Recent Grad AMA

[JTLresces]

Hello,

I had some free time and with graduation coming up for many current students, I thought it'd be helpful to offer the opportunity to answer any questions people had. Some background on me: I attended University of Washington and currently work for a DSO in Seattle. We do all kinds of procedures including fillings, crowns, molar endo, implants, implant restorations, dentures, etc. Overall it's been a great experience and I think school did just enough to prepare me for work but most of my learning has been on the job

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[TanMan]

Hello,

I had some free time and with graduation coming up for many current students, I thought it'd be helpful to offer the opportunity to answer any questions people had. Some background on me: I attended University of Washington and currently work for a DSO in Seattle. We do all kinds of procedures including fillings, crowns, molar endo, implants, implant restorations, dentures, etc. Overall it's been a great experience and I think school did just enough to prepare me for work but most of my learning has been on the job

How does it feel to be out of school?

 

[JTLresces]

How does it feel to be out of school?

It's awesome! I don't know how much of it is due to NOT being a practice owner, but it's nice to go home for the day and not worry about anything until the next morning. Most patients are very understanding when complications happen during procedures as long as you explain what's going on and ensure them that you'll do everything to make sure they're taken care of. Definitely don't miss school one bit

 

[zdoq]

How long do you plan staying with the DSO? Also, how did you decide to start at a DSO as your first job?

 

[JTLresces]

How long do you plan staying with the DSO? Also, how did you decide to start at a DSO as your first job?

I signed a two year contract but am likely to stay for an additional 1.5-2 years. There are lot of different DSOs with different philosophies so this doesn't apply to all of them. I was lucky to join a practice where the owner doc was merging with the DSO since he knew the founders and he still pretty much can do what he wants (and by extension I can do what I want). I didn't necessarily decide on doing a DSO because it was a DSO but because of the mentorship I would be given here by the owner doc. I would look at applying to many different places and looking to work at a place that gives you what you're looking for, whether that be mentorship, certain amounts of specific procedures, opportunity to buy in, etc.

I don't see working here as much different than working as an associateship in a real private practice. Sure, there are numbers they want you to hit but as long as I do what the patients need, then the numbers don't matter too much in the end

 

[AONLINE]

I signed a two year contract but am likely to stay for an additional 1.5-2 years. There are lot of different DSOs with different philosophies so this doesn't apply to all of them. I was lucky to join a practice where the owner doc was merging with the DSO since he knew the founders and he still pretty much can do what he wants (and by extension I can do what I want). I didn't necessarily decide on doing a DSO because it was a DSO but because of the mentorship I would be given here by the owner doc. I would look at applying to many different places and looking to work at a place that gives you what you're looking for, whether that be mentorship, certain amounts of specific procedures, opportunity to buy in, etc.

I don't see working here as much different than working as an associateship in a real private practice. Sure, there are numbers they want you to hit but as long as I do what the patients need, then the numbers don't matter too much in the end

Did your owner doc sell 50% of the practice to the DSO? Is that a DSO local to the Seattle area, or a national big corp DSO such as Pacific Dental?

 

[JTLresces]

Did your owner doc sell 50% of the practice to the DSO? Is that a DSO local to the Seattle area, or a national big corp DSO such as Pacific Dental?

I'm not exactly sure of the financial situation but they seem to let him do whatever he wants with the practices. This is a national DSO (not PDS) rather than a local one. This merger happened right before I started working here so I don't know the specific details

 

[AONLINE]

I'm not exactly sure of the financial situation but they seem to let him do whatever he wants with the practices. This is a national DSO (not PDS) rather than a local one. This merger happened right before I started working here so I don't know the specific details

I see. I meant to ask if the owner doc still has any skin in the game as he mentors you? If he still owns part of the practice then he would be motivated to be a good mentor for you as it would benefit him if you do well.

 

[JTLresces]

I see. I meant to ask if the owner doc still has any skin in the game as he mentors you? If he still owns part of the practice then he would be motivated to be a good mentor for you as it would benefit him if you do well.

From my understanding, all of the owner docs are compensated appropriately based on how well the practice does, so yes he has motivation to be a good mentor. I would say mentorship is the biggest part of what you should look for when finding a first job. I was fortunate to be at a location where the owner doc was willing to teach me molar endo, wisdom teeth ext, and implants soon. It's hard to gauge beforehand but if you can talk to other associates that work at the office or have worked there before, you can get a good idea of the type of mentorship that will be available

 

[2TH MVR]

What kind of benefits are you eligible for? PTO. Vacation pay. Health insurance. Malpractice insurance. 401K.
Do you get bonuses above and beyond your salary?

 

[dentalinthemental]

Since graduating, what do you look back on during your dental school experience and wish you had done differently? Or maybe done more of to prepare better for life after school?

