San Mateo County Dental Society

What San Mateo County Dental Society does

The San Mateo County Dental Society (SMCDS) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit professional membership organization founded in 1929, incorporated in 1960, and chartered as a component society of the California Dental Association (CDA) and the American Dental Association (ADA) in 1973. The society serves approximately 700 member dentists, representing roughly 77% of all dentists practicing in San Mateo County, California. It operates from a single office at 939 Laurel Street, Suite C, San Carlos, with a staff of 1-10 employees and is led by an Executive Board, Leadership Council, and an Executive Director (Nakia Brandt).

SMCDS delivers a suite of member services including continuing education programs (monthly CE meetings, CPR re-certification at $74 for members, regulatory compliance training at $150 for members covering OSHA, infection control, and California Dental Practice Act), a public Find a Dentist referral directory, a Member Directory, the quarterly Mouthpiece newsletter, a classifieds and job board (with Swiss Monkey integration), peer review dispute resolution, seminar room rental at its San Carlos office, and patient referrals. It also operates the SMCDS Dental Health Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit arm focused on oral health education for underserved children and elderly populations (formerly 'Health on Wheels,' which operated the Brushmobile bus until its retirement in 2000). The technology stack is limited to standard SaaS tools: Salesforce_SZ for member authentication, Constant Contact for email distribution, and Google Analytics for traffic monitoring.

The organization generates revenue through five streams: tripartite membership dues (linked with CDA/ADA), continuing education course fees, seminar room rentals (with a 20% member discount), advertising in its quarterly newsletter and weekly eNews, and Business Membership fees from a vendor partner ecosystem spanning dental supplies, imaging, financial services, legal counsel, practice transitions, staffing, and dental laboratories. Membership is horizontal, addressing general dentists, dental specialists, new dentists within 10 years of graduation, and dental auxiliary personnel (RDA, RDH). The society operates exclusively within the U.S. domestic market and is geographically confined to San Mateo County.

Name

San Mateo County Dental Society

Legal name

San Mateo County Dental Society

Website

https://smcds.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1929

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

San Mateo County Dental Society is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit professional dental society chartered under the California Dental Association and American Dental Association, serving approximately 700 member dentists in San Mateo County through continuing education, referrals, peer review, and community outreach.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Dental Association Services

NAICS

Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (813990)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Medicaid/Community-Focused DSOs (HLABAKAM)

Keywords

• Professional dental association
• Continuing education programs
• Membership organization services
• Dental referral directory
• Regulatory compliance training

Headquarters

HQ city

San Carlos

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Tripartite membership linking local SMCDS with California Dental Association and American Dental Association, providing benefits at all three levels.
2. Continuing Education Programs: CE courses offered including General Membership Meetings ($70 member rate), CPR Renewal ($74 member rate), and Dental Office Regulatory Compliance Training ($150 member rate).
3. Seminar Room Rental: Rental of seminar room in downtown San Carlos, with 20% discount for SMCDS members. Includes HD wide-screen display, white board, podium, and flip-chart easel.
4. Advertising: Display and classified advertising in quarterly newsletter 'The Mouthpiece', plus weekly eNews classified advertising.
5. Business Membership: Vendor/business members pay to be listed and advertise services to the dental community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SMCDS is a nonprofit professional dental society that provides tripartite membership services linking local, state (CDA), and national (ADA) levels for practicing dentists in San Mateo County. Its core offerings include continuing education courses, regulatory compliance training, peer review dispute resolution, a public patient referral "Find a Dentist" service, member directory, quarterly newsletter, classifieds/job board, vendor business member program, and seminar room rentals.

Product overview

San Mateo County Dental Society (SMCDS) is a professional membership organization for dental professionals, not a technology product company. It offers a suite of member services including a Find a Dentist referral service, Member Directory, Continuing Education Programs, The Mouthpiece Newsletter (quarterly publication), Classifieds and Job Board, Business Members Program (vendor partnerships), Seminar Room Rental, Dental Health Foundation (community outreach), Leadership Council, Peer Review dispute resolution, and Patient Referrals. These services support the dental professional community through education, networking, practice support, and community health initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SMCDS DHF (Dental Health Foundation): The community outreach arm of SMCDS promoting and improving oral health of the community through education and programs supporting delivery of dental services to underserved populations.

Products and services

• Find a Dentist Referral Service

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• American Dental Association (ADA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1973National-level partner in the tripartite membership structure. SMCDS is chartered as a component society of ADA, providing members with national-level benefits, advocacy, and resources.
• California Dental Association (CDA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1973State-level partner in the tripartite structure. SMCDS is a component of CDA, offering members state-level benefits, legislative advocacy, and professional development programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• California Dental Association: State-level parent organization of which SMCDS is a chartered component. Provides the state-tier benefits, legislative advocacy, and CE programs that flow through to SMCDS members; broader in scope but operates the same tripartite framework.
• American Dental Association: National-level parent organization at the top of the tripartite structure. Provides national benefits, advocacy, and resources to SMCDS members; vastly broader in scope but shares the same tripartite membership chassis.

Direct peers

• Alameda County Dental Society: Bay Area CDA component society serving Alameda County dentists with analogous services (CE, referrals, peer review, advocacy). Structurally identical to SMCDS, making it a directly comparable peer.
• Los Angeles Dental Society: Large Southern California CDA component society serving LA-area dentists with the same tripartite membership model and member services. Comparable in operating model though larger in member count than SMCDS.
• Chicago Dental Society: One of the largest ADA component societies in the US, operating the same tripartite membership chassis, CE programming, and member-services model as SMCDS. Directly comparable in structure though much larger in scale.
• Sacramento District Dental Society: Northern California CDA component society serving the Sacramento district with the same tripartite structure, CE offerings, and advocacy programming. Operationally a near-twin to SMCDS in California.
• San Francisco Dental Society: Neighboring CDA component society serving San Francisco dentists under the same ADA/CDA tripartite structure. Directly comparable in scope, services (CE, referrals, advocacy), and member-base profile, making it the closest functional peer to SMCDS.
• San Diego County Dental Society: Southern California CDA component society with comparable size, member-services portfolio, and tripartite membership structure. Operates under the same ADA/CDA framework as SMCDS and serves a similar dentist population profile.
• Santa Clara County Dental Society: Adjacent Bay Area CDA component society serving Santa Clara County dentists with the same tripartite membership, CE programs, and patient referral services. Direct peer given geographic adjacency and structurally identical operating model.

Emerging players

• Spear Education: Leading digital dental continuing education platform offering on-demand courses and clinical training. Comparable in the CE service line that SMCDS provides, but operates nationally and digitally rather than in-person/local — an emerging alternative that competes for member engagement and CE dollars.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smdentalsociety
• Facebookfacebook.com/SMCDS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smcds

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 San Mateo County Dental Society