These days, would you say orthodontists who own their own offices always make more than an orthodontist who works for a corp? (getting at least a base salary of $1000-1500 a day)
Prior to Corp takeover and aligners (which allowed GP easy access to ortho tx) .... orthos who owned their own offices had the golden ticket.
Now .... depends on alot of variables. If you practice where other orthos do not want to practice and with fewer Corps ..... you can do very well with your own practice. If you choose urban, saturated areas ... then follow
@charlestweed 's example. Be diversified and accommodating to what the current ortho market will give you. Own a small, low overhead practice. Work for a pedo or GP. Work for the Corps 1 or 2 days. Plenty of opportunity. Just have to work for it .... and plan on working fri-sat. You can also make bank working for Corp only. The ortho I replaced in Corp was working SIX days a week. For many years. The per diem is average for an ortho, but the bonuses can really escalate. I know for a fact that this particular ortho was the highest producting ortho in this particular Corp. His take home was on par with most of my paychecks from my private practice days. The difference is that he worked like a dog. 6 days a week. I worked 4 days: mon-thurs and made the same or more .... again ... during my heyday. The other variable is that the Corp has to be BUSY. If you are not starting new patients .... you are not making bonus money.
Every situation is different.
Could anyone give me some details on what their day to day is really like for an ortho residence (I know your experience is program specific, just want to get as many perspectives as possible)? What kind of cases do you see most often? What is the relationship like with your co-residents? What is a normal day for you? Boring, stressful, competitive, fun?
Also, any funny stories or crazy things you've seen wrapped around a bracket? haha
Not sure how relevant my response will be since I graduated from ortho residency 26 years ago. But here goes. For myself .... dental school was just an extension of undergrad. Yes .. it was different, but you were one student in a class of 50-100. My class was 50-56 students. In ortho residency .... I was one of four residents. Just four. With four .... there is nowhere to hide. 4 residents and an instructor. Everything you do is evaluated on a more specific level. Ortho residency was on a different level than DS. Also .... you are now a DOCTOR .... instead of a student.
As for cases. I attended a stipend paying hospital program (I know ... I was lucky). Saw plenty of patients with craniofacial issues. Plenty of cleft-palate pts. Plenty of patients period. Again ... with only 4 residents .... the attending/instructor to student ratio was excellent. You basically inherited unfinished cases from your 2nd yr resident.
I also remember that working on my thesis took up alot of time. Relationship with co-residents was excellent. There is no more competition. You're in now. You work together. Help each other out. Went out as a group for social interaction. I played golf with a couple of the residents.
Normal day? I just felt I had more responsibility in residency.
In a hospital program ... I spent alot of time with the OMFS and GPR students which was interesting. The OMFS residents would always laugh at us ortho residents for trying to fix a mild class 2 malocclusion when they were doing LeForts. But it was all in good fun.
Other funny stuff? I always laugh when I see the assortment of tongue rings, lip piercings, etc. I once asked a patient if she could attach a 3/16 medium elastic to her tongue ring to help with her bite. She laughed at me.
