Anyone knows anything about the following chains in Texas: Jefferson Dental Clinics, Smiley Dental, and Monarch Dental? I have been contacted by the 3 of them. I know working for a chain is the least desirable on my list and I tend to think of it more of a starting job than a career, but I have to consider all my options. I would appreciate any input.
Chains in Texas
- Thread starter Rzh
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The assistants at Jefferson are very well trained. The compensation at Jefferson for the amount of work you do is very low compared to the other chain practices. The managers have a lot of control at Jefferson, and you may find yourself feeling like you are just a workhorse.
Thank you for the tip!, that helps a lot. How about the other two? Any one have any idea?
Did you use to work at Jefferson? If so, care to elaborate on some of your experiences? We have some in our area and their reputation is not very good.
Smile Brands is basically the same as Monarch, they are affiliated with Bright Now. ETS is just a recruitment company, not a dental service provider.
I have friends working for Jefferson and their production pay for the providers is extremely low at 17%. So even though they do pay a guaranteed minimum every month (I think it's 10k for newbs and 12k for established vets), the earning potential is pretty much capped at the minimum or at least not much over. I hear they work their dentists like dogs. Just was curious if anyone who actually worked there can give us a more detailed description. Based on what I heard, though, I definitely wouldn't work there; in fact quite a few of my patients are from Jefferson and I have had to fix their problems from there.
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I worked at Jefferson. First job out of school, so I wasn't the smartest guy to take that crap ass contract, but once I signed, I did my 15 month stint (the life of the contract at the time) and got out. I have never worked at Smiley or Monarch, but I know some dentists at both.
First off, all associateships come with their own set of flaws and advantages...all of them.
It's been a couple years since I worked at Jefferson, but if you ask me questions about it I'll tell you about my experience.
Pros: Guarantee minimum per month, good assistants, good dental materials used, focus on clinical dentistry (instead of business), large group so other dentists in group can be referred to for complicated cases
Cons: Managers at some offices can be pushy, especially in the beginning you will go to many different offices each week and can be rotated without notice, equipment at some offices is wearing down, no hygienists, multiple patients at a time with a lot of running from chair to chair, some diagnosis and treatment decisions can be mandated by clinical directors (i.e. I don't think this needs a post and core, but director says do the post and core)
First off, all associateships come with their own set of flaws and advantages...all of them.
It's been a couple years since I worked at Jefferson, but if you ask me questions about it I'll tell you about my experience.
Pros: Guarantee minimum per month, good assistants, good dental materials used, focus on clinical dentistry (instead of business), large group so other dentists in group can be referred to for complicated cases
Cons: Managers at some offices can be pushy, especially in the beginning you will go to many different offices each week and can be rotated without notice, equipment at some offices is wearing down, no hygienists, multiple patients at a time with a lot of running from chair to chair, some diagnosis and treatment decisions can be mandated by clinical directors (i.e. I don't think this needs a post and core, but director says do the post and core)
Just curious, were you able to make more than the minimum with the 17% production portion?
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Yes, usually. But I wasn't happy doing it. I only made the minimum twice in the 15 months I worked there. Otherwise, I always made more, but it usually required lots of days of running from room to room doing way more fillings at one time then I was comfortable doing. Don't get me wrong, there are down times too, I read books at work and sometimes even fell asleep, but at times I would have the following on my schedule: 2 patients for exam and cleanings, a patient for a root canal and crown on #3, another patient for 4 class 2 fillings and a crown, and another patient for an extraction all within the same hour and I'd have to figure out how to run around and juggle it so I could get them all done without too much delay. That's the biggest part about Jefferson that was hard to deal with, they let docs focus on clinical dentistry, but they also schedule very heavy and don't tend to turn away anything and just tell patients there will be a wait. It makes for extremely hectic times on some days and a lot of production and stress.
Thanks man nice to hear about this. I am sure this info will be helpful to those out there who are interested in Jefferson.
Just curious, are you in a private associateship now in the DFW area?
Thank you so much! I am beginning to cross them out of the list! Any feedback from your friends who work(ed) at smiley or monarch?
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Don't know too much about Smiley, but a friend who worked with Jefferson switched to Smiley and has been happy since then. No complaints. She says they do more medicaid than Jefferson, but I don't know what it's like now; we haven't talked in a while and Medicaid has changed a lot so some practices are dropping it
Monarch the only thing I've heard is that the docs hate taking DMO plans cause they get paid almost nothing for doing work. Some docs have told me they purposefully will observe more on these patients just so they don't fill their schedules with patients with low fee schedules and the free and near no cost exam offers get annoying for the docs.
I currently work for a semi-private practice. I don't consider it private cause not everything is in-house. The owner dentist has a couple partners who are not dentists. There are only 7 offices total but there is a call center and a "corporate" office that deals with marketing, HR, etc. It's pretty much a private practice in that I'm in charge of all the clinical dentistry, decision about supplies and equipment, and how to handle patients. No mandates on how to treat, etc.
I've worked at private offices, corporate offices, and ones what are a mix. I'm pretty happy with where I'm at. While I've never been an owner or partner, I have had lots of autonomy in my practicing for so long now that I feel pretty happy with my situation.
Monarch the only thing I've heard is that the docs hate taking DMO plans cause they get paid almost nothing for doing work. Some docs have told me they purposefully will observe more on these patients just so they don't fill their schedules with patients with low fee schedules and the free and near no cost exam offers get annoying for the docs.
I currently work for a semi-private practice. I don't consider it private cause not everything is in-house. The owner dentist has a couple partners who are not dentists. There are only 7 offices total but there is a call center and a "corporate" office that deals with marketing, HR, etc. It's pretty much a private practice in that I'm in charge of all the clinical dentistry, decision about supplies and equipment, and how to handle patients. No mandates on how to treat, etc.
I've worked at private offices, corporate offices, and ones what are a mix. I'm pretty happy with where I'm at. While I've never been an owner or partner, I have had lots of autonomy in my practicing for so long now that I feel pretty happy with my situation.
