For years, Paul Helpard was content to run the clinic on Vancouver Island where he practised orthodontics, a specialty of dentistry that focuses on diagnosing and treating the misalignment of teeth.
Owner-operators like him were the way dentists had traditionally worked. But that was beginning to change. Large companies backed by private equity were starting to buy up dental practices across the country, including in Dr. Helpard’s town of Courtenay, B.C.