing address (1610 54th Ave N Nashville TN) as AZ SDS III LLC above. Two separate Smile Brands entities registered at the same address under the same DBA — a common DSO pattern for separating general and specialty billing under different entity names at a single physical location.
7984 W Happy Valley Rd Ste 100, Peoria 85383 • NPI 1881404978
AO phone routes to 714-845-8500 (Irvine CA) — Pacific Dental Services’ corporate number, confirmed across multiple PDS affiliates in AZ. Mailing: PO Box 660041, Dallas TX (PDS secondary mailing). “Dentists of [City] LLP” is a signature Pacific Dental Services entity name convention in Arizona. PDS has five confirmed Peoria locations identified in NPPES.
8085 W Bell Rd, Peoria 85382 • NPI 1598907826
NPPES billing address: 2860 Michelle Dr/Blvd, Irvine CA — Pacific Dental Services’ secondary corporate headquarters address. LLP entity structure and the Irvine CA mailing are consistent with PDS’ standard acquisition vehicle format for AZ practices.
9947 W Happy Valley Rd Ste 101, Peoria 85383 • NPI 1568622025
NPPES billing address: 17000 Red Hill Ave, Irvine CA — Pacific Dental Services’ primary corporate headquarters. LLP entity format matches PDS’ standard AZ convention. Third confirmed PDS location in Peoria’s 85383 zip code.
28451 N Vistancia Blvd, Peoria 85383 • NPI 1609052042
NPPES billing address: 2860 Michelle, Irvine CA — PDS secondary HQ. Co-located with VISTANCIA DENTAL GROUP, PC (NPI 1093989329, same address, same treating dentist Dr. Paul Gebhart, same Irvine CA mailing) — a common PDS pattern of registering two entities at one practice address for specialty/general billing separation. Fourth confirmed PDS location in Peoria.
24775 N Lake Pleasant Pkwy Ste 104, Peoria 85383 • NPI 1528694247
Mailing: PO Box 920050, Dallas TX — a PDS mailing address used for a subset of their AZ entities. LLP entity structure consistent with PDS AZ convention. Specialty pediatric and orthodontic practice — fifth confirmed PDS location in Peoria.
18855 N 83rd Ave, Peoria 85382 • NPI 1811642770
AO: Glenn Ashmore | Owner/CEO. Mailing: 2828 NW 30th St, Oklahoma City OK — Dental Depot corporate headquarters. Dental Depot is an Oklahoma City-based DSO with 80+ locations across the South and Southwest. CEO title at an out-of-state HQ address while the practice is in Peoria is the ownership signal.
8249 W Thunderbird Rd, Peoria 85381 • NPI 1669559738 • DBA: Desert Sunrise Family Dental
AO phone routes to 972-930-7707 (Plano TX) — Dental One Partners’ corporate line. Mailing: Minneapolis MN. Operating DBA is “Desert Sunrise Family Dental.” Dental One Partners is a Plano TX-based DSO with locations across AZ under various DBAs including Desert Family Dental, Desert Sunrise, and Ashbrook Dental Care.
9000 W Thunderbird Rd Ste 200, Peoria 85381 • NPI 1326609843 • DBA: Fox Family Dental
AO phone routes to 972-869-3789 (Carrollton TX) — MB2 Dental Solutions’ corporate line, confirmed across 20+ AZ affiliates. Mailing: PO Box 734753, Dallas TX. Entity name “HDP Fox Dental LLC” follows MB2’s acquisition vehicle naming convention (HDP = Holdings/Dental Partners). MB2 has two confirmed Glendale locations and 20+ Phoenix metro affiliates.
Peoria — Regional Multi-Location Chains
Multiple Peoria locations including: 9055 W Thunderbird Rd, 17235 N 75th Ave
NPPES signal: Each location lists a different non-dentist credentialing coordinator as authorized official. This pattern is common in DSO-managed practices. The chain operates more than 30 locations across the Phoenix metro, including multiple Glendale locations.
Peoria AZ • Mailing: Mesa AZ
Authorized official: CFO/CIO — no clinical credential. Note: this entity is unrelated to Heartland Dental’s “Smile Today” DBA above. The CFO/CIO title and Mesa mailing indicate an AZ-based regional management structure, but no national PE parent has been confirmed for this entity.
