Dental Students

Many of you are probably already checking opportunities. There have been several changes in the area of associate arrangements and purchase opportunities in recent years. Because of economic set-backs a couple of years ago in the stock market, many retirement plans suffered high losses forcing many, including dentists, to postpone their plans for retirement.

Some practices were not being put on the market, those practices that were saw their values increase. This situation has loosened up a bit, but practices on the market today are demanding a higher value then than they would have a few years ago.

If you are not going to complete a GPR, go into a specialty, or purchase a practice, chances are, you will be looking for a job. When you find this job or opportunity, you will be retained either as an employee or the practice owner might want to discuss wanting you to be an independent contractor. By the way, you don’t want to be an independent contractor because by so doing you will quality for no benefits an employee in the practice would enjoy and you inherit some expenses you don’t want – such as covering both the employee’s side and the employer’s side of social security tax and Medicare tax and 100% of all other payroll tax costs which might exist. On a wage of $100,000.00 this cost could exceed $7,650.00.

I will say some of these relationships can exist, but it is typically not ideal for the contractor.

A second arrangement which could exist is the associate arrangement without a contract and everything is verbally agreed upon. Dangerous and will not last for long.

A third arrangement could exist where there is a contract. This third arrangement discusses term (how long it will be in effect) and will discuss how you will be paid. It will discuss how to terminate, what happens when you or the owner is sick, vacations, and etc. This type of arrangement occasionally results with a buy-In, but it is normally used – and the owner is typically very open about it – to give you a job and a job only.


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