How does the dental chain model put pricing pressure on independent practices in shared markets? By establishing publicly visible price points that potential patients use to anchor their expectations for what dental work should cost. Once a chain like Heartland or its competitors operates at scale in a market, its advertised prices become the reference point against which every other practice in the area gets evaluated, fairly or unfairly. Patients calling around for an exam expect prices in the chain's range. Patients shopping a crown compare against the chain quote. Independent practices that have not differentiated themselves get pulled toward chain-comparable [...]