Zentist, a provider of AI-enabled revenue cycle management (RCM) solutions for US dental groups and DSOs, has released its inaugural 2026 Dental RCM Trends & Insights Report. The report examines the operational and financial pressures shaping the dental revenue cycle and outlines how organisations can prepare for sustained performance in 2026.
Drawing on insights from more than 160 dental revenue cycle and insurance billing professionals, alongside expert commentary from industry leaders, the report highlights several key findings:
• Strong collections, unsustainable effort: Although 63% of practices report net collection rates of 90% or higher, this performance is increasingly maintained through intensive manual labour rather than operational efficiency
• Eligibility remains the top operational burden: 71% of respondents identified real-time insurance verification as their primary daily challenge, with reliance on batch processing and manual portal checks contributing to avoidable denials and front-office friction
• Rising patient financial responsibility: 31% cited increasing patient out-of-pocket costs as the trend most likely to affect business performance in 2026
• Growing denials and payer scrutiny: 78% reported an increase in claim denials or payer scrutiny over the past year, largely linked to evolving policy interpretations around medical necessity and frequency limits
• Accelerating automation adoption: 58% of practices have adopted or plan to adopt AI and automation tools in 2026, focusing on high-volume workflows such as eligibility verification and payment posting
• Different strategies by size: Solo practices prioritise patient payment technologies to secure immediate cash flow, while DSOs invest in broader automation ecosystems to improve multi-site efficiency
Commenting on the findings, Ato Kasymov, chief executive officer and co-founder of Zentist, said: “Dental organisations are under increasing pressure. Patients are paying more out of pocket, payer requirements are tightening, and administrative complexity continues to grow. Practices are maintaining strong collection rates, but at rising operational cost — an ‘efficiency paradox’ driven by unsustainable manual effort.”
“The solution is targeted automation,” he added. “Organisations that want to remain resilient in 2026 must move from manual dependency to scalable systems.”
