The Process
How a Rising Tide partnership works.
We keep it simple, transparent and on your timeline. Most owners tell us the first conversation was the most honest one they had about their options. No pressure, no pitch. A discussion between dentists.
Thirty minutes with a founding dentist. We want to understand your practice, your goals and your timeline before anything else. No paperwork, no pitch deck.
We take a detailed look at your financials, operations and growth potential, and show you how we see your practice’s value and where the opportunity sits.
If it makes sense for both sides, we present the ownership structure, support services, governance rights and financial terms. No fine print.
Transition at your pace. Keep your team, your brand and your clinical standards. Gain the back office, purchasing power and network behind you.
As a partner-owner you take part in governing and growing the network. Your practice becomes part of a tide that lifts every practice in it.
What You Keep
Everything that made your practice worth building.
A Rising Tide partnership is designed to add, not subtract. Here is what stays exactly the way you built it, and what gets better.
Clinical autonomy
Treatment decisions stay with the clinician. No production quotas, no mandated procedures, no outside pressure on how you practice.
Your brand and identity
Your practice name, your culture, your reputation in the community. We do not rebrand. What you built in the eyes of your patients stays yours.
Your team
The relationships you built over years are irreplaceable. We protect existing employment and invest in your team’s development.
A vote in governance
As a partner-owner you sit at the table and help shape network policy, operating models and strategic decisions.
Equity in the network
You become an owner of the whole. As Rising Tide grows, so does your stake. Value stays with the dentists who built it.
Your legacy
Ten years from retiring or thirty, we build a succession plan that honors what you created and carries it forward the right way.
The Honest Comparison
What a PE-backed group offers, and what we offer.
Partner Stories
Dentists who made the different choice.
Recorded at the 2026 founders retreat. Unscripted. Each partner was asked one question: why Rising Tide, and why not the traditional sale?
“I felt like I was giving my practice away to them and then becoming their employee. When I saw Rising Tide, I liked the vision: it’s dentist owned, dentist controlled.”
“They still know Dr. Burden when they come into the office. Everything looks the same, but I have all the back-office benefits I could never offer my staff as a solo provider.”
“The offers were good from a monetary standpoint, but the terms were terrible. I didn’t want to finish my last five to ten years of practice not on my own terms.”
“What attracted me about Rising Tide was it’s a dentist-led organization. They allow us to have continuity in our practice, keep our culture, run our practices as we want to.”
“I could still maintain control, be with other good entrepreneurial dentists, and still grow the practice. I didn’t want to be a cog in a wheel of some big group.”
“We get to be on these islands sometimes, and it’s nice to have someone to talk to that also has their own island. But we have the same weather.”
Common Questions
Questions we hear most often.
We answer these directly. If yours is not here, ask it on the first call.
Do I lose control of my practice?+
No. Clinical autonomy is a non-negotiable term in every Rising Tide partnership. You keep complete control over treatment decisions and how your practice operates. What changes is that you gain back-office support and stop carrying the administrative load alone.
What happens to my staff?+
Your team comes with you. We do not require staffing changes as a condition of partnership. We invest in staff retention and development; the people who make your practice exceptional are the same people who make us stronger.
Can I keep my practice name?+
Yes. We do not rebrand. Your practice name, signage and community identity stay yours. We operate as a support network behind the scenes.
What does the financial structure look like?+
Every partnership is structured individually, but the model is built around fair market valuation, equity participation in the network, and a clinical compensation structure that rewards high-quality patient care.
What if I am not ready to transition yet?+
That is common. Many of our conversations start one to two years before a dentist is ready to partner. We would rather you understand your options now and decide later than rush into something that does not fit.
How is this different from other dental partnership organizations?+
Most are structured with a private equity exit in mind, even if they do not say so. Rising Tide has no investors to satisfy and no exit roadmap. We are funded, owned and governed by dentists.
What if I want to stay fully independent?+
Then The Anchor Point may fit better. It is our private network for independent owners: group purchasing rates, quarterly EBITDA benchmarking, a peer network and founder access, with no obligation to sell. Some members later explore partnership; many stay independent indefinitely.
Where do you operate?+
Partner practices in 11 states today, with Arizona and Massachusetts closing soon. If you are in a market where we do not yet have a presence, early partners there help shape how we grow.
Ready to have a conversation?
No sales pitch. No pressure. An honest discussion between dentists about what the right path looks like for your practice.