Southern Orthodontic Partners

What Southern Orthodontic Partners does

Southern Orthodontic Partners (SOP) is a Nashville-based orthodontic support organization founded in 2019 and backed by Shore Capital Partners Fund III, a $293 million private equity vehicle. The company began operations in April 2020 through strategic partnerships with founding practices Barbieri Orthodontics (Dr. Damon Barbieri) and Reflections Orthodontics (Dr. Scott Blackman). SOP provides orthodontic practices with a centralized suite of strategic, operational, and administrative services — including financial management (payroll, accounting, benefits), marketing (digital, paid, SEO, B2B and B2C campaigns), technology and IT support, recruiting, billing, and continuing education — in exchange for partnership economics in which affiliate doctors retain meaningful ownership and clinical autonomy.

As of early 2024, the platform comprises 48 orthodontic practices with 85 locations across 13 states (Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington D.C.), employing more than 800 team members including over 80 orthodontists. The go-to-market is a direct, sales-led partnership model: SOP identifies independent orthodontic practices, assesses cultural alignment, negotiates equity partnership terms, and integrates them onto a shared back-office platform while preserving the local brand. The company formalizes clinical leadership through a Chief Orthodontic Officer role (held by co-founder Dr. Scott Blackman), a Doctor Advisory Committee, and Board Doctors drawn from partner practices.

Revenue is generated through managed-services partnership arrangements with affiliated practices; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated individually. Centralized support functions are augmented by a 2023-launched CRM tool, a business intelligence/analytics platform, the Leadership Academy (23 graduates in 2023), an annual Leadership Summit, an HR Boot Camp, a quarterly Doctor Study Club, and internal podcasts. The platform reports average net production growth running +13 percentage points above the orthodontic industry (YTD November 2023) and has earned three consecutive years of Great Place to Work certification (82% approval versus a 57% benchmark).

Name

Southern Orthodontic Partners

Legal name

Southern Orthodontic Partners

Website

https://southernop.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Southern Orthodontic Partners is a Nashville-based orthodontic support organization that partners with 48 independent orthodontic practices across 13 states, providing centralized financial, marketing, technology, recruiting, and administrative services while affiliate doctors retain clinical autonomy and equity ownership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Orthodontic Support Services

NAICS

Offices of Dentists (62121), Offices of Dentists (6212)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Orthodontic Group Practices (HLABAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Dental Support Services Organizations (Non-Clinical MSO/Back-Office Platforms) (HLABAKAN)

Keywords

• Orthodontic support services
• Practice management services
• Dental practice partnership
• Orthodontic practice operations
• Practice back-office support

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Orthodontic Practice Partnership Services: Southern Orthodontic Partners provides strategic, operational, and administrative support to orthodontic professionals in exchange for partnership arrangements. Partner doctors maintain meaningful ownership in SOP while SOP provides expertise in finance, marketing, recruiting, benefits, and other practice administration. The model allows orthodontists to focus on clinical care while SOP handles business operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Southern Orthodontic Partners is an Orthodontic Support Organization (OSO) that partners with independent orthodontic practices across the U.S. and provides them with strategic, operational, and administrative support—including financial management, marketing, recruiting, billing, IT/technology, and continuing education—while partner doctors retain ownership stakes and clinical autonomy. The platform is paid for via individually negotiated partnership arrangements with affiliated practices and currently spans 48 practices and 85 locations across 13 states.

