Typical Dental Career Path

[mdub]

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For someone who wants to go into practice as a GP, what's the typical career path like after dental school? Do most people work as an associate for a while? Is it more common to build a practice from scratch or buy someone else's practice?

 

[drhobie7]

For someone who wants to go into practice as a GP, what's the typical career path like after dental school? Do most people work as an associate for a while? Is it more common to build a practice from scratch or buy someone else's practice?

associate then purchase is probably most common

 

[mdub]

associate then purchase is probably most common

I've heard people say that the first couple years can be tight in terms of money. Why would that be the case if you're buying an established practice? Do lots of patients jump ship or something like that?

 

[jdude]

I've heard people say that the first couple years can be tight in terms of money. Why would that be the case if you're buying an established practice? Do lots of patients jump ship or something like that?

Well, in most cases you're up to your ears. Combine that with a lack of experience running a business and managing people, and cashflow could be tight.

 

[rocknightmare]

and i assume when you graduate from dental school you aren't as efficent in working with patients as somebody that had 20+ years experience -- i.e. speed which is hte main focus in a dental practice in my understanding

 

[mdub]

and i assume when you graduate from dental school you aren't as efficent in working with patients as somebody that had 20+ years experience -- i.e. speed which is hte main focus in a dental practice in my understanding

What's the learning curve like in terms of speed? Some jobs you get get at really fast, some jobs take a long time to get good at. I realize there must be variations among dentists, but is there a general timeframe? For example, are most dentists about as fast as they'll ever be after 1 year? 2 years? 10 years?

 

[mdub]

Bump for the learning curve question.

 

[DrJeff]

As I recall, and granted I did a residency right after graduating, my speed picked up to roughly the same pace I'm at now (almost 9 years out of school) in the 1st 3 or so months after graduating. The biggest learning curve thing I've noticed that time(experience) plays is in the case/problem case recognition area. Granted 98% of the things that you'll see day to day in private practice are "routine" dentistry (and I'll define routine as anything from simply filling work to endos to 10+ unit cases of crown and bridge), it's having seen many examples of those 2% cases to recognize where/when they potentially walk into your operatory to be able to take the correct steps from day 1 to treat them, thats the area of the learning curve that takes the longest. I'd also be willing to bet that even if you ask the most respected/seasoned practitioners out there that they'll admit that this is the area where they are still learning each and every day.

In general though, after a few months of non-dental school paced practice, speed isn't an issue for most everyone. The biggest issue though on a day to day basis tends not to be dental related but business/staff management related, and I could practically write a 10 meg post right now about what is transpiring in my office at this moment 😕 🙁

Basically after your out, Dentistry = easy, running the business = difficult/confusing for most of us.

 

[Rube]

For someone who wants to go into practice as a GP, what's the typical career path like after dental school? Do most people work as an associate for a while? Is it more common to build a practice from scratch or buy someone else's practice?

Let me interpret this question differently. I think you're asking what should you do, right? Well this topic has come up at least 100 times since I've been in school and I talk to my buds, my age, who are practicing and you get all different opinions. Some common ones are "An AGD is just a 5th year of dental school," " a GRP is a waste of time if you want to practice dentistry" and my favorite "You'll learn it on the job like my dad did." Others will tell you "a residency is essential to becoming good" and " you'll never get the chance to learn again."

My opinion after talking with people practicing right now is that it matters much less than people claim, either way. You can do it either way. The best dentists are authentic with their patients and are good managers.