checkamundo said:
I had a few questions about how becoming an associate and a partner in a dental practice works?
[*]What exactly does it mean to become a partner in a dental practice? Does the dentist get a percentage of the profits instead of a salary?
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Partner means you buy a portion of the business and therefore get a part of the profits. In an associateship, different arrangements can occur where you get a salary, a part of the production, a part of collections or even a part of the net profit
checkamundo said:
[*]Does the dentist get a percentage of the business when it's sold? [/list]
As an associate, NO (you are just an employee or indpendant contractor)
As a partner (who has bought in), then yes obviously you get the percent of the sale based on the percent of your ownership.
checkamundo said:
[*]When an associate has an opportunity to get a buy-in or become a partner of the dental practice, do they have to pay a certain percentage to start receiving that percentage - i.e. if an associate pays 40% of the value of the business, he starts receiving 40% of the profits every year? [/list]
Again it depends on the arrangement. Obviously you dont get a part of the business for free. However, often associates who buy-in will get more than their share of the profts because of clauses which reimburse them more for new patients that they have brought in over the course of the associateship.
checkamundo said:
[*]How long do dentists stay as associates before they may have an offer towards partnership, if that option is available? (Like the average number of years they're associates)
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Most associates do not stay more than a few years, at this point they either start their own practice or buy-in. Usually, you would want to discuss a buy-in option when you contract as an associate, because otherwise you might get screwed (say the production of the office doubles but the owner dentist is just vacationing and that doubling is due only to you, well now the business is worth more but YOU made it worht more so you would not want to pay for what you already earned).
Anyway, that's just the little that I know, the best way to find out is ask a real dental consultant or dental CPA, they could give you way more info on the details.
