So update: 8 months in at Aspen and here’s my thoughts—
1. Workload and hours are crazy.
DAs I work with are loyal and want to do a good job, but they get burned out and start looking for something with better hrs and better pay. Five days a week doing full mouth exts, seeing tons of new patients in need of advanced prosthodontic work is exhausting.
2. Pay could be better.
Depending upon how much your office produces in a month, you can see how much opportunity would be in earning a percentage of collections would be. However, Aspen has a large presence, so they’re able to draw in those patients. 600-700 dollars a day for a brand new grad TBH is actually worth it if you’re learning with an MCD who has good intentions for patient care.
3. Daily rate is important for new grads.
Aspen has allowed me to become efficient with time and tx planning. So while learning so, a daily rate has allowed me to not stress out over getting paid while building those skills.
4. Aspen makes money off cheap labor.
There’s no way that I’ll be able to keep up the production they want from their dentists long term. Most Aspen docs realize they could do better elsewhere and end up either leaving for another DSO or open their own offices. Therefore, the model works if only you have a new grad that doesnt see what they’d have to produce to earn a minimum draw of $600-$700 a day.
5. CE is pretty decent.
I’ve taken advantage of implant CE, which has allowed me to better understand treatment planning cases even if I do or don’t decide to place my own at Aspen.
6. To me, Aspen works for 1-2 years. Afterwards, it’s not fun anymore.
Not sure if I’ll be eating my words here in the future, but the model that Bob Fontana has set up is lucrative. But, not sure if it’s beneficial if you’re either an owner or an MCD
