Texas-based DSO, Pearl Street Dental Partners, has built one of the most distinctive dental organizations in the country by making one radical bet: that profit follows people. In this episode of The Dental Economist Show, host Mike Huffaker sits down with co-founder and CEO, David Meece, for an unfiltered look at how a recovering attorney built a people-first DSO that has made the Inc. 5,000 list every year since it was first eligible and grown to 50+ partner practices across Texas and Oklahoma. Tune in to explore how David's conviction that profitability is an outcome rather than a pursuit has shaped every partnership decision, why their invisible DSO model lets every practice keep its own name and culture, and how elective adoption not mandates drives near-universal buy-in across the entire organization. Most of all, this conversation is a masterclass in what it truly means to build a business around relationships first.
#dentaleconomist #dsoleadership #peoplefirstDSO
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, like, and comment📱
Texas-based DSO, Pearl Street Dental Partners, has built one of the most distinctive dental organizations in the country by making one radical bet: that profit follows people. In this episode of The Dental Economist Show, host Mike Huffaker sits down with co-founder and CEO, David Meece, for an unfiltered look at how a recovering attorney built a people-first DSO that has made the Inc. 5,000 list every year since it was first eligible and grown to 50+ partner practices across Texas and Oklahoma. Tune in to explore how David's conviction that profitability is an outcome rather than a pursuit has shaped every partnership decision, why their invisible DSO model lets every practice keep its own name and culture, and how elective adoption not mandates drives near-universal buy-in across the entire organization. Most of all, this conversation is a masterclass in what it truly means to build a business around relationships first.
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, like, and comment📱
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction & Meeting David Meece
01:36 From Attorney to DSO Founder: David's Origin Story
05:00 How the Pearl Street Model Was Born
08:05 Partnering with Private Equity Without Losing Your Soul
14:15 How to Define and Measure Culture in a DSO
20:05 Nothing's Gonna Change and Why That's the Wrong Promise
25:00 Centralized vs. Elective Services: How Pearl Street Structures Support
30:23 When Culture Erodes: Lessons from the Hard Moments
37:03 Organic Growth from Within: What Drives It
43:03 Why David Is Still Bullish on Dentistry's Future
Connect with the team:
You can also listen to our podcast here:
Want to be a guest on The Dental Economist Show?
If you're a growth-focused leader in the dental business world or someone shaping its future through technology, consulting, or innovation we want to hear from you.
Whether you're leading a DSO, building the next big dental SaaS tool, or redefining patient experience, this show is where the smartest minds in dental business come to talk strategy!