Ask George: Why Hiring an Associate Can Hurt Dental Practice Profitability

About this episode

Dr. George Hariri discusses the pitfalls of hiring associates in dental practices and offers strategies to maintain profitability.

In this episode of Ask George, Dr. George Hariri breaks down the common—yet avoidable—trap where adding an associate leads to a massive drop in dental practice profitability. George shares his own Dental Moneyball cautionary tale: how he went from a thriving income to making zero dollars after hiring his first associate. This episode serves as a survival guide for any dentist moving from clinician to CEO, ensuring that your associate to owner transition actually results in more freedom, not just more expenses. George explores the "perfect storm" that kills dental practice profitability: rising overhead costs paired with a less efficient provider seeing your patients. You will learn specific dental business strategies to mitigate these risks, including the "two-to-one" hygiene-to-restorative ratio and how to expand your office capacity by modifying your schedule. We discuss why owner doctors are typically more efficient and how to train your team for co-diagnosis so that your associate walks into a well-oiled system of case acceptance. Whether you are looking to work fewer days or simply want to scale your net worth, George provides the roadmap for delegating lower-level…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. George Hariri

Topics covered

• dental practice profitability
• hiring associates
• business strategies
• dental management
• CEO transition

Keywords

• dental practice
• associate
• profitability
• overhead costs
• hygiene-to-restorative ratio
• case acceptance
• delegation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Shared Practices Network

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