Question about owning a practice

[hs2013]

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I know the money in dentistry comes by owning your own practice. Making 250k+, working 4 days a week, etc. is only really attainable as an owner. But my question is, how much time do practice owners spend outside of their normal hours doing dentistry on business related work? Is that owner working 4 days a week 9-5, actually working much more than that on the business side of dentistry?

I want to make really good money as a dentist but I don't want it to consume my life either.

I wonder if becoming a physician is a better idea if money is a big factor because physicians don't have to work on business side of things, they are employed by hospitals, and get great benefits. Internal Medicine hospitalists can easily earn from 200-275k working 7 on 7 off depending on where they live and they still get get reimbursment with continuing education, 401k, etc...

If you get into derm, radiology, etc... the money is even better.

I just wonder if dentists who own their own practice actually are working more than it seems with how much they have to do with business related things.

By the time I am in my mid 30's I want to only be working 3-4 days a week making 200k+.

If I was a hospitalist I get 26 weeks off in a year plus whatever other vacation time and great benefits...

Just wonder if dentistry is really that much better than medicine as it is made out to be.

 

[Daurang]

Yes, you can easily earn +$200k working part-time at your own dental practice. There is almost zero working time related to dentistry outside of dentistry. You may have a few hours of online ce to take, online supplies to order, or rare prescription to call in. You can take as many vacations as you want per year which you can't do in medicine.

My experience by observing a family member in medicine is you're constantly on call, or filling out e-charts from home that you couldn't finish at work, or monitoring patients at the hospital from home. I begged him years ago to go to dental school because that was the easier path to money. He could have made three times more than medicine by taking over my dental practice; he refused cause his lifelong passion was primary care medicine. He seems happy enough now but he also want to retire early like me, which he'll never be able to do without the massive earning potential that can only come with having your own business. It's way too late now but I'm gonna have a talk with him tomorrow on what could have been his ticket to financial independence.

 

[hs2013]

Yes, you can easily earn +$200k working part-time at your own dental practice. There is almost zero working time related to dentistry outside of dentistry. You may have a few hours of online ce to take, online supplies to order, or rare prescription to call in. You can take as many vacations as you want per year which you can't do in medicine.

My experience by observing a family member in medicine is you're constantly on call, or filling out e-charts from home that you couldn't finish at work, or monitoring patients at the hospital from home. I begged him years ago to go to dental school because that was the easier path to money. He could have made three times more than medicine by taking over my dental practice; he refused cause his lifelong passion was primary care medicine. He seems happy enough now but he also want to retire early like me, which he'll never be able to do without the massive earning potential that can only come with having your own business. It's way too late now but I'm gonna have a talk with him tomorrow on what could have been his ticket to financial independence.

Is there really not much work outside of the dentistry in owning your own business? Do you employees like office manager, schedule coordinator, insurance person, etc. take care of a lot of the business side of things?

I really do hope I can easily earn 200k+ working part time because that would be awesome just working 3-4 days a week , long weekend every week plus vacations whenever I want.

 

[DentalDoge]

I dont know where you get this information for physicians but the compensation for the amount of work you do is really crappy, as put in terms by my spine surgeon, and he's private practice on contract with the hospital.

Cant imagine what it would be like to be working fully within a hospital.

I think you have a very naive view on what being a dentist and physician is about. It is much more complicated than that. Yes it is possible to make 200k doing GP working 4 days a week. But getting to that point is hard. You will not be coming out of DS making 200k, simply because (unless you have rich parents fronting all your COA) you'll either be in the military or too busy paying back your loans to be profiting 200k. Also, unless you came out of DS with absolutely no loans or have rich parents, you will not be running a practice right out of DS nor is it wise to do so.

(as I type this, I realize having rich parents solves alot of problems)

No, you'll be working as an associate with established dentists. At least until you finish paying back your school loans before digging another 500k-1mill hole to buy your practice. Then after you get your practice established, you might be able to live the life you're dreaming of. Given you made the right business decisions. For dentistry private practice it is quite simple, the harder you work, the more money you make.

As for physicians, they have their own evils to deal with. Corporate evils. You will be told how to practice, when to practice, who to treat, how much money you make. But you do get benefits ... so thats a plus. If you really like being inside of a hospital then you'll really like being a physician.

For most of us, this isnt a problem. Dentistry is fun and what we want to do for the rest of our lives. But if you NEED to be making 200k by mid 30s, working 4 days a week. You should probably go into business and climb the corporate ladder. You'll get to that status faster that way. Or learn hypobaric welding. You could be making $1-2 million working on oil rigs. Do that for 4 years, buy yourself a Porsche and a big house then retire at 30 ... given you dont die on the job. Money.

 

[grivacobae]

I dont know where you get this information for physicians but the compensation for the amount of work you do is really crappy, as put in terms by my spine surgeon, and he's private practice on contract with the hospital.

Cant imagine what it would be like to be working fully within a hospital.

I think you have a very naive view on what being a dentist and physician is about. It is much more complicated than that. Yes it is possible to make 200k doing GP working 4 days a week. But getting to that point is hard. You will not be coming out of DS making 200k, simply because (unless you have rich parents fronting all your COA) you'll either be in the military or too busy paying back your loans to be profiting 200k. Also, unless you came out of DS with absolutely no loans or have rich parents, you will not be running a practice right out of DS nor is it wise to do so.

