Applying for Jobs

[DaToothFairy444]

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Hi, Im a D3 on my way to D4 year. I am starting to think about jobs as graduation is about a year away. I am wanting to practice in a state I have zero connections in. When is a good time to start looking for a job, and where do I look? Ideally, would love to work in a private practice, with a dentist that is willing to mentor and later sell practice to me. ANY help appreciated!

 

[2TH MVR]

Hi, Im a D3 on my way to D4 year. I am starting to think about jobs as graduation is about a year away. I am wanting to practice in a state I have zero connections in. When is a good time to start looking for a job, and where do I look? Ideally, would love to work in a private practice, with a dentist that is willing to mentor and later sell practice to me. ANY help appreciated!

Contact the state dental association and see if you can get access to their dentist directory. The directory usually describes type of dentist, year of graduation, GP or specialist, etc. etc. Use the year of graduation to limit your search to the older dentists. Contact these dentists by letter or email to see if they have a similar future plan as yours.

Contact all the dental supply vendors, sales people, for dental supplies, equipment (Schein, Patterson, etc. etc.) and dental contractors and provide them with your contact information. These individuals usually have a good idea of what is going on in the local dental field. You could also check with the major banks. They usually have a health professions lending team. You'll want to develop a relationship with a bank anyway. The bank will also have information about any "bankrupted" practices that maybe for sale.

Contact dental specific brokers on what practices are for sale. But always remember .... these practices are bright and shiny for a reason. You really need an expert to evaluate these practices.

I'm sure there are some good websites (LinkedIn, etc.) that helps with networking

Find out who the dental specific accountants are in that area. They also have a good feeling for who is selling or looking for an associate.

Reality is that you may need to take any job once your are located in that state. 6 months. Once there .... you can get a better idea of which dentists are looking to retire or sell. This is essentially what I did 26 years ago. Took a job and went to lunch with every orthodontist to get their ideas. Met an older ortho. Started to talk. Associated with him for 6 months. Partnership for 18 months. Then I purchased the remaining 50% 18 months later. Of course all of this was IN WRITING to prevent any misunderstandings.

Good luck.

 

[321931]

Hi, Im a D3 on my way to D4 year. I am starting to think about jobs as graduation is about a year away. I am wanting to practice in a state I have zero connections in. When is a good time to start looking for a job, and where do I look? Ideally, would love to work in a private practice, with a dentist that is willing to mentor and later sell practice to me. ANY help appreciated!

I took the opposite route. Worked corporate for about 2 years getting my handskills down before thinking about practice ownership. The biggest hurdle to ownership is confidence in one's ability to perform dentistry. Once you have that out of the way, then ownership comes next.

It usually takes 1-2 years of day in-day out drill and fill dentistry before becoming comfortable. So I recommend FQHC/Corporate jobs where they throw you into the mix and you get your reps in. The reality is that most associateships pay poor, so searching for the holy grail of associateships making big bucks as a new grad is pretty much nonsensical. You are to slow to produce alot, and most associateships just don't offer alot in terms of compensation. So two things going against you. I was mostly looking for EXPERIENCE to be able to work independently and get your dental reps in.

After that, get some business acumen and go the ownership route. You leave way to much money on the table working for someone else. Best of luck.

 

[sb.tnh]

I took the opposite route. Worked corporate for about 2 years getting my handskills down before thinking about practice ownership. The biggest hurdle to ownership is confidence in one's ability to perform dentistry. Once you have that out of the way, then ownership comes next.

It usually takes 1-2 years of day in-day out drill and fill dentistry before becoming comfortable. So I recommend FQHC/Corporate jobs where they throw you into the mix and you get your reps in. The reality is that most associateships pay poor, so searching for the holy grail of associateships making big bucks as a new grad is pretty much nonsensical. You are to slow to produce alot, and most associateships just don't offer alot in terms of compensation. So two things going against you. I was mostly looking for EXPERIENCE to be able to work independently and get your dental reps in.

After that, get some business acumen and go the ownership route. You leave way to much money on the table working for someone else. Best of luck.

@Rainee, would you mind sharing with us how you found the practice to purchase after working corp for 2 years? Thank you!

 

[321931]

@Rainee, would you mind sharing with us how you found the practice to purchase after working corp for 2 years? Thank you!

I really recommend DentalTown for good reading, finding a dental CPA that can explain to you the taxes and benefits of practice ownership, a office manager who can teach you the dental insurance, management etc, and finally find a older dentist who made a practice purchase within 2-3 years. I made friends with my office manager in my associateships and had them teach me insurance, billing, management etc. I also took out my colleague who bought a practice ahead of me and I just asked questions and what not about how to manage a practice etc. Let me give you a hint on how management is like: autopay bills all day. It's not hard.

I did the whole nine yards- made friends with banks, brokers, CPAs, and I even sent out letters to practices in areas I wanted to live seeking to buy a practice. After having enough business acumen to distinguish a good practice versus a bad practice- I found the one and I went for it. Brokers tend to have steps in terms of practice purchase. Letter of intent- then due diligence- and if you like what you see- get qualified for a loan and buy the practice. Start to finish 2-3 months.

My best investment was spending a few hundred bucks, sitting down with a Dental CPA and having them show me the tax, profit, gross, income, distributions, S corp, Cash flow, whatever of ownership. Seriously go spend 200$ for an afternoon with a Dental CPA and ask them to teach you dental practice accounting 101. Best investment I ever made. When you realize how much you are leaving on the table by associating (hint its a ton), and how much less dentistry you could be doing (hint: 4 day work weeks, 3 day weekends for the rest of your life)- it will motivate you to buy a practice.

 

[DaToothFairy444]

Contact the state dental association and see if you can get access to their dentist directory. The directory usually describes type of dentist, year of graduation, GP or specialist, etc. etc. Use the year of graduation to limit your search to the older dentists. Contact these dentists by letter or email to see if they have a similar future plan as yours.

Contact all the dental supply vendors, sales people, for dental supplies, equipment (Schein, Patterson, etc. etc.) and dental contractors and provide them with your contact information. These individuals usually have a good idea of what is going on in the local dental field. You could also check with the major banks. They usually have a health professions lending team. You'll want to develop a relationship with a bank anyway. The bank will also have information about any "bankrupted" practices that maybe for sale.

Contact dental specific brokers on what practices are for sale. But always remember .... these practices are bright and shiny for a reason. You really need an expert to evaluate these practices.

I'm sure there are some good websites (LinkedIn, etc.) that helps with networking

Find out who the dental specific accountants are in that area. They also have a good feeling for who is selling or looking for an associate.

Reality is that you may need to take any job once your are located in that state. 6 months. Once there .... you can get a better idea of which dentists are looking to retire or sell. This is essentially what I did 26 years ago. Took a job and went to lunch with every orthodontist to get their ideas. Met an older ortho. Started to talk. Associated with him for 6 months. Partnership for 18 months. Then I purchased the remaining 50% 18 months later. Of course all of this was IN WRITING to prevent any misunderstandings.

Good luck.

Thank you for your feedback. This is super helpful.