Physician owned dental practice?

[digitlnoize]

This is all purely speculative because I'm curious...

Can a physician (MD/DO) own a dental practice, then hire a dentist (or two) and staff to work there?

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[DrDDSman]

This is all purely speculative because I'm curious...

Can a physician (MD/DO) own a dental practice, then hire a dentist (or two) and staff to work there?

Probably, but why would anyone want to work as an associate with them? If it was a young dentist, they wouldn't be able to learn anything. If dentists aren't able or willing to open their own practice, I think most people would prefer working for a corporate practice rather than a situation like this because establishing a patient base would be difficult.

 

[digitlnoize]

Probably, but why would anyone want to work as an associate with them? If it was a young dentist, they wouldn't be able to learn anything. If dentists aren't able or willing to open their own practice, I think most people would prefer working for a corporate practice rather than a situation like this because establishing a patient base would be difficult.

What if this was a corporate practice? I wasn't thinking of hiring "young" dentists...just good ones.

Background info: I am in medical school, my wife is a hygienist, and her father is a 65yo dentist nearing retirement...slowly. He'll probably work until he's 90.

I could for see a few scenarios: dad wants to retire, but still work some. I could, in theory, open an office staffed by him, another ft/Pt dentist, my wife, and some staff people. Or, maybe the wife and I will be living somewhere where the job market for hygienists is not good. I could open a "corporate" office, get her a job, and get some residual income (assuming the office was profitable). Third, perhaps when Dad retires, I could buy his existing practice (which is very profitable and well staffed).

Anyways...very academic exercise. Highly unlikely to happen, but the question popped in my head today, so I thought I'd see what was possible. Thanks!

Anyone else know anything? Do you think it's state dependent?

 

[Saddleshoes]

This is all purely speculative because I'm curious...

Can a physician (MD/DO) own a dental practice, then hire a dentist (or two) and staff to work there?

The answer to this question is likely State Specific. the wording of the Dental Practice Act (DPA) in each state is very important. Some states may rule out ownership of a dental practice by anyone other then a dentist having a license issued by that state.

 

[youknowthedrill]

Generally, businesses run more efficiently when the owner is present. In this case, your wife would be able to monitor the business...BUT...Is a dentist going to be able to swallow his/her ego and take direction from the owner who is a hygienist in the practice? Highly doubtful! (Would you, young doctor, go to work in a practice owned by a nurse who also worked in the practice? My husband's a physician and he would never do it.) It would work if your wife chose to become the dentist/owner.

 

[digitlnoize]

Generally, businesses run more efficiently when the owner is present. In this case, your wife would be able to monitor the business...BUT...Is a dentist going to be able to swallow his/her ego and take direction from the owner who is a hygienist in the practice? Highly doubtful! (Would you, young doctor, go to work in a practice owned by a nurse who also worked in the practice? My husband's a physician and he would never do it.) It would work if your wife chose to become the dentist/owner.

Plenty of business run well without the owner present. Look at all the thriving corporate dental places. You don't think Steve Jobs' magic powers let him be in every Apple Store at once do you? 😀

In all seriousness, if I ever went down this road, it'd be to create more of a corporate entity, a handful (or hundreds 🙂 ) of offices. I think the wife happening to be a hygienist in one of ten offices wouldn't be much of a big deal.

Anyways, I guess I'll keep it in mind, and look up the state laws if I get more serious about it, which is probably unlikely...but you never know.

 

[bing12]

it can work, my fathers a physician, and he said he was going to have a dentist work in a few office rooms in his clinic( later, he changed his mind though.haha). But it can work either way I believe. I asked my father if i can legally take his ownership in the clinic, and he checked and said he believes so. SO i can have M.Ds working "for" me.haha

 

[mike3kgt]

In all seriousness, if I ever went down this road, it'd be to create more of a corporate entity, a handful (or hundreds 🙂 ) of offices.

Barf.

Once you graduate from medical school and residency, get your wife to join the doctor wives' club and concentrate on having a successful medical practice rather than trying to dabble into running a business that most dentists can't even run, little less, a physician.

 

[digitlnoize]

Barf.

Once you graduate from medical school and residency, get your wife to join the doctor wives' club and concentrate on having a successful medical practice rather than trying to dabble into running a business that most dentists can't even run, little less, a physician.

I agree, which is what I've said all along. Just entertaining the idea here people. I could never get my wife to join that club though, she loves her job too much.

 

[dl9006]

i guess if you pay the dentist enough, you could get them to swallow their pride and work under a hygienist owner. might be a hard sell though

 

[longhornpride]

Plenty of business run well without the owner present. Look at all the thriving corporate dental places. You don't think Steve Jobs' magic powers let him be in every Apple Store at once do you? 😀

In all seriousness, if I ever went down this road, it'd be to create more of a corporate entity, a handful (or hundreds 🙂 ) of offices. I think the wife happening to be a hygienist in one of ten offices wouldn't be much of a big deal.

