{"status":"match","say":"Aspen Dental - Plano, TX is affiliated with The Aspen Group (TAG), a PE-backed dental group (backed by Leonard Green & Partners; Ares Management; American Securities). In dentistry a PE-backed company usually manages the practice through a management services organization, and a dentist remains the practice's legal owner.","query":{"name":"Aspen Dental","street":null,"city":"Plano","state":"TX","zip":null,"phone":null,"industries":["dental"],"states_searched":["TX"]},"matches":[{"name":"Aspen Dental - Plano, TX","legal_name":null,"address":"901 W 15th Street Ste A, Plano, TX 75075","street":"901 W 15th Street","suite":"Ste A","city":"Plano","state":"TX","zip":"75075","phone":"(972) 403-4001","industry":"dental","label":"pe_backed","label_text":"PE-backed","say":"Aspen Dental - Plano, TX is affiliated with The Aspen Group (TAG), a PE-backed dental group (backed by Leonard Green & Partners; Ares Management; American Securities). In dentistry a PE-backed company usually manages the practice through a management services organization, and a dentist remains the practice's legal owner.","owner_group":{"id":"dental:the-aspen-group","name":"The Aspen Group (TAG)","label":"pe_backed","label_text":"PE-backed","consumer_wording":"PE-backed (Leonard Green & Partners; Ares Management; American Securities)","backers":"Leonard Green & Partners; Ares Management; American Securities","since":"2006","parent":null,"url":"https://peornot.org/groups/dental/the-aspen-group/"},"possible_group":null,"network":null,"deal_depth":{"pe_stake":"majority (multiple sponsors)","pe_stake_text":"PE investors (several firms) hold a majority stake in the group.","practice_model":"de_novo","practice_model_text":"De novo: the group opens new offices itself. What the dentist keeps: owns the practice entity (dentist-owner via Practice Ownership Program) under a services contract with Aspen Dental Management."},"confidence":"medium","confidence_text":"The practice’s NPI record names the group, is signed by the same official as two or more of the group’s confirmed practices, or the group’s own job board names it.","listing":"on the group's own location list","sources":[{"url":"https://www.aspendental.com/dentist/tx/plano/901-w-15th-street-ste-a/","headline":"Plano, TX Dentist Near Me | Aspen Dental","site":"aspendental.com","date":"2026-10-31","evidence":"Listed in the location data on the group’s website"},{"url":"https://www.american-securities.com/news/press-release/ares-management-leonard-green-increase-ownership-in-aspen-dental-management-inc/","headline":"","site":"american-securities.com","date":"2017-06-13","evidence":"Who owns or backs The Aspen Group (TAG)"},{"url":"https://careers.aspendental.com/us/en/dental-practice-ownership","headline":"Dental Practice Ownership | Aspen Dental","site":"Aspen Dental","date":"","evidence":"Who owns or backs The Aspen Group (TAG)"}],"notes":[],"page_url":"https://peornot.org/p/aspen-dental-plano-tx/","correction_url":"https://peornot.org/corrections/?practice=aspen-dental-plano-tx","match":{"how":"brand_and_city","certainty":"medium"}}],"coverage":{"industry":"dental","industry_name":"dental","state":"TX","zip":"75075","level":"deep_metro","metro":"Dallas-Fort Worth","note":"Dallas-Fort Worth: every dental practice checked office by office, plus Texas franchise-tax and NPI-signer research. Our deepest coverage. Every US dental practice in the federal NPI registry, checked against the 185 dental groups we track (their location lists, NPI names and signers). Groups that keep each practice's local name can be missed, so \"no known PE ties\" means none found, not none exist.","groups_tracked":185,"data_as_of":"2026-10-31"},"wording_rules":["Say \"PE-backed\" or \"affiliated with a PE-backed group\" and name the firm. Never say a dental or eye care practice is \"owned by\" a PE firm: the PE-backed company usually manages it, and a dentist or doctor remains the legal owner.","Say \"no known PE ties\", never \"independent\": only practices that certify their ownership (Verified Not PE) are confirmed independent. It means we found no ties, not that none exist.","State ownership as facts with sources: cite the source headline and link, and the data date.","Never say or imply a practice is worse (care, prices, honesty) because of who owns or backs it.","label \"unconfirmed\" means a thin or old record: say \"Not confirmed\" and give the source; don't name the group as the owner.","Vision Source members and Pearle Vision franchise stores are independently owned: never label them by the network.","Use the \"say\" text as written or stay close to it. If the user says it's wrong, give the correction link."],"data_as_of":"2026-10-31","attribution":"PE or Not? (peornot.org), data as of 2026-10-31. Cite the sources listed.","links":{"methodology":"https://peornot.org/labels/","corrections":"https://peornot.org/corrections/","corrections_email":"corrections@peornot.org","developers":"https://peornot.org/developers/"}}