AAO 2027: June 4-6, Vancouver
The AAO Annual Session runs June 4-6, 2027 in Vancouver, BC. The AAO has not yet published the venue. Orthodontics faces unique financial dynamics: long treatment cycles, insurance limitations, and DTC competition. Prepare your numbers before you travel. Sorso is not an exhibitor, sponsor, or speaker at this event, and this is an independent prep guide for orthodontic practice owners.
The CFO read
Orthodontics is a unique financial model in healthcare: high case values, long treatment cycles, and heavy competition from DTC brands. The practices that hold their margin are the ones that have shifted from volume-based thinking to per-case profitability thinking. If you do not know your true cost per case including chair time, materials, and overhead allocation, that is the first number to calculate before AAO.
— Stanislav Sukhinin, CFA · Founder, Sorso
Why this matters for your bottom line
Direct-to-consumer clear aligner companies have compressed fees on straightforward cases. Practices need to understand their per-case profitability to determine which cases are still financially viable at current fees.
Orthodontic treatment spans many months per case, creating unique cash flow dynamics. Practices with poor payment plan structures often have strong production but weak collections.
Insurance limitations in orthodontics mean most practices need a strong cash-pay and financing strategy. Practices with well-designed payment options tend to convert more consults into started cases.
Digital orthodontics technology investments (scanners, 3D printers, in-office aligners) require clear ROI analysis. The cost savings only materialize at specific volume thresholds.
What to look for
Per-case profitability analysis frameworks for different treatment types
Patient financing and payment plan structures that maximize case acceptance
Digital workflow ROI: scanner, printer, and in-house aligner cost-benefit analysis
Marketing strategies for competing with DTC aligner brands on value, not price
Multi-location orthodontic practice financial management and resource sharing models
Financial prep checklist
Review these before you go.
Run average revenue per case and cost per case by treatment type, not blended
Walk through your case acceptance rate and the primary reasons patients decline treatment
Audit AR aging: how much sits in active payment plans versus how much is overdue
Sketch patient acquisition cost and which marketing channels produce the best cases
Revisit your fee schedule and note the last time you adjusted fees
Compare starts per month against AAO practice data for your market size
Before AAO Annual Session 2027, get your own numbers straight
Walk in able to check every benchmark on the slides against your own numbers. Three ways owners start with us:
Dental Practice Accounting & CFO
Built for dental & DSO economics
PPO write-offs, provider production, multi-location P&L, and exit prep — done by people who know dental. Accounting from $2,000/mo.
Explore your specialty →Accounting
Healthcare-specialist accounting
Books done right by people who understand clinic finance. Starts at $2,000/mo.
Explore Accounting →Free Assessment
A financial checkup before you go
Four minutes. See where your practice stands so every session is measured against your own numbers.
Take the assessment →Going to AAO Annual Session 2027?
Tell us, and we will look at coming to meet you.
Stan does not have a ticket booked for this one yet. If enough clinic owners want to sit down there, that is what decides it. Register interest and we will confirm either way well before the dates — no obligation, and we will not add you to a mailing list.
Register interest in meeting →
Founder of Sorso and a CFA charterholder. Before Sorso, Stan spent 19 years in corporate finance at institutions including UniCredit and Société Générale — managing a $450M loan portfolio and making senior partner at a major mezzanine lender by 29 — then built a fractional CFO firm exclusively for outpatient healthcare clinics.