Anyways, I guess I'll keep it in mind, and look up the state laws if I get more serious about it, which is probably unlikely...but you never know.

I'm sure you were joking but just in case... I'm not sure you realize how much an avg practice costs, let alone a handful. Since you're a med student, take care of your loans first and build your own practice before branching out into a field unfamiliar to you. Also, dentists themselves have a hard enough time managing 1 practice. I don't think I would trust a hygienist to be able to manage and successfully run a practice without the knowledge and expertise dentists gain through 4 years of schooling, residencies, and usually associateships. If it were that simple, every Tom, Dick and Harry would shell out 500k for a practice and then hire young associates.

 

[tinman831]

Depends on the state, but there's a difference between the owner not being there vs an owner who's not a dentist. Many states require the owner to be a licensed dentist.

 

[DrReo]

This is all purely speculative because I'm curious...

Can a physician (MD/DO) own a dental practice, then hire a dentist (or two) and staff to work there?

Must be a dentist in most states. Good luck finding "good" young guns to work for you in this situation.

 

[digitlnoize]

Must be a dentist in most states. Good luck finding "good" young guns to work for you in this situation.

Thanks guys. For the record (I thought I said this...), this was a purely academic exercise. I asked because I was curious, not because I have any plans to actually do is. Yes, I know how much it costs to start a practice, and no, I could never afford it, that's why I went to med school. Last, I never suggested having a hygienist owner/manager, just an employee...but whatever.

 

[DrReo]

Thanks guys. For the record (I thought I said this...), this was a purely academic exercise. I asked because I was curious, not because I have any plans to actually do is. Yes, I know how much it costs to start a practice, and no, I could never afford it, that's why I went to med school. Last, I never suggested having a hygienist owner/manager, just an employee...but whatever.

And we gracefully answered your academic exercise. . .

 

[DrDDSman]

In a similar vein, has anyone ever seen a private joint Medical and Dental practice? I'm thinking something like this could work in a rural area where access to care is an issue (this might even be common, forgive me if its a dumb question)? Something like physicians and dentists sharing an office space but operate independently?

 

[ItsGavinC]

In a similar vein, has anyone ever seen a private joint Medical and Dental practice? I'm thinking something like this could work in a rural area where access to care is an issue (this might even be common, forgive me if its a dumb question)? Something like physicians and dentists sharing an office space but operate independently?

There's a practice like this in Springville, UT. I find it hilarious. Look at the picture. My joke with my wife is that it's all mucosal tissue, right? LOL.

 

[mike3kgt]

I don't think I would trust a hygienist to be able to manage and successfully run a practice without the knowledge and expertise dentists gain through 4 years of schooling, residencies, and usually associateships.

Bull. My hygienist in practice was the patient coordinator. We didn't call her "office manager" because my senior dentist was in full charge, but she ran the whole show. She was fantastic, far better than either he or I would have ever been. You'd be surprised at how intelligent and business savvy hygienists are at how to run a dental practice.

You don't need 4 years of schooling and residency etc to run a successful dental office. A great dental assistant could run a dental office incredibly well, with literally zero formal dental education. You DO however, need to know a lot about dentistry to run a dental office well. Hence why non dental office managers are often times terrible.

I just hate hate hate how everybody in the world thinks it'd be a great idea to purchase 5-100 dental offices and be this great company and make lots of $$. What a waste... it's destroying this profession. I hope all corporate chains fail like the All-Care's of the world.

 

[yappy]

I've noticed at my UG there is a breed of predent who usually is postbacc from some business field who fits what you described well. They wish to gain the lic., establish a chain, and eventually not practice dentistry at all... "all by the age of 45" (one told me).
The deciding factor for the 5 of them in my biochem class was that they may have done medicine for the money... but didn't because it required a residency and dentistry paid well too; so "boom, i'll go into dentistry and dominate!" (another one said).

These guys crack me up... but leave me feeling at odds with their arrogent attitude and indifference toward dentistry as a profession.

I just hate hate hate how everybody in the world thinks it'd be a great idea to purchase 5-100 dental offices and be this great company and make lots of $$. What a waste... it's destroying this profession. I hope all corporate chains fail like the All-Care's of the world.

 

[mike3kgt]

These guys crack me up... but leave me feeling at odds with their arrogent attitude and indifference toward dentistry as a profession.

Don't get down and out about it... dentistry by far is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding health careers right now. Yes of course, there are a few apples in the bunch that always ruin it for the rest of us, but those people often get into hot water at some point in their careers.

How you find reward and happiness in clinical dentistry is to:

1. Get out of dental school with as little debt as possible
2. Work harder than you've ever worked before in school learning how to do everything you can do, don't go home early, rather stay and watch that extra implant surgery, special root canal technique, or composite layering technique
3. Know your materials, practice many different techniques to find what works best for you
4. Find a mentor, go to work with him/her and learn how to do the things you weren't taught in school (business and advanced techniques). Find something you love to do in practice and focus your abilities on that aspect of practice.
5. Keep your debts low upon graduation and continue to do so when you start practicing. Don't buy that corvette in your first 5 years, maybe rent for a year or two before deciding to stay in one place.