 

[JTLresces]

What kind of benefits are you eligible for? PTO. Vacation pay. Health insurance. Malpractice insurance. 401K.
Do you get bonuses above and beyond your salary?

This varies greatly depending on where you work. Most of my friends working at private offices actually have better benefits than I do and I believe it's more negotiable in private practice as well. Some of my friends had benefits while working part time but generally you need to be full time to get these benefits.

I only have time off, no PTO. Have health insurance, do not have malpractice insurance, and we have a non-match 401K. Most of the "bonuses" I get come from my boss giving me some high production cases of his that he doesn't feel like doing or helping me with Invisalign cases. The company also has some CE (mostly Invisalign) presenters that come through every now and then, and we are encouraged to attend

 

[JTLresces]

Since graduating, what do you look back on during your dental school experience and wish you had done differently? Or maybe done more of to prepare better for life after school?

I definitely wished I had appreciated the free time I had more back then. After never having an actual job (that wasn't part-time) before starting work here, adjusting to the grind of a 40 hour work week has been tough and it always feels like I don't have much time for hobbies that I want to do

I wish I had spent more time as a student taking advantage of the CE courses offered for free or at a discount for students. Namely, I wish I had done more to learn during dental conferences. It's tough as a student because everything is overwhelming but if you can identify a few things that you for sure want to do in practice, it can be very advantageous to learn more about it as a student. Everything costs money as a dentist now, and as a new grad with debt, it's very difficult to bring yourself to pay for any CE courses

 

[AONLINE]

Don't want to hijack OP's thread, but I am also a new grad currently working for a practice that was just sold to a DSO so my situation is similar to OP. I thought I'd share a few things about my job here mostly so the current students can gain some perspectives. Despite being owned by a DSO now, the practice I work at still functions like a private practice and the former owner still practices exactly the way he did before the transition. The DSO leaves us alone to do what we want, and the senior doc has been a fantastic mentor to me. I have a certain amount of days off every year but those are not paid. My benefits include health insurance, malpractice insurance and 401K. The DSO will sign me up for Spears courses in Scottsdale. I am paid a guarantee salary, or 33% collection whichever is higher.

 

[Aspire2019]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I have a question regarding compensation.
Assuming bread and butter dentistry, in a suburb of a mid-western county with population of about a million (county in which the practice is located has the population of about 500k) - what would be a reasonable expectation of average collection (assuming good collection practices) per doc per month for a practice that is FFS and PPO based.
As a new grad, I am being offered a position that has a minimum guarantee/25% collection whichever is higher.
Trying to makes sense of this structure.
And is 25% a norm?

 

[JTLresces]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I have a question regarding compensation.
Assuming bread and butter dentistry, in a suburb of a mid-western county with population of about a million (county in which the practice is located has the population of about 500k) - what would be a reasonable expectation of average collection (assuming good collection practices) per doc per month for a practice that is FFS and PPO based.
As a new grad, I am being offered a position that has a minimum guarantee/25% collection whichever is higher.
Trying to makes sense of this structure.
And is 25% a norm?

Hard to say what you would make as there a lot of different factors that come into play still. Will there be enough patients for you to be busy as well (ie was there an associate there before that you are replacing or is the doc adding an extra associate)? What is your speed and what procedures can you do? Based on that demographic alone, I think you'd make pretty good money and have some time to get up to speed

25% collection is definitely low. Normally I see 30-35% collection or the 25% production that I'm getting (which is still kinda low). What is your daily guarantee?

 

[cryingintheclub]

Any tips on what to focus on during preclinical years? Didactics too, but specially for lab - I'm super slow right now, which makes lab work more tedious/unpleasant, and wonder if this will translate to my clinical years and beyond.

 

[JTLresces]

Any tips on what to focus on during preclinical years? Didactics too, but specially for lab - I'm super slow right now, which makes lab work more tedious/unpleasant, and wonder if this will translate to my clinical years and beyond.

Personally hate the lab stuff, my school was really big on that but made me miserable. For the lab stuff I would just more understand the concepts and why things have to be done a certain way but if you struggle to do it yourself it's fine

Almost everyone is gonna be super slow coming out. I'm sure you've heard this but just focus on quality of work and making sure you understand why you have to do things a certain way and figuring out what works best for you. Critical thinking is very important as well. One of the things I struggled with the most was treatment planning complex cases as I didn't see too many of those during school and was more about getting one thing done at a time

If you want to get your speed up, I would look into volunteering at outreach as much as you can. You get to give back to the community while also building your skill as a clinician and learn how to interact with patients from various socioeconomic backgrounds which will pay dividends in practice

Depending on what you want to do after graduation should affect how you allot your didactic/clinic time. I knew I wasn't trying to specialize so I didn't focus much on didactic stuff as some other students who wanted to go into ortho or OS. It's up to you to figure out what is going to help you as a clinician and tailor your effort to fit the education you're given

 

[JTLresces]

This goes out to anyone but feel free to PM me also if you have any questions you want to discuss privately!!

