Episode summary
How Dentists Should Pay Themselves (and Why It Matters)
The Dentist Money Show
· · 47 min · Hosts: Will Gochnour, Christine Uhen
Summary
The conversation argues that dentists should treat their own pay as a planned business expense, not as whatever is left over at month-end. The host and a guest say a fair baseline for the producer role is 30% to 35% of net production, while an owner should also target about 10% of collections as return on investment. Taken together, that can put a practice around a 45% profit-to-doctor compensation framework and leave about 55% for overhead, debt service, taxes, and reinvestment.
They emphasize that the biggest mistakes come from being unintentional: guessing at pay, letting overhead creep up, or prioritizing other expenses before paying the dentist. For new owners, they stress that the “ugly duckling phase” is normal, but it should be supported by enough runway and personal liquidity to survive delays, slow ramp-up, or even a near-restart after turnover.
The episode also warns against buying flashy equipment too early. The better first investment is usually marketing and patient acquisition, because bodies in chairs create the production that makes later technology purchases worthwhile. The host and the guest argue that dentists should know their numbers, track patient flow, and use benchmarks to make decisions instead of hoping the business model works on its own.
Key takeaways
- A dentist should aim to pay themselves 30% to 35% of net production as the clinical producer, not as an afterthought.
- The guest says owners should also target about 10% of collections as owner ROI, creating roughly a 45% doctor compensation framework.
- New owners need enough runway and personal liquidity to survive delays, slow ramp-up, or unexpected disruptions.
- The guest says marketing and patient acquisition should usually come before major equipment purchases in a startup.
- If overhead is rising, the problem may be underproduction or weak collections, not just expenses.
- The host says dentists need benchmarks and regular reviews so they can make informed decisions instead of hoping cash is left over.
Notable quotes
“how much money do I actually make”
“pay yourself a fair and equitable wage as a provider”
“30 to 35% of net production meaning after adjusted for PPOs cash discounts things like that”
“looking at 10% of everything the office collects should ideally also go to the owner as an ROI return on investment”
“hope isn't a strategy”
How the episode opens
Consult an adviser or conduct your own due diligence when making financial decisions. General principles discussed during this program do not constitute personal advice. This program is furnished by Dennis Advisers, a registered investment adviser.
Welcome to the Dentist Money Show, where we help dentists make smart financial decisions. I'm your host, Will. today joined by Christine Euan and just really excited to be here.
This is the first one that I've hosted solo. So I know you're probably maybe heard me on other podcasts, but it's Chris and I today. The dream team, just us two.
So I'm excited to be with you today, Chris. How's it going?
Good. All good here. Yeah, you and me, buddy. Let's rock this.
It's going to be great. Uh hope everyone's having a great day and looking forward to it. So we are going to just jump right in.
and Chris and I recently collaborated on a article um about practice owner compensation and how you structure it. What's the right way to make sure that you don't mess stuff up and get it right from day one. Specifically, the article was about new practice owners and how to structure it in the first year or two of your ownership journey.
But I think today we want to expand a little bit and make this conversation applicable to every dentist out there that needs to structure compensation for yourself because I think a lot of dentists ask themselves the question, how much money do I actually make? Right.
Yeah. Yeah. And we've seen that from your side of the personal financial side of things and I've seen that from the business side. and uh what's on a P&L is not necessarily what you're taking home. And you may be directed very differently from an from a tax advisor.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- dentist compensation
- cash flow management
- practice owner benchmarks
- practice profitability
- new practice transition
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Dentist Advisors
- Aquire Wealth Advisors, LLC
Watch the episode
Watch “How Dentists Should Pay Themselves (and Why It Matters)” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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The Dentist Money Show, this episode and its artwork belong to Dentist Advisors - Financial Planning and Investment Management. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