The most important part is to keep your debt as low as possible so that you can avoid the corporate hell and minimize your stress. If you can get into a situation where you can associate with a mentor or purchase a practice and phase out an owner dentist over 2 years, that is ideal. Most cannot do this these days because of 200k+ in loans. If you can keep it below 50-100k, you will be sitting pretty.

Most importantly, stay away from the sneaky, d-bag students in your class who want to slide by dental school with as little work as possible with the hopes to profiteer excessively from the mouths of the unwilling and unknowing. Buy a practice, be a solo owner, have your little niche, and keep your debt low... the career satisfaction and money will follow.

Good luck!

 

[S Files]

This is all purely speculative because I'm curious...

Can a physician (MD/DO) own a dental practice, then hire a dentist (or two) and staff to work there?

1. you are delusional
2. luckily in most states you must be a dentist to own

 

[charlestweed]

In a similar vein, has anyone ever seen a private joint Medical and Dental practice? I'm thinking something like this could work in a rural area where access to care is an issue (this might even be common, forgive me if its a dumb question)? Something like physicians and dentists sharing an office space but operate independently?

My #1 referring dentist shares an office space with her sister who is a MD pediatrician. Her pediatrician sister has a very large pool of patients (because of HMO, PPO and medicaid) and has referred a lot of patients to the dental side. This dentist has a lot young patients and she has referred a lot of patients to my ortho office.

Another friend of mine has a dental office in a professional building that has medical, chiropractor, and pharmacy offices. She gets a lot of walk-in patients because a lot of people want to see their dentist and physician at one location. Her husband (also a dentist) runs another office that is located at a very busy intersection…..and his office doesn’t have as many walk-in patients as the office that is located in the professional building.

 

[druidhill]

Generally, businesses run more efficiently when the owner is present. In this case, your wife would be able to monitor the business...BUT...Is a dentist going to be able to swallow his/her ego and take direction from the owner who is a hygienist in the practice? Highly doubtful! (Would you, young doctor, go to work in a practice owned by a nurse who also worked in the practice? My husband's a physician and he would never do it.) It would work if your wife chose to become the dentist/owner.

Great point. As long as your in-law is taking his time retiring, I would encourage your wife to go back to school. It would make for a smooth transitions for the existing patients.

 

[yappy]

Instead of owning dental practices... It seems more realistic as a physician to own a multi-dicipline health care building like Charlest said. Imagine all these medical/dental offices and the like, paying you rent each month to be in your building. Though, I would never want to put up the money to get started with one of these things lol.

 

[Silent Cool]

.

 

[Silent Cool]

Generally, businesses run more efficiently when the owner is present. In this case, your wife would be able to monitor the business...BUT...Is a dentist going to be able to swallow his/her ego and take direction from the owner who is a hygienist in the practice? Highly doubtful! (Would you, young doctor, go to work in a practice owned by a nurse who also worked in the practice? My husband's a physician and he would never do it.) It would work if your wife chose to become the dentist/owner.

Everyone has their price.

 

[ohcdc]

thats very possible, but a dental office, like medical office needs a licensed practitioner with valid npi to bill insurance and purchase liability insurance, so if you want to take over the dental practice, you can hire an associate, in his/her employment contract agree use his license information. and you just keep a share of the final production. (that's what the large dental chains are doing)

 

[wb1]

Don't get down and out about it... dentistry by far is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding health careers right now. Yes of course, there are a few apples in the bunch that always ruin it for the rest of us, but those people often get into hot water at some point in their careers.

How you find reward and happiness in clinical dentistry is to:

1. Get out of dental school with as little debt as possible
2. Work harder than you've ever worked before in school learning how to do everything you can do, don't go home early, rather stay and watch that extra implant surgery, special root canal technique, or composite layering technique
3. Know your materials, practice many different techniques to find what works best for you
4. Find a mentor, go to work with him/her and learn how to do the things you weren't taught in school (business and advanced techniques). Find something you love to do in practice and focus your abilities on that aspect of practice.
5. Keep your debts low upon graduation and continue to do so when you start practicing. Don't buy that corvette in your first 5 years, maybe rent for a year or two before deciding to stay in one place.

The most important part is to keep your debt as low as possible so that you can avoid the corporate hell and minimize your stress. If you can get into a situation where you can associate with a mentor or purchase a practice and phase out an owner dentist over 2 years, that is ideal. Most cannot do this these days because of 200k+ in loans. If you can keep it below 50-100k, you will be sitting pretty.

Most importantly, stay away from the sneaky, d-bag students in your class who want to slide by dental school with as little work as possible with the hopes to profiteer excessively from the mouths of the unwilling and unknowing. Buy a practice, be a solo owner, have your little niche, and keep your debt low... the career satisfaction and money will follow.

Good luck!

Thank you for sharing! These are very good advices.