After Dr. Bob Margeas turned down multiple offers from dental service organizations, he built a five-practice holding company that pays him full value for Iowa Dental Group without forcing him to keep working to earn it.

Dr. Margeas has run Iowa Dental Group in Des Moines for nearly four decades, and he’s spent the last several years handing it off — first by cutting back his own days, then by selling a piece of the practice to the two associates he trained from their first year out of dental school.

He walks through the structure: a holding company called Videnta that buys pieces of practices from dentists who don’t want a straight DSO buyout, services the debt out of practice profit, and is contractually obligated to buy back whatever’s left when the owner is ready to fully step away.

He shares the back-of-envelope math he uses to value a practice: pay everyone in the office 35% of collections, see what profit is left over to service debt, and that’s what the practice is worth.

He credits the mentor who sold him his own practice for less than it appraised for, built him a custom office with an elevator he wouldn’t need for 20 years, and kept a cancer diagnosis quiet rather than ruin a course he’d promised to teach.

Plus: getting fired from his first two associate jobs, a Sony Trinitron television that outlasted a decade of retirement contributions, and why he still believes it’s time in the market, not timing it, that builds real wealth.

Guest
Dr. Bob Margeas has run a private restorative and implant practice in Des Moines, Iowa, since earning his DDS from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry in 1986. He is Editor in Chief of Inside Dentistry, serves on the Editorial Board of Compendium, and is an adjunct professor in the Department of Operative Dentistry at his alma mater.

He holds board certification from the American Board of Operative Dentistry and diplomate status with the American Board of Aesthetic Dentistry, and Incisal Edge Magazine named him one of the “32 Most Influential People in Dentistry” in 2024.

In recent years he restructured his ownership of Iowa Dental Group, merging it with several other Iowa practices under a shared holding company while bringing two associates he mentored from dental school into ownership.

Learn more about Dr. Margeas and Iowa Dental Group: iowadentalgroup.com.

Connect with Bob on LinkedIn.

Questions answered by this episode:

1. How do I value my dental practice before selling it?
2. What is a holding company alternative to a straight DSO sale?
3. How do I transition my dental practice to an associate without selling to a DSO?
4. When should I start planning my dental practice exit?
5. Should I take a DSO offer or sell part of my practice to an associate?
6. What does it mean to “make yourself irrelevant” in your own practice?
7. How do I choose the right associate to buy into my practice?
8. Should I set up a cash balance plan as a dentist?
9. How do I find a mentor in dentistry?
10. What’s the difference between timing the market and time in the market for retirement savings?

The Special Lists, presented by Referral Lab, is the podcast for dentists and dental specialists. Running a dental practice isn’t easy, and if you’re in private practice, it can sometimes feel like you’re on an island. That’s why finding your people—those who’ve been in your shoes and can share real, lived experience—changes the game.

Referral Lab was built specifically for dental specialists, helping you track, manage, and convert every referral. It’s about improving case acceptance, boosting team performance, and strengthening relationships with referring providers so your whole practice runs smarter.

This spirit of connection fuels The Special Lists podcast. Hosted by the team behind Referral Lab, we bring you wisdom from practice owners and dental professionals, sharing the wins, mistakes, and lessons that shape how they run their businesses today.

Got a question for us? Send us a message at speciallists.com (with two L’s)

Transform your referral workflow with Referral Lab, the purpose-built platform for dental specialists to track, manage and convert every referral. Request a demo at referrallab.io

Hosts
Cameron Full — Co-Founder of Referral LabCameron Full, co-founder of Referral Lab, is a strategic problem-solver with expertise in business management and digital solutions. He combines leadership, creativity, and technology to drive success across various industries. 
Connect with Cameron on LinkedIn.

Jason Souyias, DDS — Periodontist and Co-Founder of Referral LabDr. Jason Souyias is a periodontist, educator, and co-founder of Referral Lab software. He teaches dentists and hygienists, including as a Pikos Institute faculty member. In his Port Huron private practice, he’s known for excellent patient communication and experience. He’s passionate about his work and dedicated to helping other dentists.
More about Port Huron, Michigan periodontist Dr. Jason Souyias.

Michael Seda, DMD, MS — Periodontist and Co-Developer of Referral LabA clinician and entrepreneur, Dr. Seda brings 19 years of private practice experience to his periodontal and implant surgery practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. Dr. Seda’s education spans several disciplines, including a degree in Psychobiology from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Doctorate degree from Harvard University (DMD), and a Master’s degree in Periodontics and Oral Medicine from Columbia University.
More about Bay Area periodontist Dr. Michael Seda.
Follow Dr. Seda on Instagram @sedaperio.

Co-hosts: Cameron Full, Jason Souyias, DDS & Michael Seda, DDS
Producer: Eva Sheie @ The Axis
Assistant Producer: Mary Ellen Clarkson
Engineering: Chris Mann
Theme music: Papa Funk, spring gang
Cover Art: Dan Childs

The Special Lists is a production of The Axis.