Mississippi’s rules come from Miss. Code Ann. Title 73, ch. 9 and Mississippi State Board of Dental Examiners regulations. Check the legislation tracker for pending changes.
1. CPOD status
Tier: Moderate The definition of “dentistry” in Miss. Code Ann. § 73-9-3 is clinical: “the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention and/or treatment… of diseases, disorders and/or conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area.” It contains no office-ownership or dentist-employment language. The structural rules come from two other places:- Miss. Code Ann. § 73-9-39: it is unlawful to practice dentistry under a company, corporate, or trade name, or to “operate, manage or be employed in any room, rooms or office where dental work is done or contracted for” under such a name, in a manner violating § 73-9-61 (grounds for discipline).
- Board Regulation 55 (adopted March 8, 1996; amended December 6, 2002; codified at 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 2301, R. 55): dentist-only PC shareholding and the six-condition corporate-practice framework described in section 6.
2. Other professions
This page covers dentistry only. Medicine, optometry, veterinary practice, and other professions are governed by different statutes and boards, even within the same state. For medical-practice sources, use the MSO-PC Wiki.3. Professional entity forms
Permitted forms: professional corporations under the Mississippi Professional Corporation Act (Miss. Code Ann. § 79-10-1 et seq.). Regulation 55 applies the shareholder rule to dentistry: “Pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 79-10-31, shareholders of a professional corporation which renders dental services shall only be licensed dentists.” Section 79-10-31 was verified only as quoted by the Board, so confirm the current statutory text with counsel. Professional LLCs exist under the Mississippi LLC Act’s professional provisions, but the pinpoint was not verified for this page. Ownership: no hygienist-ownership authorization was found. Also confirm before filing:- Naming rules, designator requirements, and any limits tied to licensed owners’ names; several states regulate dental trade names separately
- Board pre-approval or certificates, whether the dental board must act before (or after) the secretary of state will file
- Officer and director licensure, including states that restrict these roles as well as ownership to licensees
4. Fee structure
Regulation 55 reserves billing and fee decisions to the dentist. Its conditions require “the manner of billing and the amount of fees and expenses charged” to remain solely within the licensed dentist’s discretion, and they bar referral-based compensation. A percentage-of-collections fee that lets the DSO set or influence fees or billing may take the arrangement outside the rule. The MSA and operating policies should leave fee schedules, billing decisions, and refunds with the dentist. Verify the arrangement with Mississippi counsel. For the MSA, test whether a percentage-of-collections fee is permitted under the state’s dental, fee-splitting, referral, tax, and contract rules. Several states expressly restrict revenue-linked dental management fees, and the Aspen Dental settlements imposed related party-specific terms. Flat and cost-plus formulas are not automatic safe harbors; the services, calculation, amount, control rights, and actual payments still matter. See Fee-splitting rules and Set the management fee.5. Noncompetes
No dental-specific noncompete statute was identified in this research; Mississippi noncompetes are governed by general state law. Verify current Mississippi law with counsel before including one. Federal noncompete policy changed substantially in 2025 and 2026. The FTC’s Non-Compete Rule was vacated, the agency dismissed its appeals in September 2025, and the rule was removed from 16 C.F.R. pt. 910 effective February 12, 2026. State law remains central. Dental enforcement resolutions in New York and California have also restricted noncompetes for the settling parties as a corporate-practice remedy. Verify the current rule, worker, agreement type, transaction context, effective date, and remedy in this state. See the legislation tracker.6. DSO-specific law and registration
None by statute; the governing text is regulatory. Regulation 55’s Corporate Practice section states that it is “the policy of this Board not to concern itself with the form or type of business arrangements entered into by a licensee” if six conditions are met. Treatment decisions must remain solely with the licensed dentist, as must billing and the amount of fees and expenses. The rule also bars referral-based compensation, requires dentist approval of advertising, and limits PC shareholding to dentists. It provides a conditional path for DSO arrangements rather than a categorical prohibition. Regulation 55 also imposes trade-name registration: every corporate or trade name must be registered with and pre-approved by the Board by a responsible licensed dentist associated with the facility, and must list the family name(s) of the responsible dentist(s) (Corporate or Trade Names § 2(a)–(b)). Regulations 61 and 62 separately regulate mobile and portable dental facilities.7. Death and transition window
No estate or death-transition provision was found in the dental practice act (§§ 73-9-1 through 73-9-117, surveyed through the Board’s section index). Verify with counsel how the Professional Corporation Act treats a deceased dentist’s PC shares.8. Practical structuring notes
Mississippi is better described as providing regulated permission than imposing a categorical prohibition. The Board states that it will not police business form if the six Regulation 55 conditions are satisfied. Document those conditions with dentist-approved fee schedules, a practice-controlled billing policy, written dentist approval of advertising, and Board registration of each trade name before it appears on signage. Because § 73-9-39 is enforced through the discipline statute, trade-name compliance can affect the dentist’s license.9. Verification checklist
- Confirmed the permitted entity form for dentistry in this state
- Confirmed whether dental board pre-approval or a certificate is required before filing
- Confirmed whether officers and directors must be licensed dentists
- Confirmed the management fee structure is lawful here, including any restriction on revenue-linked fees
- Clinical carve-out drafted against this state’s current statutory language, including any enumerated control prohibitions
- Transfer restriction and succession documents checked against this state’s death-transition window
- Noncompete provisions checked against current state law
- DSO foreign-qualified before it has employees here
- Any DSO registration, licensure, or disclosure obligation identified and calendared
- Trade-name and advertising-disclosure rules for dental practices checked
10. Sources
For the cases and statutes referenced above, see DSO & dental case law and the 51-jurisdiction table. For enacted and pending legislation, see the dental legislation tracker.