An associate agreement is usually fifteen to thirty pages, and most new dentists read it once, quickly, looking only at the pay number. The clauses that cause real problems later are elsewhere: how collections are defined, who pays for lab and adjustments, what happens to your production when a claim is written off, how notice periods work, and what you can and cannot do after you leave. This checklist walks the document clause by clause so you can see what is there, what is missing, and what is worth pushing on.
How to use this template
- Read the contract once end to end without marking it, then go through it a second time with this sheet.
- Write down what the contract actually says in the "What it says" column, in your own words. If you cannot summarize a clause, that is a finding.
- The "negotiable" column is a general pattern, not a promise. Leverage varies by market, by practice, and by how badly they need you.
- Bring the completed sheet to a dental-specific attorney in the state where you will practice. Reviewing an associate agreement is a routine, affordable engagement, and it is worth it.
- Nothing counts unless it is in the written agreement. Verbal assurances during the interview are not terms.
Offer summary
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Practice name and location(s) | |
| Owner or entity name | |
| Date offer received | |
| Requested response date | |
| Start date | |
| Employee or independent contractor | |
| Base compensation | |
| Percentage and on what basis | |
| Guarantee amount and duration | |
| Attorney reviewing (name, date sent) |
Clause review
| Clause | What it says (your summary) | What to ask | Usually negotiable? | Your note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parties and entity | Who exactly employs me, and is that entity the one that owns the practice? Is there a parent company or management company? | Rarely | ||
| Term and renewal | How long is the initial term, and does it auto-renew? What changes at renewal? | Sometimes | ||
| Duties and schedule | How many days and hours? Which locations? Who controls the schedule and the mix of procedures I see? | Often | ||
| Base salary or draw | Is the guarantee a true floor or a recoverable draw I have to pay back out of future production? | Often | ||
| Production or collections percentage | What percentage, and is it on production or on collections? When does it get calculated and paid? | Often | ||
| Definition of collections | Are write-offs, adjustments, refunds, and insurance denials deducted? Net of what exactly? Show me the formula on a real month. | Sometimes | ||
| Lab fees and supply charges | Do I pay a share of lab? At what percentage, and is it before or after my split? Any supply or implant component charges? | Often | ||
| Hygiene production credit | Do I get any credit for hygiene exams or hygiene production on days I supervise? | Sometimes | ||
| Redo and adjustment policy | Who pays for a remake or an adjustment on my work? On someone else's work? For how long after treatment? | Often | ||
| Chargebacks after departure | Will I be paid on collections that arrive after I leave? For how long? | Sometimes | ||
| Pay timing and reporting | When am I paid, and what production or collections report will I receive with each payment? | Often | ||
| Benefits | Health insurance, employer contribution, retirement plan and match, eligibility waiting periods? | Sometimes | ||
| Paid time off and holidays | How many days, how are they requested, do they carry over, are they paid at all if I am on percentage? | Often | ||
| CE allowance and days | Dollar amount, number of days, and whether CE days count against PTO | Often | ||
| Licensure, dues, and fees | Who pays license renewal, DEA, association dues, and credentialing fees? | Often | ||
| Malpractice insurance | Who provides it, what limits, claims-made or occurrence, and who pays for tail coverage if it is claims-made? | Sometimes | ||
| Credentialing and insurance participation | Who handles credentialing, how long does it take, and how am I paid while claims cannot be billed under my name? | Often | ||
| Clinical autonomy | Who decides treatment? Are there production quotas or targets? Any required lab or vendor? | Sometimes | ||
| Supervision and mentorship | Will an experienced dentist be on site? What specifically was promised, and is it in writing? | Often | ||
| Staff and resources | Do I get a dedicated assistant? What equipment and materials are available? | Sometimes | ||
| Termination without cause | How much notice from each side? Is it mutual and equal? | Often | ||
| Termination for cause | What counts as cause? Is there a cure period? Is the list narrow and specific or open ended? | Sometimes | ||
| Non-compete (restrictive covenant) | What radius, measured from where, for how long, and covering what activities? Does it apply if they terminate me without cause? | Sometimes | ||
