Page 28 - Bulletin Vol 29 No 1 - Jan. - Apr. 2024 IN PROGRESS2

Legal Article | Bringing On an Associate Dentist

By Jennifer Kirschenbaum, Esq.
For an established practitioner, who is going it alone, it can be hard to make the decision on when it’s the

right time to bring on an Associate dentist. Plenty of practitioners wait until it’s too late…. with thoughts
of retirement in their head, already trying to slow down... At that point, an associate may not want to
come in, facing a looming potential buyout, with a facility that perhaps has not been updated in some time
and a staff potentially looking to retire. The best time to bring on an associate is when the practice is still
growing, and you know you could be seeing more patients if you had more time. More time may not be
an option for you, but if you have the chairs, you can add time by adding another dentist.

Once you make the decision, it’s time to hire an associate. Finding the “right Associate” Is another
concern. Where to look? Many young dentists will still attend career fairs (including those hosted by
Nassau County Dental Society) or look for a role through their current training program. Take the time to
interview multiple candidates for the same role and look to hire the best personality fit for the office and
for your long-term goals If you prioritize being bought out within a certain timeline, I recommend being
open with candidates of your intentions in order to find a candidate who may potentially be interested in
that construct. There are many youngsters coming out of training who are not interested in acquiring any
more debt and will not be interested in a potential buyout. They may prefer to just go work for somebody
else. Knowing upfront whether a candidate is NOT a direct succession plan solution is
important. However, a candidate stating he or she is not interested in buying you out does not mean the
associate may not be an “indirect” succession plan. Certain purchasers may find your practice more
marketable and valuable with an associate dentist in the mix; in fact, most likely would. An associate
dentist does not have to buy your practice outright to help you effectuate the transition you would
like. An associate being another treating dentist at the practice may in itself be of tremendous value on a
sale exit.

Assuming you do find a great potential candidate, the next question is how to structure a proposed
employment arrangement. Most associate dentists receive a day rate for services rendered reconciled
with a percentage based on either production or collections. Any day rate and the percentage will vary
based on the dentist’s specialty and experience Whether or not to pay on production or collections will
also typically vary by specialty and also the practice’s collection percentage. If your production far exceeds
your collection rate, you may want to steer clear of paying on production. Another consideration is if you
are paying on net production or net collections, how are you defining “net”. Will “net” be total, less
refunds and repayments or will you also be looking to deduct lab fees and/or the cost of any supplies or
any other payouts, such as cost of malpractice, insurance, stipend, etc. When the deduction is applied is
also up for discussion. Some practices apply the deduction to the total collections or production number,
and then apply the employee’s applicable percentage the associate is to receive, effectively splitting the
expenses between the parties. Other practices apply the deduction after the associate percentage is
applied to the total collections or production number, and 100% of that deduction is borne by the
Associate. Whichever way you elect to structure, it is important you be ready to explain why you have
made the decisions you have made and how you can justify the fee structure in place. You should be ready
for the associate to come to the conversation with his or her own ideas of what would be market. Of
course, you will be dealing with an individual who has been potentially job shopping. Offering an
off-market compensation structure will certainly keep you out of the running.

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