Broader Phoenix Metro — Major DSO Brands
Data methodology: This list is compiled from public NPPES NPI Registry records queried on May 21, 2026, for dental organizations registered in Peoria and adjacent Phoenix metro cities. We flagged entities where the authorized official held a corporate management title rather than a clinical credential, where the billing or mailing address matched a known DSO corporate headquarters, or where the authorized official’s direct phone number routed to a known DSO corporate line. The same phone number appearing across two or more dental organizations is a direct fingerprint of shared DSO billing infrastructure. DBA names and entity name patterns were cross-referenced against known DSO brand and acquisition-vehicle naming conventions. This list is intentionally conservative and incomplete — many DSO locations do not appear in Type 2 NPI records. If you believe any entry is inaccurate, let us know.
Look Up Any Dental Practice
Search the NPPES registry in real time. Type any dental practice name and see the authorized official on file and what it suggests about ownership.
Searches dental organizations in the specified city. Results are filtered client-side by the practice name you enter. Powered by the free CMS NPPES Registry.
Smile Science Is Different
Smile Science Dental Spa is 100% owned by Dr. Richard Dawson and Dr. John Turke. No investors. No management company. No VP of Finance making decisions about your care. We are just a few miles from Peoria in Glendale — and when you call, you reach a doctor’s office, not a regional call center.
You can verify our ownership the same way you verify any other practice: look us up in the NPPES registry. Our authorized officials are the dentists themselves.
Common Questions
Can a DSO-owned practice still provide good care?
Yes. Individual dentists within DSO practices can and do provide excellent care. The concern is structural, not individual. When production quotas, high associate turnover, and investor-return timelines shape how a practice operates, the system-level incentives work against the patient. The quality you get depends heavily on the specific dentist you see and whether they are willing to resist production pressure. Independent practices remove that structural conflict entirely.
Is Peoria more DSO-saturated than other Phoenix suburbs?
The 85383 corridor (Happy Valley Road, Lake Pleasant Parkway) is among the highest-concentration DSO areas in the metro. Within a two-mile stretch, our NPPES research identified five Pacific Dental Services entities, two Smile Brands orthodontic entities at the same address, and additional locations for Heartland, Western Dental, Perfect Teeth, MB2, and Dental Depot. Eleven confirmed DSO-affiliated organizations in a single suburb is consistent with the broader national pattern of PE investment targeting high-growth suburban corridors.
Why isn’t my dentist’s practice on this list if it’s DSO-owned?
This list captures practices with a corporate signal in their NPPES Type 2 organizational record. Many DSO locations are not visible in Type 2 records because they bill under the individual dentist’s personal NPI (Type 1). This is especially common for recently acquired practices that have not yet transferred their billing to the parent DSO’s organizational NPI. If you want to check a specific practice, ask them directly: “Who owns this office?” and “Are you affiliated with a DSO or private equity group?”
What does it mean when two dental entities share the same address?
Two or more NPPES entities at the same address is a common DSO pattern for separating billing streams. A DSO may register one entity for general dentistry billing and a second for orthodontic or specialty billing at the same physical practice. In Peoria, AZ SDS III LLC and AZ Specialty Dental Services LLC share an address at 10006 W Happy Valley Pkwy — both operating as Redstone Orthodontics for Smile Brands. Legacy Smiles LLP and Vistancia Dental Group PC share 28451 N Vistancia Blvd for Pacific Dental Services. Each entity has its own NPI for billing purposes; the patient typically has no idea they are seeing two NPI entities.
Does having a Type 2 NPI mean a practice is DSO-owned?
No. Many independent practices register a Type 2 organizational NPI for insurance billing purposes even when they are fully doctor-owned. Smile Science, for example, has a Type 2 NPI for billing convenience. The ownership signal comes from the authorized official’s title, not from whether a Type 2 NPI exists. When the authorized official is the dentist themselves (listed as “Owner/Dentist” or “Sole Member” with a clinical credential), that is a strong independent signal. When the authorized official is a VP, SVP, or regional manager with no clinical credential, that points to a corporate ownership structure.
What should I ask before choosing a dentist?
Three questions worth asking when you call a new dental office: (1) “Who owns this practice?” (2) “Is this office affiliated with a DSO or dental group?” (3) “Will I see the same dentist each visit?” Independent practices will answer directly and confidently. DSO corporate call centers often deflect or are unaware of the ownership structure entirely. The front desk at a doctor-owned office knows the dentist by name. At a regional chain, they may not know who the owner is.
Ready to Choose Independent Care?
Smile Science is a 100% doctor-owned practice in Glendale, AZ — minutes from Peoria. Dr. Dawson and Dr. Turke both work here full time. No quotas, no investors, no revolving-door associates.