As dental groups and DSOs expand, payer management becomes exponentially more complex. Multiple tax IDs, varying fee schedules, and inconsistent participation across locations can create inefficiencies that erode revenue and frustrate providers.
At Five Lakes Dental Practice Solutions, our Solutions for Groups & DSOs are built for scalability. We help you integrate new practices, align payer participation, and use market data to make smarter network and contracting decisions. Whether you’re managing five locations or fifty, we bring structure, insight, and strategy to every stage of your growth.
Five Lakes Dental Practice Solutions makes it easier for Dental Service Organizations (DSOs) to:
- Choose the right practices to buy
- Get new practices running smoothly
- Make sure practices get paid properly for their work
With the proper support, DSOs can focus on what matters most – helping dental practices provide excellent care to their patients while running successful dental practices.
Whether a DSO is just starting or has been around for years, getting help with practice analysis, credentialing, and revenue cycle management is a smart investment that pays off in the long run.
Five Lakes can help your DSO save money by putting the right strategies in place and supporting the development of healthy revenue cycle management processes.
The Challenge: Buying and Running Dental Practices
A successful practice acquisition means asking the essential questions:
Is this practice making enough money?
Are the staff doing their jobs well?
Will patients continue to come after we purchase it?
What problems might we find later?
After buying a practice, DSOs face new challenges:
Getting doctors and staff approved to work with insurance companies
Making sure the practice gets paid for its work
Keeping track of all the money coming in and going out
Following all the rules and laws
This is where expert help from the team
at Five Lakes becomes very important.
What is the Value of Practice Analysis?
Before buying a dental practice, smart DSOs do something called “practice analysis.” This means they carefully look at everything about the practice to see if it’s worth buying.
A good practice analysis checks:
- How much money does the practice make each month?
- What kind of patients come to the practice?
- Is the equipment in good shape?
- Is the staff well-trained?
It’s like inspecting a used car before you buy it. You want to know about any existing or potential problems before you invest in the practice. Five Lakes Dental Practice Solutions specializes in helping DSOs with all of these challenges.
Practice Analysis Services
When a DSO is thinking about buying a practice, Five Lakes provides thorough analysis services that examine every important aspect of the business. Our team will carefully look at the practice’s financial records to determine if it’s actually making money and will continue to be profitable after the purchase. The team also checks whether the practice follows proper procedures for patient care, billing, and record keeping.
Beyond just looking at current performance, Five Lakes works to identify potential problems that could cost the DSO money down the road. We can provide a complete and honest picture of what they’re buying, including both the good aspects and any concerns.
This detailed analysis supports informed decisions and helps avoid purchasing practices that may result in financial losses or require costly repairs later.
Credentialing Support
Five Lakes makes the credentialing process easier. We can handle all the paperwork and talk to insurance companies for you. Our skilled team knows how to fill out all the insurance forms correctly. This is important because even small mistakes can cause big delays.
We keep careful track of all the important deadlines and renewal dates so nothing gets forgotten or missed.When insurance companies are slow to respond or approvals get delayed, Five Lakes actively follows up to keep things moving forward. We make sure nothing falls through the cracks during this complex process.
This expert support means that new dentists can start seeing patients and getting paid by insurance companies much faster.
Revenue Cycle Management
For practices that struggle with getting paid properly for their work, Five Lakes offers complete revenue cycle management services that cover every step of the payment process.
Before each patient appointment, we verify insurance coverage to make sure the practice knows what treatments will be covered and what the patient will need to pay. This prevents surprises and billing problems later.
After treatments are completed, Five Lakes handles all the proper billing and coding for insurance companies, making sure every procedure is documented correctly to get the maximum payment allowed.
When insurance claims don’t get paid on time, their team follows up persistently to collect the money the practice has earned. Five Lakes also gives clear reports that show how well the practice is doing financially. This helps DSOs make better business choices.