oversaturation of dentists in southern california?

[bbllplya]

Is southern california oversaturated with dentists? What about specialists? How would one go about starting up a new practice there?

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[USUaggie]

Yes! But it's also oversaturated with people so you're probably ok 🙂

 

[Profchaos]

Is southern california oversaturated with dentists? What about specialists? How would one go about starting up a new practice there?

It depends on how good you are with your hands. If you have great skill, people will line up no matter where you are. In Cali, a reputation as being a superior dentist is very important.

 

[lnn2]

That's good to know! I'd like to move to Cali in the near future.

 

[DrJeff]

It amazed me, I was out in Monterey California last weekend doing a little golfing and vacationing after my wife's American Association of Orthodonist national meeting in san Francisco. I looked in the local phone book and the number of pages of dentists listed was almost as numerous as the number of pages for lawyers 😱

Still though I didn't see too many shabby looking dental offices out there. Even with roughly 25,000 licensed dentists in California, do the math and divide that into it's population and there's still plenty of patients to go around 👍

 

[lnn2]

That's good news! I love the weather in Cali, beaches, many different kinds of food (ethnicity)...but the cost of housing is just nuts!

 

[hemp033]

i'm originally from so cal...and on top of what dr.jeff said...most of the current dentists (not only in cali) will be of the retirement age when most of us here on sdn are beginning to practice..therefore out with the old in with the new...or so to speak.

 

[Wah]

If you stand on a typical los angeles intersection with 1 strip mall on each of the 4 corners, you will see at least 1 dentist in each strip mall. I don't know how those guys make money.

 

[fc.pride]

southern cali is probably one of the most saturated cities for dentists. i've been practicing for about 4 years now and it is tough. northern cali is a bit better. even though there are lots of people in cali, the competition is fierce. you have guys like dorfmann and others who market and advertise like crazy with their money and scoop up a large chunk of the good patients. the oc is even more crazy. ive got my own office in a decent area and it does ok, but my friend in arizona sees half the patients i do and does the same amount of production.
for specialty, it depends on the specialty. os does well...but those guys do good anywhere. ortho is dime a dozen. funny, in dental school residents are so highly revered...in practice i have orthodontists buying me lunch for precious referrals.
dont get me wrong, cali is awesome the beaches, nightlife and food is great. housing sucks bad though. dentists still do ok.. depending on location, skill level and connections. all in all, its saturated, competitive, and tough to establish yourself but remember you're in cali..

 

[drcharleshuang]

Hell yeah it's fierce competition. In San Gabriel, there are literally 4 dentists on one block, and i'm not kidding. My uncles have had their practice for 20 plus years, and the reason why they're so successful is that they charge very very very very very low and count on patient numbers for their income. This means they work like dogs, and that their overhead is quite large. It's very hard now espeically in certain areas. More rural areas like Bakersfield are more successful. But then it's living in bakersfield....

 

[specialK38]

is the situation the same with specialists as with general dentists in so. cal?

 

[fc.pride]

is the situation the same with specialists as with general dentists in so. cal?

there are a lot of dental specialists in cali. in particular, ortho and os. perio is a bit on the low side. in beverly hills there is oversaturation of prosth. so, in general there are quite a lot of specialists in southern cali. dont know how it is up north. but southern cali is very packed.

 

[lnn2]

Does anyone know/hear what's the salary in south CA? I heard around $400-$450/day, which is around $50-$56/hr, around the national average for new dentists but considering the cost of living, it's rather low.

 

[balance]

Does anyone know/hear what's the salary in south CA? I heard around $400-$450/day, which is around $50-$56/hr, around the national average for new dentists but considering the cost of living, it's rather low.

Correct ($400-450 a day). I confirmed that with my dentist a few days ago. He has two practices in S. California and that is how much he is willing to pay. Of course, this is for his practice in Palm Dale (70 miles away from Los Angeles). He only practices three times a week in his Brentwood office, since he does not have enough patients due to the high level of competitions.

He makes his money in the Palm Dale office. And the Brentwood is for his bread and butter.

You are right; the cost of living is ridiculously high in the S. California for that salary.

 

[lnn2]

Correct ($400-450 a day). I confirmed that with my dentist a few days ago. He has two practices in S. California and that is how much he is willing to pay. Of course, this is for his practice in Palm Dale (70 miles away from Los Angeles). He only practices three times a week in his Brentwood office, since he does not have enough patients due to the high level of competitions.

He makes his money in the Palm Dale office. And the Brentwood is for his bread and butter.

You are right; the cost of living is ridiculously high in the S. California for that salary.

Do you know anything about those dental co. like brightsmile, castle dental...in CA? Thanks