Supply, Demand, and Recruiting Considerations in Dentistry
Dental practices, community health centers, and other employers who are recruiting dentists therefore need to ensure their positions are competitive in terms of compensation, practice style, equipment and other factors.
Today we are seeing starting salaries for dental associates in permanent positions in the $170,000 to $210,000 range. Signing bonuses are commonly offered and range up to $30,000. Retention bonuses also are common. For example, community health centers often offer a retention bonus of $5,000 - $10,000 a year for three to four years or for the length of the contract. Retention bonus amounts will vary for other types of facilities and practices. Other frequently used incentives and benefits include loan repayment, malpractice insurance, continuing medical education (CME) allowances, health insurance, dental insurance, 401k or 403b plans, paid time off and paid holidays. Four weeks of paid time off (PTO) is standard at community health centers. Those dentists affiliated with a dental support organization (DSO) may not be offered PTO. Though they can take vacations, their time off will not be paid since they are not in the office generating revenue.
A competitive dental opportunity typically will offer more than a strong financial and benefits package. Few dentists today want to work chairside five days a week, so it is important to be flexible on schedules if possible.
In addition, allowing dentists to have some say in equipment, when applicable, can be a strong recruiting incentive. Being open to updating practice procedures to accommodate differing practice styles also goes a long way in attracting and retaining new talent. Understandably, candidates don’t want to work with outdated equipment or compromise patient care in practices with sub-par equipment.
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