 

[Sweet_Tooth]

Im a D4 who is currently considering a job offer- they have $600 base pay for the first 90 days and after that I would be paid 30% of collections. Does that sound reasonable/normal? Also, do you have to pay any portion of your own lab fees of your cases? I would be expected to pay 30% of the lab fees as well. The job is in a city in the Midwest which has a population of about 300,000 people.

 

[JTLresces]

Im a D4 who is currently considering a job offer- they have $600 base pay for the first 90 days and after that I would be paid 30% of collections. Does that sound reasonable/normal? Also, do you have to pay any portion of your own lab fees of your cases? I would be expected to pay 30% of the lab fees as well. The job is in a city in the Midwest which has a population of about 300,000 people.

I got $500 a day (5 8-hour days a week) for 3 months, then 25% production with no lab fees. I think that compensation is about average, you generally pay your % compensation in lab fees

 

[AONLINE]

Im a D4 who is currently considering a job offer- they have $600 base pay for the first 90 days and after that I would be paid 30% of collections. Does that sound reasonable/normal? Also, do you have to pay any portion of your own lab fees of your cases? I would be expected to pay 30% of the lab fees as well. The job is in a city in the Midwest which has a population of about 300,000 people.

Just so a point of reference, my job pays me $12,500/month for the first 12 months (4-day work week, 8-5 everyday), or 32-33% collection whichever is higher. I don’t have to pay any lab fees. I am located in a Midwest city with a bigger population than yours.

 

[Aspire2019]

Another question for experienced docs here.
The DSO I am looking at only offers claims made malpractice policy. I want occurance based but they do not offer it and I have to join their policy, if I accept the position.

Question is - When the time comes to leave his DSO, how bad would it bite to buy tail coverage. Can they demand anything because at that point I essentially have no negotiation position.

Any thoughts?

 

[JTLresces]

Another question for experienced docs here.
The DSO I am looking at only offers claims made malpractice policy. I want occurance based but they do not offer it and I have to join their policy, if I accept the position.

Question is - When the time comes to leave his DSO, how bad would it bite to buy tail coverage. Can they demand anything because at that point I essentially have no negotiation position.

Any thoughts?

I would just get the tail coverage. It doesn't cost THAT much in the grand scheme of things and better safe than sorry

 

[LFA20]

Just so a point of reference, my job pays me $12,500/month for the first 12 months (4-day work week, 8-5 everyday), or 32-33% collection whichever is higher. I don’t have to pay any lab fees. I am located in a Midwest city with a bigger population than yours.

is this after tax?

 

[AONLINE]

is this after tax?

Nope, before tax. Just based on the guarantee alone, it’s $150k/yr before tax. After tax I’m bringing home about $9k/month as a single person. I live in a medium COL city in the Midwest, a nice one bedroom apartment in the cool part of town costs $1600 (plus $200 for indoor parking). So overall, that’s not a lot of money. A new dentist like me definitely can’t live it up, and I have to budget well in order to live within my means.

 

[LFA20]

Nope, before tax. Just based on the guarantee alone, it’s $150k/yr before tax. After tax I’m bringing home about $9k/month as a single person. I live in a medium COL city in the Midwest, a nice one bedroom apartment in the cool part of town costs $1600 (plus $200 for indoor parking). So overall, that’s not a lot of money. A new dentist like me definitely can’t live it up, and I have to budget well in order to live within my means.

9k per month after tax is pretty decent.

 

[PerioDont]

Nope, before tax. Just based on the guarantee alone, it’s $150k/yr before tax. After tax I’m bringing home about $9k/month as a single person. I live in a medium COL city in the Midwest, a nice one bedroom apartment in the cool part of town costs $1600 (plus $200 for indoor parking). So overall, that’s not a lot of money. A new dentist like me definitely can’t live it up, and I have to budget well in order to live within my means.

What is your monthly student loan payment?

 

[AONLINE]

What is your monthly student loan payment?

I’ll wait until the end of this year to start making payments (I’m in need of some cash right now). I only owe $200k in student loan thanks to attending my state school with some help from family. Even if I want to stay an associate for the rest of my career, I don’t think I will ever struggle financially provided that I stay single or marry a spouse who also has a professional job.
My younger siblings want to follow my footsteps to become a dentist. I told them that dentistry is a good career IF they can limit their debt. I definitely don’t recommend anyone, including my own siblings to become dentists at the price tag of $600k.