What you’ll learn in this Blog:

If you’re weighing dental franchise opportunities, Clear Lakes Dental (CLD) offers a new way to own a dental practice.

• 100% ownership: You retain full ownership and control of your dental practice.
• Comprehensive operational support: Receive help with marketing, recruiting, compliance, technology, and day-to-day business operations.
• Franchise systems: Benefit from proven systems and support without giving up ownership.
• Different from traditional dental franchises: Unlike many franchise models, you keep 100% ownership instead of sharing equity with the parent company.
• Different from DSOs: Maintain clinical and business decision-making authority rather than giving control to a dental support organization.

CLD handles the business side of owning a practice. That way, dentists can spend more time with patients and less time on paperwork. Support falls into four areas:

Marketing and Patient Growth

• Patient acquisition strategies
• Digital marketing systems
• Reputation management and brand growth

Recruiting and Team Development

• Hiring assistance and recruiting strategies
• Onboarding systems and training
• Leadership development guidance

Operations and Compliance

• Workflow optimization systems
• Compliance guidance
• Operational best practices

Technology and Efficiency Tools

• Operational dashboards
• Data-driven decision systems
• Technology tools designed to streamline daily operations

A dental franchise lets a dentist run a clinic under a known brand. In return, the dentist uses the franchisor’s systems for marketing, staffing, operations, and compliance. However, most franchisors charge upfront fees and ongoing royalties. They also require the dentist to follow brand and vendor rules.

Typical franchise support includes:

• Patient marketing and advertising
• Operational workflows and staff training
• Hiring and team management systems
• Regulatory compliance support
• Business coaching

This can help dentists launch faster than building every system from scratch. Still, outside of CLD’s model, the tradeoff is often lower margins and less independence. We cover this next.

Most dentists who research dental franchise opportunities run into the same three problems: high fees, limited freedom, and little real control. Let’s look at each one. This shift matters because DSO and franchise affiliation have grown quickly — according to the American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute, DSO affiliation among dentists more than doubled between 2015 and 2022, with even higher rates among newer graduates.

High Franchise Fees: Traditional dental franchises often charge an upfront licensing fee. On top of that, they charge ongoing royalties and take a cut for marketing funds. Over time, these costs can eat into your profits, especially compared to independent or CLD-supported ownership.

Restricted Autonomy: Franchise agreements usually dictate which vendors you use, from equipment to dental labs. They also set your pricing, branding, and daily operations. As a result, there’s little room for your own clinical or business judgment.

Limited Ownership Control: Even when a dentist runs the day-to-day work, the franchisor usually keeps final say over the business. Because of this, many franchisees say it feels like managing a location, not owning a business.

When evaluating dental franchise opportunities, dentists are usually weighing the same four variables: fees, autonomy, equity, and support. Here’s how the main models stack up.

CLD takes a different approach. Instead of a traditional franchise or DSO structure, CLD offers business support systems that help dentists succeed as owners without giving up control. In addition, dentists get guidance, mentorship, and efficiency tools while still leading their own clinics day to day.

CEO Dr. David Park founded Clear Lakes Dental to help dentists overcome the common challenges of independent ownership. Of course, results vary by dentist. Here are a few examples:

Read Their Stories:

• Dr. Ang (new graduate) opened his first clinic eight months after graduating.
• Dr. Latus maintains a flexible schedule while leading a successful practice.
• Dr. Alyo, after more than two decades in dentistry, found renewed professional satisfaction through CLD’s support systems.
• Dr. Pham achieved improved work-life balance while continuing to grow her practice.

What is a dental franchise?

A dental franchise is a business model where a dentist operates a clinic under an established brand, using the franchisor’s systems for marketing, staffing, compliance, and operations, usually in exchange for licensing fees and ongoing royalties.

Is Clear Lakes Dental a franchise or a DSO?

Not exactly either one. CLD provides franchise-style support — marketing, recruiting, operations, and technology — without asking dentists to give up ownership or daily control. That tradeoff is exactly what traditional franchise and DSO models require.

Can I keep 100% ownership of my practice with CLD?

Yes. Dentists working with CLD retain full ownership and clinical decision-making authority over their practice while receiving business support services.

Is CLD a good fit for new dental graduates?

It can be — CLD’s model is designed to support dentists at multiple career stages, including recent graduates opening their first practice and established dentists looking to grow or regain work-life balance.

Before you commit to any path, it’s worth understanding all your options. These include traditional franchise, DSO, independent ownership, and CLD’s supported-ownership model. That way, you can choose the dental franchise opportunity that best fits your goals.