new grad dentist $450k/yr living in Miami - AMA

[kashyranz]

hey everyone! it's been a while since i posted, but i had some free time and wanted to give back to the community that helped me through some really tough times.

a little back story..i had a hard time getting into dental school with a low gpa (2.9) and an average dat (20 aa, 21 ts). i got rejected from 35 schools in my first cycle, which was really disheartening. but i didn’t give up—i did a master’s program, reapplied, and eventually got into nyu dental. now, two years out of school, i've learned so much about being a dentist on my own. after graduating, i moved to a rural area to start paying down my loans and earn a higher salary. eventually, i made my way to miami, where i'm now working as a private practice associate and doing pretty well for myself. as decision day gets closer, i just want to offer my help to anyone who has questions or is feeling anxious about the journey ahead. dentistry is such an amazing career, and all the sacrifices along the way are 100% worth it. good luck to everyone—keep pushing forward!

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[Ryxndek]

Do you do mostly bread and butter dentistry(?) or what does your practice mainly focus on that is allowing you to pull such a high salary 2 years out of school

 

[kashyranz]

so I do 12 hour work days, at times Im working 6 days a week. we do pretty much everything. quite a lot of implant cases each week. its a low cost clinic so theres a lot of volume. definitely working for it here haha

 

[Ryxndek]

so I do 12 hour work days, at times Im working 6 days a week. we do pretty much everything. quite a lot of implant cases each week. its a low cost clinic so theres a lot of volume. definitely working for it here haha

That makes sense lol. Love the hustle!

 

[heartdental]

Congrats!! Do you have any tips or things you wish you knew in dental school/being a fresh grad? Also when looking for a practice to work at what are some important things to consider?

 

[Le-Predental]

On average, how many hours a week would you say you work? What is the difference between rural and Miami compensation?

 

[mjzccle19701]

Do you anticipate working that many hours long term?

 

[aspiringtobeone]

Did you do research ?

 

[askadds]

As a dentist I am confused if this should be inspirational for predents or a warning. 6 days a week at 12 hour days??? Jeez, what are you making per hour? How many weeks are you working per year. Just saying. The idea is to work the minimum amount for the max amount of money.

 

[allantois]

Bill drill and fill baby

 

[2TH MVR]

Impressive. Gotta make hay when you're young.

 

[charlestweed]

As a dentist I am confused if this should be inspirational for predents or a warning. 6 days a week at 12 hour days??? Jeez, what are you making per hour? How many weeks are you working per year. Just saying. The idea is to work the minimum amount for the max amount of money.

If he works 50 wks per year (and takes 2wks off per year), then he makes around $125 an hour ($450k/year: 50 weeks/year : 6 days/week : 12hours/day)….which is not bad at all for a young grad. If he wants, he can work half as much (3 days/wk, 12hrs a day) and still brings home around $225k/year, which is not bad if he’s single and has no kid to support. That’s the beauty of dentistry. You can work as many days as you want or as little as you want….you see more patients, you make more money.

If I were a young healthy guy (in my mid 20’s) like the OP, I would work like the OP.....so I become a homeowner and a business owner as fast I can……save/invest my hard earned money….and then retire as soon as I can and not have worry about work, poor economy, competition, declining dental field etc.

 

[Thehighwind87]

This highlights the importance of ownership. The guy works 72 hours a week.

6 days working
12 hour days

Doing everything implants omfs etc.

I do 28 hours a week
4 working days
7 hour days

Make 400k+ Zero specialty.

Work hard when you are young is smart. But as you get older- working smarter is better then working harder.

 

[charlestweed]

This highlights the importance of ownership. The guy works 72 hours a week.

6 days working
12 hour days

Doing everything implants omfs etc.

I do 28 hours a week
4 working days
7 hour days

Make 400k+ Zero specialty.

Work hard when you are young is smart. But as you get older- working smarter is better then working harder.

Yup, "work hard when you're young is smart"......I couldn't agree more. The goal should be to open your own office so you can enjoy the autonomy and the freedom of being your own boss. And in order to get there, you need money…. a lot of money….to cover your living expenses + repaying the practice loans + student loans. That’s why it’s important to work as hard as you can right after graduation to make as much money as possible. A young healthy 26-27yo body can handle the heavy work load much better than a 40-50 yo body can.

If the OP continues to work hard like this for the next 3 years, he’ll accumulate a lot more $$$ than a colleague who has worked for 10 years but chooses to work 3-4 days/wk and only makes $100-120k/year. With more than $1.3 Million that the OP has made over the 3 year period, he can easily pay off his student loan debt, has the 20% down payment to buy his first house, and most banks will happily loan him the money to open/purchase a dental practice.

After graduation, all medical students have to work hard like this (and only get paid $60-70k) for at least 3 years….It’s called medical residency. If all the physicians can do this, so can the new grad dentists.

 

[Thehighwind87]

Yup, "work hard when you're young is smart"......I couldn't agree more. The goal should be to open your own office so you can enjoy the autonomy and the freedom of being your own boss. And in order to get there, you need money…. a lot of money….to cover your living expenses + repaying the practice loans + student loans. That’s why it’s important to work as hard as you can right after graduation to make as much money as possible. A young healthy 26-27yo body can handle the heavy work load much better than a 40-50 yo body can.

