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Creating Successful Associate Relationships A paradigm shift has created a new but fertile landscape for DSOs to attract new associates. :
BY JOSEPH MCMANUS, DMD, MS, MHA, MBA, MS, FACD
The recruiting landscape for new associates is fertile ground. That belief comes from observing a generational paradigm shift that has taken place in the cost of dental education. Today’s dental education is expensive, and graduates complete their dental training with enormous debt. According to the American Dental Education Association, the average educational debt for all indebted dental school graduates in the Class of 2019 was $292,169, with the average for public and private schools at $261,305 and $321,184, respectively. These young graduates need a paycheck so they are able to start to repay their educational debt.
dentalgrouppractice.com
Another change in the landscape is that, unlike the last generation, young dentists today have less interest in private practice ownership. It was recently reported by the American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute that practice ownership for all dentists declined from 84.7 % in 2005 to 76.1 % in 2019 – a 10
DENTAL GROUP PRACTICE • MAY/JUNE 2021
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