FINDING A PRIVATE PRACTICE OR CORPORATE DENTAL OFFICE

The first step you should take in your 4th year of dental school is to look for dental jobs. There are so many different ways to find dental job listings. I have listed a few of these ways below: 

• Craigslist / Indeed 
• Dental Societies 

Craigslist / Indeed 

The easiest way to find a dental job listing is through like Craigslist or Indeed. Dental offices pay these companies to advertise their job listings in order to attract talented dentists to their offices. I have attached two examples of job listing below:  

Simply input the location of where you want to work & the sites will give you a list of opportunities available within a certain geographical radius. 

You can then scroll through each job listing to see if it's the right fit for you. Each listing will give you an idea of what their "ideal" candidate looks like. Use this as a guide when sending out application but don't be discouraged if you do not meet all the criteria.

I definitely encourage you to send as many applications as possible until you receive some working interviews. 

Dental Societies 

Many dental societies also share job listings within their newsletter, email blasts or facebook groups.

In California, most counties have their own dental society. The listings can be found at the very back of the newsletters.

Personally, I did not use this method when searching for a job because it's a bit too outdated for me. The online job listings are much more convenient & accessible. 

Word of Mouth 

Being part of these dental societies & networking does have its advantages. . .

There are plenty of dental practice owners out there who are seeking for dental associates to work in their practice. Dentists talk to one another and know when owner doctors are looking for associates. 

If you are able to network with this community of people, you have a better chance at receiving a job through word of mouth.

I know it's hard to put yourself out there & be social but suck it up & do it. 

My Advice

So now that you know how to find a job listing, I want you to seriously consider these three things: 

• 5+ Applications in 1 day - Do not be too picky when sending out your applications. Some of these job listings are up but they are not active. So, I want you to send >5 applications in one day. 

• Working Dental Interview is the Goal - The working interview is the goal and will give you the most information regarding whether the job is the right fit for you. Send those applications until you receive multiple (>2) working interviews 

• Choose a Location Close To Home - For some this isn't a big deal but it was to me. I tried a working interview at a job 45 minutes away & it just adds a lot of unnecessary stress to your life. Find practices close to your home but make sure the contract does not have a non-compete clause in it. 

CHOOSING YOUR DENTAL PRACTICE ASSOCIATESHIP

There are hundreds of things to consider when choosing your dental practice associateship. Will you be able to buy into the dental practice in the future? What technology is being used at the practice?

However, I believe the three main criteria you need to consider are the following: 

• Salary 
• Environment 
• Contracts 

Dentist Salary 

" How much will I make as an associate dentist?"

This is one of the most common questions that new dentists have upon exiting dental school. It is incredibly important to be compensated well because of the crushing loans gifted to us after graduating. 

Some schools have tuitions upwards of $500,000 which is RIDICULOUS. Accordingly, we have to consider salary when choosing a job. 

There are typically three salary models that dental offices abide by:

1. % Production
2. Per Diem 
3. Combination

With % production, you will get paid a percentage of how much you produce. The typical rate hovers around 25 - 33%. . .  So if you prep a $1000 crown, then you should expect to make  between $250 to $330.

An alternative option will be getting paid per diem. Out of school, you can expect to make  anywhere between $500 - $700 per day. 

This number varies depending on each individual practice & how much production you bring to the office every single day. 

I have seen the per diem model in many private practices. Although the income is capped, it is nice to know that you will be getting paid regardless if your patients show up that day or not. 

The last option is going to be a combination of base pay and production. The office will give you a minimum base pay or percentage of production if it exceeds the minimum. 

While those are the most common salary structures, some offices do get creative with other options where they include a percentage of the laboratory bill in their salary algorithm. This allows you to understand expenses in a dental practice and grow as a business owner.

Dental Office Environment 

The second largest factor involves the office environment. I have listed 4 main office environment criteria to consider before choosing a job. You want to have an understanding of how these factors play out in each office before signing the contract: 

1. Types of Procedures 
2. Patient Population 
3. Office Managers 
4. Dental Assistants 

Types of Procedures 

Before choosing your office, you need to think about the types of procedures you want to perform. 

Do you want to do surgical extractions? Do you want to do molar root canals? Are you looking for implant experience? Do you want more removable prosthodontics experience? These are questions you need nailed down before committing to an office because each office can be incredibly different from one another. 

Some dental practices will only allow you to do bread & butter dentistry including fillings and crowns.

Some offices expect you to take wisdom teeth out and perform 2nd molar maxillary root canals. 

You will be frustrated if you are not prepared to do things that they expect of you. Make sure you understand what you want to accomplish before jumping in. 

Patient Population 

Dentistry is a service based industry & we are working with people every single day. You have to ask yourself what pool of patients you feel comfortable working on.

Some dental patients are accustomed to seeing the same doctor for the past 27 years of their life. You may be the "new doctor" that provides their treatment plan for the very first time. Are you ok with the uncomfortable interactions you may have with these "lifelong" patients. 

Some offices have patients that only speak a particular language. You may not know that language & have to communicate through translation with the assistants.

Are you ok having your treatment plan dictated by another assistant or treating patients that don't speak the same language as you? 

Finally, some offices are located in affluent communities where customer service standards may be higher than in a less affluent community. Are you willing to treat a more demanding population of patients? 

I know this sounds really trivial but it can have a huge impact on your psyche throughout the course of your dental associateship. Some patients can be draining while other can be incredibly fun.

Office Managers  

Office managers have a responsibility to make sure the practice runs smoothly and productively. An office manager can make your life miserable or wonderful depending on where they are trying to accomplish. 

I've experienced office managers that overstep boundaries & start to dictate treatment. You may come across an OM that will ask you why you didn't treatment plan a crown for a two surface cavity or why you aren't upsetting more cases. 

This was a BIG PROBLEM for me. 

You have to ask yourself whether you are ok having an office manager who tries to dictate treatment to you.

Remember that you alone are the doctor and try not to let someone else persuade you away from your treatment plan. 

Dental Assistants 

A rockstar dental assistant can make all the difference in the world. Some offices insist you work with assistants that may not be experienced enough to assist you on challenging cases. This is because the owner doctor rightfully prefers to have the lead assistants by his/her side throughout the day. 

I'm sure you all know that having a talented dental assistant will help cut your time in half for difficult procedures. They can also talk to patients to get them in a comfortable mood prior to starting large cases. Thus, it's important to have someone you can rely on. 

Many corporate offices switch assistants constantly instead of giving you a consistent person to work with. This can be incredibly frustrating & make dentistry even harder than it already is. . . 

Dentist Contract 

Please be careful to read out a dental contract carefully before signing. 

Some private practice offices operate without a contract. They rely on trust & communication with the younger doctors which leads to a more amicable relationship.

However, large corporate offices or DSOs will definitely give you a contract to sign. Some of these contracts may have a non - compete clause in there which tries to prevent you from working within a certain radius of their office when you eventually leave.

They might have stipulations that say they require a 4 month notice prior to leaving the practice or they might have statements that say you cannot solicit patient from the practice.

Some of these stipulations are fair but some are not so please be careful to hire a contract lawyer to review the contract before signing.

In one of my earlier contracts, the office stated that we were not allowed to start building a new practice while working at their office.

They also stated that they would charge us a fee we saw any of their patients after leaving their office even if they found us by their own accord. Please make sure to read the contracts carefully. 

More to Come . . . 

I will be updating this post w/ how to handle debt & brand development by mid September. . .  Stay tuned. 

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