Dentistry is practiced almost entirely in small businesses that are simultaneously clinical settings, retail operations, radiology suites, surgical facilities, and billing enterprises — each with its own regulator. This article explains what a dental board actually does and why its scope-of-practice decisions have drawn antitrust scrutiny. It explains the corporate practice doctrine and the dental service organization structures built around it, and where those structures fail. It covers the informed consent conversation that decides most malpractice cases, the records that decide the rest, and the specific clinical areas — third molar extraction, implants, endodontics, anesthesia in children — that generate disproportionate claims. It covers billing exposure, including the upcoding patterns that generate criminal referrals, and the Medicaid pediatric programs that have produced the largest enforcement actions in the field. It covers prescribing, infection control, radiographs, and accessibility. It closes with what a well-run practice documents and what a patient should ask.