Our badges, and exactly what they mean

Independently Owned

Means: Privately owned: the dentist owns the practice, or practices individually at an office owned by practicing dentist(s). Not owned, managed, or financially controlled by a DSO, private-equity group, insurer, or corporate chain.

How we verify it:

• The dentist signs an ownership statement confirming this, renewed every 12 months. The badge only shows while the statement is current.
• The dentist commits to telling us within 30 days if ownership changes; reporting a change removes the badge immediately.
• Our team checks the statement against public information (for example state business filings and the practice’s own website) and may ask for documents.

Verified Private Practice

Means: everything in Independently Owned, plus: A truly private setting: a small, quiet reception area with few patients waiting; unhurried appointments and personal attention; not a high-volume office built for patient traffic. Such practices usually accept few insurance plans, or none (fee-for-service), to protect that level of attention.

How we verify it:

• Everything above, plus confirmation of an active dental license and no disciplinary actions of concern with the state dental board.
• Research into the practice setting: practice size, appointment length, insurance approach and what patients say about waits and attention.
• Ratings from dentists who already hold the badge and practice nearby or in the same specialty, a conversation with the dentist, and a review panel vote.
• Renewed every year through the same review.

Ownership information on profiles

Patients deserve to know who owns the practice they choose. Profiles can show a short, neutral ownership line, with its source and date: Independently owned, Group practice (6 or more offices under common ownership), or DSO / private-equity affiliated.

This is a factual disclosure, not a badge or a judgment about care. Before a line is shown, the practice is notified and has 14 days to correct it; a correction holds it back until we’ve reviewed it. Anyone can report an error from the practice’s page.

Fairness and independence

• The criteria are the same for everyone and published here. Any dentist who meets them can earn a badge.
• Panel reviewers who practice within 15 miles of a candidate (potential competitors), or have another conflict, are recused and their vote doesn’t count.
• A badge requires approval from a majority of the reviewers who aren’t recused.
• Every decision is recorded with its reasons. Dentists can appeal a decision from their dentist page.
• Paid placements are always labeled “Sponsored” and never affect badges or ranking.

See something wrong?

Every dentist’s page has a “Report an error” link at the bottom. If a practice no longer qualifies, for example because it was sold, tell us and we’ll review it promptly and remove the badge if we can’t confirm it.