Full Steam Ahead: From Family Practice to Full-Support DSO

When Dental Depot turned 40 in 2018, we celebrated four decades of care, community, and connection. At the time, we were a team of around 530—still scrappy, still personal, and still rooted in the same mission that Dr. Glenn Ashmore built on a corner in Oklahoma City.

Seven years later, that number has nearly doubled.

Today, we’re proud to stand more than 1,000 strong. And while the number may have grown, the heart behind it hasn’t changed.

We’ve entered a new era that reflects not only our size but also our structure. In recent years, Dental Depot officially became a Dental Support Organization (DSO). While that term might sound more clinical than cultural, for us, it represents something deeper: growth from within.

So what does that really mean?

It means that as we’ve expanded, we’ve stayed true to the values that defined our very first operatory—accessibility, empathy, and service. At the same time, we’ve built an infrastructure that allows our providers to focus fully on patient care, while our support teams handle everything else. From marketing to HR, compliance to communications, we now manage all non-clinical operations in-house. This makes sure every doctor, hygienist, and team member has what they need to thrive.

We’ve grown in size and capability, but we’ve stayed grounded in the mission that started it all. Becoming a DSO allowed us to expand our non-clinical support from the inside out, ...but the heart of our work—personalized, patient-centered care—has never changed.

What makes this chapter especially meaningful is that our transformation into a DSO wasn’t the result of a buyout or outside influence—it was a natural evolution. We built our support structure in tandem with our growth, shaped by the needs of our teams and the people we serve. That’s something we’re proud of: we didn’t outgrow our mission. We grew because of it.

That’s what makes Dental Depot unique in this space. We’ve scaled up and built full in-house support, and managed to do it without losing the sense of trust and connection that defined us all those years ago.

We’ve expanded with purpose, grown with intention, and doubled our team while holding onto the trust, imagination, and authenticity that built this brand from the beginning.

This dual timeline—47 years of clinical excellence and 5 years operating as a DSO—is something we’re deeply proud of. Because it tells a story not only of longevity, but of thoughtful evolution.

And this year, we added two new chapters to that story.

Lee’s Summit, Missouri marked another step in our regional growth, bringing the Dental Depot experience to more families across the Midwest, our third location in the Kansas City Metro.

Moore Orthodontics brought together services to better serve our South OKC and Moore communities, offering more cohesive care across every stage of the smile journey in one central location.

These openings aren’t just new clinics. They’re a representation of how far we’ve come, and why we keep going.

Dental Depot has always moved full steam ahead—not just in ambition, but in service. At every stage of our growth, our commitment has stayed the same: people first. Patients first. Always.

So as we look forward, our 50th anniversary just on the horizon, we’re not just reflecting—we’re building.

With gratitude for where we’ve been. With pride in where we are. And with excitement for everything that’s next.