Questions to Ask Dentist Interview
Questions for a dentist interviewing at a practice as an associate, covering pay structure, patient flow, referral patterns, equipment, staffing, and the terms of the contract you would be signing.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Why is this position open?
Why ask it
Growth, a retirement, or a departure are three very different situations. If an associate left, ask how long they lasted and where they went; short tenures repeated over several years are the clearest warning a practice gives you.
How many patients would I see in a day, and how are the columns blocked?
Why ask it
The daily count means little without block length. Twelve patients in twenty-minute slots is a different job from eight in hour-long ones, and a vague answer here often means the schedule is built by front desk habit rather than by procedure time.
How is compensation structured, and are lab fees taken out before or after my percentage?
Why ask it
Percentage of collections, percentage of production, and a daily guarantee behave very differently in a slow month. Where lab fees land can swing take-home pay noticeably on crown-heavy days, and an owner who has not thought about it has not run the numbers.
Which procedures would you expect me to do, and which get referred out?
Why ask it
This is where you learn if the job matches your hands. A practice that refers all molar endo and all surgical extractions is offering a narrower job than the ad suggested, and one that expects you to keep everything may be short on backup when a case goes long.
Who owns the practice, and is that ownership changing?
Why ask it
A pending sale to a group changes pay structure, software, and clinical autonomy, often within a year. Owners nearing retirement sometimes hire an associate as a transition step without saying so, which is worth surfacing now rather than after you sign.
How would new patients be split between the dentists here?
Why ask it
New patients are the associate's real income. If the owner keeps them or the split is decided informally at the front desk, an incoming associate can sit at half capacity for months, which no compensation formula fixes.
How many hygienists are on at once, and would I be checking their patients?
Why ask it
Hygiene checks fill gaps and generate restorative work, but two chairs running at once will interrupt your own procedures constantly. The staffing pattern tells you what your day will actually feel like.
Which plans are you in network with, and what share of the practice is fee for service?
Why ask it
The payer mix decides which treatment plans get accepted and how much of the schedule is low-fee volume work. An owner who cannot approximate the split is not tracking the number that most affects your production.
What imaging and equipment do you have, and what is due for replacement?
Why ask it
The gap between what they own and what they plan to buy tells you about capital appetite. A practice with no digital sensors or no working intraoral camera is one where you will be arguing for tools instead of using them.
How long has the current clinical staff been here?
Why ask it
Long-tenured assistants and front desk staff mean a workable practice; a room full of six-month hires means something is churning. Ask the assistants the same question separately if you get the chance.
Would I have a dedicated assistant, or is assisting shared?
Why ask it
Working solo or sharing an assistant across two operatories caps how much you can produce regardless of skill. This single answer often explains more about associate income here than the pay percentage does.
How are treatment plans presented, and does anyone review mine?
Why ask it
Some practices have a hygienist or coordinator sell treatment; others expect the dentist to do it chairside. If an owner reviews your plans, ask what happens when they disagree, because that is where clinical autonomy is actually decided.
Are there production targets, and what happens if I do not hit them?
Why ask it
Targets themselves are normal; targets with unclear consequences are not. Pushback on quoting a number, or a soft answer about "expectations," often means the pressure arrives later in monthly meetings.
What happens when a patient is unhappy with work I did?
Why ask it
Ask specifically who decides on redos and refunds and whose column absorbs the lost time. Practices that charge remakes back to the associate should say so out loud before you sign, not after your first failed crown.
Who covers emergencies and after-hours calls, and how often does that happen?
Why ask it
On-call rotation is one of the biggest quality-of-life variables in an associate job and one of the least discussed. Ask how many calls came in last month rather than how the policy reads.
How is continuing education handled, and is there anything attached to it?
Why ask it
Paid course fees plus paid days off is real support; reimbursement with a clawback if you leave within two years is a retention device. The details matter more than the headline benefit.
Is there a non-compete, and what radius and time period does it cover?
Why ask it
A wide radius in a small metro can push you out of the region entirely if the job does not work out. Ask to see the language rather than the summary, and note whether they are willing to discuss changing it.
How do you want me to handle it when I disagree with the practice's usual approach to a case?
Why ask it
Every practice has house habits about crowns, extractions, or fluoride. The answer shows whether you are being hired for judgment or for hands, and an owner who cannot imagine the disagreement is telling you which.
Is there a route to partnership or ownership, and has anyone here taken it?
Why ask it
Partnership language appears in many associate offers and is honored in few. Ask for a specific person and a specific timeline; if neither exists, treat the path as aspiration rather than plan.
What has surprised past associates about working here?
Why ask it
Asked at the end, this often gets the most candid answer of the interview, usually about pace, paperwork, or a particular patient population. Silence, or a claim that nothing surprises anyone, is itself informative.
Interviewing at a dental practice
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Sequence the conversation
First conversation: fit and scope
Cover why the role is open, what procedures you would do, patient volume, and referral patterns. Nothing about contract terms yet. You are deciding whether the clinical job is one you want.
Working interview or second visit: the room itself
Watch a hygiene check happen. Look at how many operatories run at once, whether sterilization keeps up, and whether the assistants speak freely. Ask the staff how long they have been there.
Offer stage: the paper
Compensation mechanics, lab fee treatment, remake policy, non-compete radius, on-call rotation, and continuing education terms. Ask for the draft agreement and read it before you negotiate any single term.
Numbers to ask for directly
- New patients per month, and how they are distributed between dentists.
- Average number of patients seen per day by the associate you would replace.
- Percentage of collections versus production, and the collection rate the practice runs at.
- Payer mix: in-network plans, Medicaid share, and fee-for-service share.
- Hygiene chairs running simultaneously, and how many checks land in an average day.
- Assistant count per dentist and whether one is assigned to you.
- Non-compete radius in miles and duration in months.
Signals worth slowing down for
Repeated short associate tenures
Two or more associates in three years is the single most reliable warning sign in this market. Ask for the names of the last two and, if you can, contact them.
Reluctance to quote numbers
An owner who runs a healthy practice knows their new patient count and collection rate. Vagueness on both usually means either poor tracking or numbers they would rather you not have.
Compensation explained only in percentages
A percentage is meaningless without the production it applies to and the deductions taken first. Ask what the previous associate actually earned in a typical month.
A non-compete presented as non-negotiable at the first mention
It signals how future disagreements will go. Practices that expect a long relationship usually accept a narrower radius.