If the OP continues to work hard like this for the next 3 years, he’ll accumulate a lot more $$$ than a colleague who has worked for 10 years but chooses to work 3-4 days/wk and only makes $100-120k/year. With more than $1.3 Million that the OP has made over the 3 year period, he can easily pay off his student loan debt, has the 20% down payment to buy his first house, and most banks will happily loan him the money to open/purchase a dental practice.

After graduation, all medical students have to work hard like this (and only get paid $60-70k) for at least 3 years….It’s called medical residency. If all the physicians can do this, so can the new grad dentists.

1.3 mil gross but tons of taxes.

OP is doing well for himself but working harder than most. 6 days a week? 72 hours? I would rather quit.

You don’t need 20% for anything. There is physician loans and you don’t need money down for a dental practice.

Learn how to leverage debt instead of being a sucker.

You can always do the save money pay down debt thing but I argue leveraging debt amd
Investing will put you far ahead.

6 days a week 72 hours a week 3 years out on 1.3 mil gross which is heavily taxed is back breaking work. In addition if you do the math- the guy is actually working a lot and not earning a lot.

If I work 32 hours a week and make 400k which I do and then double it to 64 hours a week… I make 800k

Per hour the op is actually making “little” per hour

I don’t recommend it.

 

[charlestweed]

1.3 mil gross but tons of taxes.

OP is doing well for himself but working harder than most. 6 days a week? 72 hours? I would rather quit.

You don’t need 20% for anything. There is physician loans and you don’t need money down for a dental practice.

Learn how to leverage debt instead of being a sucker.

You can always do the save money pay down debt thing but I argue leveraging debt amd
Investing will put you far ahead.

6 days a week 72 hours a week 3 years out on 1.3 mil gross which is heavily taxed is back breaking work. In addition if you do the math- the guy is actually working a lot and not earning a lot.

If I work 32 hours a week and make 400k which I do and then double it to 64 hours a week… I make 800k

Per hour the op is actually making “little” per hour

I don’t recommend it.

You are right. Making $125/hour is just ok for a dentist but for a new grad, it’s not bad..... that’s $200k/yr for someone who works 4 days/wk, 8hours/day. If the OP continues to make this same hourly wage after 2-3 years, then he needs to either find another job or open his own office. With great clinical skills (not a lot of new grads can do implants like the OP), I am sure the OP should have zero problem asking his boss to pay him more. I am sure his boss will have to increase his salary since it’s not easy to find a good associate who has good clinical skills and can produce. So over the 3 year period, he’ll probably bring home a lot more than the $1.3M amount that I estimated earlier.

Like I said before, the goal should be to have you own practice so you won’t have to work as hard as you do right now..... when you work for someone else as an associate. But it takes time to get there because you have to have a lot of money. Starting/purchasing a dental practice is not cheap. That’s why a lot of young dentists, especially the ones who owe a lot in student loans, are afraid to start their own practice. It’s much less stressful to start/run a business when you have money. And one predictable way (that is within your own control) to earn money fast is to work hard like OP, especially when he’s young and healthy. Assuming that he finished school at 26..... In 3 years, he will only be 29 yo.

According to the OP, he does a lot of implants, which are much easier than doing fillings, cleanings and RCTs. Doing fillings and cleanings are much harder on your hands and back. I guess that's why he can handle long work hours.

 

[deleted923283]

Who do you refer OMS cases to?

Any neighborhood recommendations in Miami?

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

What cars do you have?

 

[SuxDrugs&Rocuronium]

$125/hour? Dang that’s about as much as I make moonlighting in the hospital as a resident…

 

[acciDentally]

If he works 50 wks per year (and takes 2wks off per year), then he makes around $125 an hour ($450k/year: 50 weeks/year : 6 days/week : 12hours/day)….which is not bad at all for a young grad. If he wants, he can work half as much (3 days/wk, 12hrs a day) and still brings home around $225k/year, which is not bad if he’s single and has no kid to support. That’s the beauty of dentistry. You can work as many days as you want or as little as you want….you see more patients, you make more money.

If I were a young healthy guy (in my mid 20’s) like the OP, I would work like the OP.....so I become a homeowner and a business owner as fast I can……save/invest my hard earned money….and then retire as soon as I can and not have worry about work, poor economy, competition, declining dental field etc.

He needs to purchase a practice soon. It is still difficult work to work these hours.

 

[charlestweed]

He needs to purchase a practice soon.

I guess that’s what he’s planning to do. I guess that’s why he works crazily hard to save as much as possible so he won’t have to borrow a lot from the bank to open (or to purchase) an office. NYU dental school is expensive and he probably owes a lot in student loan. It’s not easy to find a good practice to buy because most of them are owned by older dentists, who no longer care about the production. The good ones are usually very expensive to acquire. There’s no guarantee that you can produce as much as the seller. There’s no guarantee that the existing staff will stay with you. Here is an example of one dentist who bought a practice that produced 1.2-1.3 M. He has been the new owner for 4 months and he only produces $40k a month and his overhead is $45-50k/month. Some of the existing staff quit. Everything in the office is breaking down and needs repair….he stared with 4 Xray sensors….and now only 1 sensor is working. And he had spent over 2 years to look for a right practice to buy.

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It is still difficult work to work these hours.

Nobody forces the OP to work the way that he is doing right now. But he chooses to do so (and I applaud him for doing this) because he wants to earn a nice income, which is twice as much as what many dentists, who graduated the same time as him, make.

 

[SigmaFS]

OP posted on Dec 3rd & 5th and nothing since. Maybe he's suffering exhaustion and burnout.