(as I type this, I realize having rich parents solves alot of problems)

No, you'll be working as an associate with established dentists. At least until you finish paying back your school loans before digging another 500k-1mill hole to buy your practice. Then after you get your practice established, you might be able to live the life you're dreaming of. Given you made the right business decisions. For dentistry private practice it is quite simple, the harder you work, the more money you make.

As for physicians, they have their own evils to deal with. Corporate evils. You will be told how to practice, when to practice, who to treat, how much money you make. But you do get benefits ... so thats a plus. If you really like being inside of a hospital then you'll really like being a physician.

For most of us, this isnt a problem. Dentistry is fun and what we want to do for the rest of our lives. But if you NEED to be making 200k by mid 30s, working 4 days a week. You should probably go into business and climb the corporate ladder. You'll get to that status faster that way. Or learn hypobaric welding. You could be making $1-2 million working on oil rigs. Do that for 4 years, buy yourself a Porsche and a big house then retire at 30 ... given you dont die on the job. Money.

Every single point here is spot on, including the oil rigs deal, living near Midland/Odessa, Texas, I have come to see some abstract millionaires and some rich oil workers! It's crazy and my back up plan haha!
The one thing I don't agree is the going into business, it's too vague plus job outlook is pretty bad compared to an almost guaranteed job outlook for Dentist, and business is all about networking, Dentistry not so much. I just don't like when people say to just go into business to make money, no that's wrong, in fact, go into Dentistry to make money. Otherwise, pretty spot on response!

 

[hs2013]

For me I'm not sure I really want to deal with the business side of dentistry but if you don't own your own practice, I don't think there is any point in becoming a dentist financially.

It would be nice to just go to work, come home, not have to deal with anything else, and still make 200k+....

Which I feel like is more easy for doctors than dentists as it seems tough to make 200k+ as an associate working 4 days a week...

 

[Greyangel6]

For me, I just really like interacting with people, making myself a part of their lives. It feels great knowing how well someone is doing, or offering someone advice and it works out for them. A physician sometimes can be too busy with a patient's ailment (because it's their main responsibility) to check on the patient's family, her dog, etc. I guess dentistry is a snug fit for me from all of the shadowing that I've seen.

 

[DentalDoge]

For me I'm not sure I really want to deal with the business side of dentistry but if you don't own your own practice, I don't think there is any point in becoming a dentist financially.

It would be nice to just go to work, come home, not have to deal with anything else, and still make 200k+....

Which I feel like is more easy for doctors than dentists as it seems tough to make 200k+ as an associate working 4 days a week...

I suggest you take a read.

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2014/12/confessions-burnt-physician.html

After you do, you'll see why I am saying what I am saying. Is making $200k that important by working a 9-5 that important to you?

 

[Daurang]

9 in 10 doctors discourage other from joining profession, and 300 commit suicide every year...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...e-profession.html?via=desktop&source=facebook

 

[Cold Front]

I know the money in dentistry comes by owning your own practice. Making 250k+, working 4 days a week, etc. is only really attainable as an owner. But my question is, how much time do practice owners spend outside of their normal hours doing dentistry on business related work? Is that owner working 4 days a week 9-5, actually working much more than that on the business side of dentistry?

I want to make really good money as a dentist but I don't want it to consume my life either.

I wonder if becoming a physician is a better idea if money is a big factor because physicians don't have to work on business side of things, they are employed by hospitals, and get great benefits. Internal Medicine hospitalists can easily earn from 200-275k working 7 on 7 off depending on where they live and they still get get reimbursment with continuing education, 401k, etc...

If you get into derm, radiology, etc... the money is even better.

I just wonder if dentists who own their own practice actually are working more than it seems with how much they have to do with business related things.

By the time I am in my mid 30's I want to only be working 3-4 days a week making 200k+.

If I was a hospitalist I get 26 weeks off in a year plus whatever other vacation time and great benefits...

Just wonder if dentistry is really that much better than medicine as it is made out to be.

As a practice owner, I would say I work 5 days a week (9-5) for 3.5 weeks of the month, and take a vacation for the rest of the month.

I have worked 6 days/week in the past, mostly in my first year out of school (2010), because that's what it took to open my practices and get them established. It was rough work schedule, but I had to get it done to accomplish my 5 years plan goal.

As far as what happens after my 9-5 work schedule, yes I still mentally plan ahead for the next day, the rest of the week and month. Somedays I would be going home and spend 30 minutes or so to talk to my accountant, realtor, suppliers, employee doctors, calling Rx for a patient who calls our after hours emergency lines, etc. Its not every day I would do this, but it happens couple of times a week and became a routine part of my daily schedule. There are days I leave work early, so it balances out to keep my current 40 hours schedule.

As a dentist in my mid-30's, I'm still considered the bottom 20% of the dentist work force in terms of age, so these are the years I would work 5 days a week in my career. If you include my monthly vacations, I work 4.5 days a week. I see myself working with this schedule next 5 years (at about age 40), then maybe start tapering down 4 days a week schedule.

I have younger brother who is a medicai anesthesiologist, pulls 50 hours a week and make 2/3 of what I make as a practice owner, but he doesn't worry about running a business. I would still take dentistry over medicine any day, not just for the money, but the opportunity to balance life-work schedule.