Heartland Dental acquires Foundation Dental Partners: what it means

Heartland Dental

acquires

Foundation Dental Partners

Price

Not disclosed

Structure

Closed acquisition

Target size

33 practices

States

GA, TN, SC, KY

Advisors

Truist / Ropes & Gray

Published 22 October 2026 · Deal announced 2026-10-02 13:15 UTC · Acquisitions.com Deal Reports

This report is for a dentist or small operator who wants to buy one practice, or a few, in the Southeast. It covers what Heartland Dental bought, what the company said about why, and what the deal changes for you when you make an offer. Every fact comes from the buyer's own press release.

What was bought

Heartland Dental acquires Foundation Dental Partners, a dental support organization with 33 supported practices. The practices sit in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Kentucky. Foundation describes itself as doctor-focused. Its CEO is Adam Ditto. The release does not say how many doctors work in those practices.

Heartland calls itself the nation's largest DSO. At the time of the release it supported over 3,200 doctors in over 1,960 locations, across 39 states and the District of Columbia. KKR, the private equity firm, is its majority owner.

The release announces a closing, not a signing. The practices are already part of Heartland's supported network.

Price and structure

The price was not disclosed. No earn-out, rollover equity, debt or other terms were disclosed either. We do not estimate prices for deals where the parties did not state one, and you should treat any number you see elsewhere as a guess.

What is on record: Heartland was advised by Ropes & Gray on legal matters. Truist Securities was lead financial advisor to Foundation, and DLA Piper was Foundation's legal counsel. A sell-side bank and a national law firm on a 33-practice deal tells you this was a run process, not a quiet handshake.

Why Heartland did it, in its own words

Pat Bauer, President and CEO of Heartland Dental, said Foundation is "the type of organization we seek to affiliate with". Adam Ditto, CEO of Foundation Dental Partners, said "Heartland Dental shares those same values", pointing to Foundation's focus on supporting doctors and investing in people.

The release puts the deal in a wider pattern. Over the past 13 months Heartland also added Smile Design Dentistry, with 60 supported practices, and Inspire Dental Group, plus nearly two dozen solo practices. Its De Novo program, which opens new offices from scratch, opened 51 offices in 2026 and aims for 68 by year end.

So Heartland is growing three ways at once: buying smaller DSOs, buying single practices, and building new ones. For a buyer in the Southeast, all three matter.

What it means for buyers in dental practices

If you are a dentist buying your first practice, or an operator building a small group, this deal changes your market in four ways.

You now compete with Heartland in more towns. A retiring dentist in Chattanooga or Greenville can call a DSO that already has an office nearby. DSOs can pay with cheap capital and close fast. You win on things they cannot offer: the seller's name stays on the door, the staff keep their boss, and the buyer is a dentist, not a fund.

Sellers expect a DSO-style offer. Owners who have taken a DSO call now ask about rollover equity, earn-outs and management fees. You do not have to match that structure. You do have to explain yours clearly: price, how much is cash at close, how much is a seller note, and when the seller can leave.

Financing is still open to you. A single practice with a few years of tax returns is a normal SBA deal. The SBA's 7(a) loan program allows loans up to $5 million and is the route most first-time practice buyers take, with a seller note on top. Most buyers we see use an SBA loan, a seller note and some of their own cash together. Read our guide on how to buy a business for the nine steps, then see how we help buyers at /buy.

The small-group path is real. Foundation was 33 practices, and it was built from smaller ones. If you want to be the next Foundation, the operating model matters: the DSO supports the business side, dentists own and run the clinical side, and the rules on who may own a practice vary by state. Get a dental-law attorney in your state before you sign anything. Our roll-up funding page explains how operators finance a group.

What to watch

Integration and doctor retention. The release says the practices "join" Heartland's supported network. Watch whether Foundation's doctors stay through the first year. In dental deals the doctors are the asset.

More Southeastern add-ons. Heartland now has a base in four more states. Expect it to look at solo practices near those 33 offices. If you are selling in those markets, you may get a call. If you are buying, move before the owner takes it.

Multiples for single practices. We do not have a price for this deal, so we cannot say what it implies. But when a national DSO enters a market, sellers raise their expectations. Watch asking prices on practice listings in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Kentucky over the next two quarters.

KKR's next move. Heartland is majority owned by KKR. Private equity owners eventually sell or list. Any change there would ripple through every market Heartland is in.

Moran Pober has spent over ten years advising buyers and sellers of small and mid-sized businesses and built and sold Rollups.com. The pattern in this deal, a fund-backed platform buying a regional group that was itself built from single practices, is the same one he has watched in home services and accounting.