Questions to Ask at the End of a Dental Interview
Closing questions for a dentist interviewing at a practice: schedule and assistant support, where patients come from, how pay is actually calculated, what happens with lab fees and remakes, and what the contract restricts.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How many patients would I see in a day, and how long is a typical appointment?
Why ask it
This is the fastest way to learn what kind of dentistry you would be doing. Short blocks and high volume point to a very different clinical life from ninety-minute appointments, and it is easier to hear now than to discover in month two.
Would I have a dedicated assistant, and how many rooms would I be running?
Why ask it
Support determines how much of your day is spent producing. A practice that expects two columns with a shared assistant is asking you to absorb the difference in speed or in stress.
Where would my patients come from in the first six months?
Why ask it
New patients, hygiene recall, and charts transferred from a departing dentist are three different situations. If the answer is that you will build your own schedule, ask what marketing exists and what the previous associate's first six months looked like.
How many new patients does the practice see in a month?
Why ask it
This is a number the front desk knows precisely, so hesitation is informative. It also lets you sanity-check any promised income against the actual flow of work.
What is the payer mix here: fee-for-service, PPO, or state programs?
Why ask it
Reimbursement shapes appointment length, materials, and which treatment plans get accepted. Ask which plans they are contracted with, since a heavily discounted mix changes what a percentage of production is worth.
How is my pay calculated, and what is deducted before it?
Why ask it
Percentage of production and percentage of collection are very different, and so is the treatment of lab fees, adjustments, and write-offs. Ask for a worked example on a recent month rather than a headline percentage.
Who pays for lab work and materials on my cases?
Why ask it
Lab cost sharing quietly moves several points of compensation. Ask which labs you may use, because being restricted to a cheap lab while carrying half the cost affects both your income and your remakes.
Is there a daily guarantee, and how long does it run?
Why ask it
A guarantee protects you while a schedule fills, and its length tells you how quickly they expect that to happen. Ask what happens at the end of it, and whether any shortfall is recoverable against later production.
Which procedures do you refer out, and which would you expect me to keep?
Why ask it
This defines your clinical scope more precisely than any job description. If they expect molar endodontics and surgical extractions from a new graduate, you need to know what support and mentoring comes with that.
Who decides the treatment plan when the owner and I disagree?
Why ask it
Associates routinely find that their diagnoses are revised, or that a treatment philosophy is stricter than described. Ask how a disagreement was handled the last time it happened.
How does hygiene run here, and what is the recall system?
Why ask it
Hygiene is where a large share of restorative work is found, so its structure affects your schedule directly. Ask how many hygiene days there are and whether you are expected to check every patient.
What happens when a case I did needs to be redone?
Why ask it
Remake policies vary from the practice absorbing the cost to charging it back to the associate. Ask how this is handled after you leave as well, which is a clause many contracts contain quietly.
What software, imaging, and equipment would I be working with?
Why ask it
Ask the age of the chairs and whether the scanner or CBCT is used daily or sitting in a corner. Equipment that exists but is unmaintained tells you how capital decisions get made here.
Who covers emergencies and after-hours calls, and how often would that be me?
Why ask it
On-call arrangements are often assumed rather than stated. Ask for the rotation and whether after-hours treatment is compensated, since this is a common source of resentment in a first year.
How long has the practice had associates, and why did the last one leave?
Why ask it
The single most useful answer in the interview. A pattern of associates leaving after a year, especially with a vague explanation, is worth more attention than anything on the tour.
How much continuing education time is there, and is it paid?
Why ask it
Ask for the number of days and the budget rather than a commitment to support learning. Whether those days come out of your vacation allowance is the part that gets left unsaid.
Is there a non-compete or non-solicitation clause, and what are the radius and duration?
Why ask it
This clause determines where you could work next, so its terms matter as much as the salary. Ask for the actual contract language now rather than waiting for the offer, and have a lawyer read it.
Is partnership possible here, and has anyone actually done it?
Why ask it
Many practices mention a path to ownership and few have completed one. Ask whether a valuation method exists in writing, since that is the difference between an intention and a plan.
What would you expect from me in the first ninety days?
Why ask it
The answer reveals whether they are thinking about production numbers, integration with the team, or clinical supervision. If nobody has thought about it, expect a thin onboarding and plan accordingly.
What is the practice's biggest problem right now?
Why ask it
Owners will usually name something real: staffing, cancellations, a slow hygiene schedule, an aging patient base. If the answer is that everything is going well, ask what they would fix if they had a free week.
How to close a dental interview and verify what you heard
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Get numbers, not impressions
Ask for a worked example of pay
Take one recent month and ask what an associate would have been paid on that production, after lab and adjustments. This converts a percentage into a figure and exposes any assumptions in the offer.
Ask what the schedule looked like last week
A specific week is harder to describe optimistically than a typical one. Ask about cancellations and no-shows too, since an empty column costs you directly under any production model.
Ask to see the associate agreement early
Restrictive covenants, remake liability, and termination notice matter more than the headline percentage. Requesting the document before an offer is normal and tells you how the practice handles paperwork.
Check the clinical fit
Ask for a working interview or a day observing
A few hours in the practice shows you the pace, the assistants, and how patients are spoken to. If they refuse without a reason, that is worth weighing.
Talk to the team, not just the owner
Ask the front desk how many new patients come in and ask an assistant what the hardest part of the day is. Their answers are usually more concrete and less rehearsed.
Look at the mentoring question honestly
If you are early in your career, ask who you would call at four o'clock with a case going wrong. A named person who is on site matters more than a general offer of support.
Common pitfalls
Focusing on the percentage alone
A higher percentage of a discounted fee schedule, with lab costs deducted and a thin new-patient flow, pays less than a lower percentage in a busy practice. Compare the resulting figures instead.
Not asking why the position is open
Growth, retirement, and a departing associate are three different stories with different risks. Ask directly, then ask how long the role has been advertised.
Leaving the contract to the end
By the time an offer arrives, both sides are invested and it feels awkward to negotiate a non-compete. Raise it while questions are still expected.
Skipping the money questions to seem clinical
Owners expect these questions and are rarely offended by them. Asking how pay is calculated is professional; discovering the deductions in your first check is not.
After the interview
- Write down the numbers you were given the same day, including new patients per month and any guarantee.
- Ask for the associate agreement in writing and have a dental attorney review the restrictive covenant.
- Contact the previous associate if you can find them, and ask what they would want to know before starting.
- Send a short follow-up that repeats your understanding of the pay structure, which puts it on record politely.