Product overview

Southern Orthodontic Partners operates as an Orthodontic Support Organization (OSO) providing a unified platform of support services to orthodontic practices. The core offering is a comprehensive suite of services including strategic/operational/administrative support, financial management (payroll, accounting, benefits), marketing (digital, paid campaigns, SEO, B2B/B2C), technology support, recruiting services, billing, and continuing education programs. The platform enables orthodontists to maintain clinical autonomy and local brand identity while benefiting from centralized back-end support, geographic scale, and shared best practices. Supporting programs include annual Leadership Summits, the Leadership Academy professional development program, HR Boot Camp, quarterly Doctor Study Club, and internal podcasts (Everyday Heroes, BIGGER. STRONGER. FASTER.). The CRM tool and service recognition platform (Snappy) were added in 2023 to enhance marketing and team engagement capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Orthodontic Practice Support Services Comprehensive strategic, operational, and administrative support services enabling orthodontic clinicians to focus on providing high-quality clinical care while maintaining their local brand and practice-level leadership. Sold to independent orthodontic practices as a partnership offering.
• Financial Management Services Expertise in payroll, accounting, benefits administration, and financial planning to support orthodontic practice operations for partner practices.
• Marketing Support Comprehensive marketing services including digital marketing, paid campaigns, SEO, website templates, B2B strategies, and B2C campaigns to support partner practice growth.
• Technology Support Next-level IT support and technology infrastructure to support partner practice operations and digital capabilities.
• Recruiting Services Associate doctor recruiting and retention services supporting practice growth and succession planning for partner practices.
• Billing Services Administrative billing support services for orthodontic practice revenue cycle management at partner practices.
• Continuing Education Programs Ongoing commitment to continuing education that fosters learning from best practices to drive exceptional patient outcomes for partner doctors and their teams.
• Leadership Academy Professional development program for team members with scholarship opportunities, launched with 23 graduates in August 2023. Sold to partner practices as part of human capital development.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Platform Customer relationship management tool implemented in 2023 as part of marketing strategies and growth initiatives for partner practices, supporting patient engagement and marketing automation.
• Business Intelligence & Analytics Platform Platform that leverages industry data and best practices to drive exceptional patient outcomes and practice performance benchmarking for partner practices.
• Clear Aligner Treatment Program Overarching SOP strategy built by industry experts for clear aligner treatments including Invisalign, delivered through partner practices.

Quantifiable outcome

• Platform average Net Production Growth consistently above industry with +13% spread
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Barbieri Orthodontics (Dr. Damon Barbieri)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2020Founding partner practice of Southern Orthodontic Partners. Dr. Damon Barbieri, one of the most respected and well-known orthodontists in Tennessee, contributed to the founding of SOP alongside Dr. Scott Blackman. The practice was among the initial four orthodontic practices in the Greater Nashville Area that formed the platform.
• Reflections Orthodontics (Dr. Scott Blackman)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2020Founding partner practice and Dr. Scott Blackman serves as Co-Founder, Board Doctor, and Chief Orthodontic Officer of SOP. Owner and founder of Reflections Orthodontics, a two-location practice in Clarksville, TN. One of the platform's top-performing practices.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Smile Doctors: Largest US-based orthodontic support organization, directly comparable to SOP in business model — partners with independent orthodontics practices providing non-clinical support while preserving clinical autonomy. Operates at significantly greater scale (~400+ locations) and is the most relevant comparable.
• Corus Orthodontists: Orthodontic partnership network founded in Canada and expanding into the US, operating a doctor-led partnership model similar to SOP. Comparable in structure and target market though geographically weighted to Canada initially.
• US Orthodontic Partners: Direct competitor OSO with a near-identical model — PE-backed (Quad-C Management) orthodontic partnership platform serving the Midwest, Mid-South, and Texas. Highly comparable in size, geographic focus, and partnership economics.
• Southern Dental Partners: PE-backed dental support organization focused on the Southeastern US, providing non-clinical management services to general dental practices. Closely comparable to SOP in sponsor model, geography, and back-office support offering, though specialized in general dentistry rather than orthodontics.

Broad incumbents

• Heartland Dental: Largest US DSO (~1,700+ offices), owned by KKR. Overlaps with SOP in the dental support organization model and adjacent patient base but focuses on general dentistry rather than orthodontic specialty — a potential cross-sell or competitive threat.
• Western Dental & Orthodontics: Large multi-specialty dental group practice with significant orthodontic service line. Comparable in offering orthodontic care through affiliated practice network, though vertically integrated rather than a partnership/affiliation model.
• Pacific Dental Services: Large private equity-backed DSO supporting general and specialty dental practices across the US. Comparable in DSO/MSO infrastructure model, though broader in scope than SOP's orthodontic-only focus.
• Affordable Dentures & Implants: Specialty dental support organization (affiliated with Affordable Care) providing practice support to denture and implant practices. Comparable as a specialty-focused DSO model, though in a different dental sub-vertical than orthodontics.

Others

• Gaidge: Business intelligence and analytics platform serving orthodontic practices — SOP explicitly partners with Gaidge for benchmarking, and several SOP executives (Ryan Moynihan, Jake Schwyzer, Shannon Brockway) came from Gaidge. Closely tied ecosystem participant.

Regional players

• Spark Orthodontics: Multi-location orthodontic group practice in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic that has pursued selective consolidation. Comparable in offering orthodontic services through affiliated practices, though smaller and geographically narrower than SOP.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/southernop
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@southernorthodonticpartners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-orthodontic-partners

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern Orthodontic Partners