DECA Dental

What DECA Dental does

DECA Dental Group (legal entity DECA Dental Management, LLC) is a privately held Dental Service Organization (DSO) founded in 2008 by Dr. Sulman Ahmed. The company operates approximately 200 dental practices across nine U.S. states under the consumer-facing Ideal Dental brand, serving roughly 3,000 patients (referred to as "guests") daily. DECA provides non-clinical operational support to affiliated dental practices — including human resources, accounting, marketing, IT, and back-office functions — enabling dentist partners to focus on patient care. The company markets itself as "Clinician Founded. Clinician Led." with clinical leadership across the C-suite, and grows through both de novo office openings and dentist partnership programs.

The company's core technology stack is centered on enterprise practice management systems integrated with dental AI capabilities. In February 2026, DECA selected Pearl as its exclusive dental AI partner and deployed Pearl's FDA-cleared radiologic AI across its network, providing computer vision analysis of dental X-rays to improve case acceptance and clinical decision-making. The company previously partnered with Overjet (2023) in the dental AI sector. Beyond practice operations, DECA has diversified into consumer oral care products through its ToothScience subsidiary.

DECA generates revenue through patient service fees across its ~200-location network, monetizing general, preventive, restorative, and specialty dental services. The DSO model captures economics via operational infrastructure rather than direct insurance or capitation arrangements detailed in available data. Distribution is purely domestic physical retail through owned/affiliated dental offices, supplemented by digital appointment booking via myidealdental.com and a career portal (jobs.ashbyhq.com/Ideal Dental) supporting dentist and staff recruitment. The company is PE-backed following Blackstone Tactical Opportunities' August 2021 investment, with founder Dr. Sulman Ahmed continuing as Chairman and CEO.

Name

DECA Dental

Legal name

DECA Dental Management, LLC

Website

https://decadental.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

DECA Dental Group is a privately held Dental Service Organization operating approximately 200 Ideal Dental practices across nine U.S. states, serving roughly 3,000 patients daily with general, preventive, restorative, and specialty dental care under a clinician-led model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dental Healthcare Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Specialty DSOs (General + Specialty Networks) (HLABAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Regional/Multi-Region DSO Platforms (Aggregators) (HLABAKAK), Dental Support Services Organizations (Non-Clinical MSO/Back-Office Platforms) (HLABAKAN)

Keywords

• Dental support services
• General dentistry services
• Preventive dental care
• Restorative dental treatments
• Cosmetic dental services

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Dental Services Revenue: DECA Dental generates revenue through its network of ~200 dental practice locations providing comprehensive dental care services to patients. The DSO model provides administrative and operational support to affiliated dental practices while clinicians deliver patient care.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

DECA Dental Group operates as a Dental Service Organization (DSO), delivering comprehensive dental care services (preventive, restorative, cosmetic, and specialty) to individual patients through its ~200 Ideal Dental practice locations across nine U.S. states. It provides operational, administrative, and clinical support to affiliated practices, allowing dentists to focus on patient care, while also offering a partnership program for dentists to join the network.

Product overview

DECA Dental Group operates a dental service organization (DSO) model with its consumer-facing Ideal Dental brand spanning approximately 200 locations across nine U.S. states. The company provides comprehensive practice management and operational support services to affiliated dental practices, allowing clinicians to focus on patient care. DECA has also expanded into consumer products through ToothScience, an oral care brand offering science-backed oral health products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ideal Dental: Consumer-facing dental brand operated by DECA Dental Group, offering premium dental care experience across multiple U.S. states.

Products and services

• Ideal Dental Consumer-facing dental care brand offering preventive, restorative, cosmetic, and specialty dental services under one roof across nearly 200 locations in nine U.S. states, serving approximately 3,000 patients daily.
• Dentist Partnership Program A DSO partnership program for dentists that provides full back-office support, standardized systems, state-of-the-art technology, in-house CE courses, mentorship, and professional development, allowing clinicians to focus on patient care.
• ToothScience

Quantifiable outcome

• ~3,000 patients served daily
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PearlcoreTechnology or Integration · 24 February 2026Pearl, a dental AI solutions company, was selected as DECA Dental's exclusive dental AI partner following a successful pilot study. Pearl's FDA-cleared radiologic AI is integrated directly into DECA's practice management systems across nearly 200 practices, enabling real-time clinical insights and enterprise-wide visibility. The pilot demonstrated measurable improvements in case acceptance through AI-visualized radiographs.
• Pat & Emmitt Smith CharitiesminorOthersCommunity partnership for giving back to the community through charitable initiatives and support.
• St. Jude Children's Research HospitalminorOthersCommunity partnership supporting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through charitable initiatives.
• Toys For TotsminorOthersCommunity partnership supporting Toys For Tots charitable program.
• North Texas Food BankminorOthersCommunity partnership addressing food insecurity in the North Texas community.
• Mission ArlingtonminorOthersDECA Dental partners with Mission Arlington, with volunteer doctors providing free dental care to low-income residents across the Dallas-Fort Worth community.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dental Care Alliance: Multi-state DSO supporting affiliated dental practices with operational infrastructure. Comparable to DECA in offering general and specialty dentistry under a partnership/support model across U.S. markets.
• Aspen Dental / TAG - The Aspen Group: One of the largest DSOs in the U.S., operating Aspen Dental branded offices across multiple states with de novo and acquisition growth strategies highly comparable to DECA's Ideal Dental model.
• Great Expressions Dental Centers: Multi-state dental group practice operating under a DSO-style support structure with general and specialty services. Closely mirrors DECA's mix of general dentistry, endo, ortho, and cosmetic offerings.
• Western Dental & Orthodontics: Large multi-state dental and orthodontic group practice with significant California and Medicaid exposure. Comparable in size and service breadth (general + specialty including ortho) to DECA's Ideal Dental network.
• Smile Brands: Multi-brand DSO (Smile Brands and affiliated brands) supporting hundreds of dental offices across the U.S. Highly comparable operating model to DECA with de novo, acquisition, and partnership growth strategies.
• Benevis: Dental support organization primarily serving Medicaid and community-focused practices across multiple states. Comparable DSO structure to DECA with overlap in specialty and community-oriented service delivery.
• Pacific Dental Services: Large, multi-state DSO providing non-clinical support to dental practices. PDS competes directly with DECA for dentist-partners, de novo expansion, and adoption of dental AI technology across its network.

Others

• Overjet: Dental AI platform and former DECA partner that provides FDA-cleared radiologic AI to dental practices. It is a relevant ecosystem peer given DECA's AI strategy, although it is a vendor/technology provider rather than a direct clinical competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Heartland Dental: The largest U.S. DSO, supporting thousands of dentist offices nationwide. It is the most direct scaled peer to DECA, operating the same DSO business model of non-clinical support for affiliated clinicians, but at materially greater scale.

Regional players

• Jefferson Dental & Orthodontics: Texas-focused multi-specialty dental group with heavy DFW presence. Directly comparable to DECA on geography and patient demographic, making it the most concentrated local competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/decadentalgroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/DecaDentalGroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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 DECA Dental