| Non-solicitation | Does it cover patients, staff, or both? For how long? Does it prevent me from announcing a move? | Sometimes | ||
| Confidentiality | What is defined as confidential, and does it survive termination? Does it prevent normal professional activity? | Rarely | ||
| Patient records and ownership | Who owns the records? What can I access after I leave, and how are records requests handled? | Rarely | ||
| Buy-in or partnership language | Is anything promised? Is there a timeline, a valuation method, or is it purely discretionary? | Sometimes | ||
| Assignment and change of control | Can this contract be assigned if the practice is sold to a DSO? Do my terms change? | Sometimes | ||
| Amendment and entire agreement | Can they change policies unilaterally? Does the contract supersede everything I was told? | Rarely | ||
| Dispute resolution | Arbitration or court? Which state's law? Who pays fees? Where must a dispute be filed? | Sometimes | ||
| Governing law and venue | Is it the state where I actually work? | Sometimes | ||
| Repayment or clawback provisions | Is there a signing bonus, relocation, or CE repayment if I leave early? Over what period does it forgive? | Often |
Compensation math worksheet
Ask the practice to run your compensation formula against a realistic month. Fill this in together.
| Line | Example month | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gross production attributed to me | ||
| Less insurance write-offs and adjustments | ||
| Less refunds and uncollected balances | ||
| Net collections basis | ||
| My percentage | ||
| Gross pay before deductions | ||
| Less my share of lab | ||
| Less any other charges | ||
| Net pay for the month | ||
| Compared to guarantee | ||
| Is the guarantee recoverable? |
Restrictive covenant detail
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Radius or geography described | |
| Measured from which location(s) | |
| Duration after termination | |
| Activities restricted (practicing dentistry generally? a specialty? ownership?) | |
| Applies if terminated without cause? | |
| Buyout or liquidated damages option? | |
| Where I currently live; where I would have to move | |
| Practices excluded from my job search by this clause | |
| Attorney's view on enforceability in this state |
Missing terms check
Is any of this absent from the document?
- A written definition of the collections or production basis
- A stated percentage and the payment schedule
- Whether the guarantee is recoverable
- Who pays lab, and at what share
- Malpractice coverage type and who buys tail
- Notice period for termination without cause, equal on both sides
- Number of clinical days and locations
- PTO, holidays, and CE in specific numbers
- What happens to collections received after departure
- Anything the owner promised verbally about mentorship, schedule, or a future buy-in
| Missing term | What I was told verbally | Requested in writing? (date) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
Negotiation priorities
| Priority | Item | What I am asking for | Why it matters to me | Fallback position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (must have) | ||||
| 2 (must have) | ||||
| 3 (important) | ||||
| 4 (important) | ||||
| 5 (nice to have) | ||||
| Walk-away condition |
Review sign-off
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Date I finished my own review | |
| Attorney name and state | |
| Date sent to attorney | |
| Attorney's top three concerns | |
| Items sent back to the practice | |
| Revised draft received (date) | |
| Final decision and date |
How to run the review
Read the contract cold, start to finish, without a pen. You are looking for the shape of the deal and for anything that startles you. Then go through it a second time with this sheet and write a one-sentence summary of each clause in your own words. That translation step is the whole exercise. If you cannot summarize a clause, either it is badly drafted or you do not understand it, and both are reasons to ask.
Ask for the compensation formula to be run against a real month, using the practice's actual numbers with patient identifiers removed. This is the single most useful request you can make, and a practice that refuses is telling you something. A percentage of production and a percentage of net collections after write-offs can differ by a meaningful amount every month, especially in a heavily PPO practice. Our associate pay calculator lets you model the difference.
Give yourself a week. Practices sometimes present an offer with a two-day deadline. A reasonable employer will grant time for an attorney review, and an unreasonable deadline is itself information about how the practice operates.
Who should review it, and how much that costs
Have a dental-specific attorney licensed in the state where you will practice review the document. Not a family friend who does real estate, and not a general business attorney in another state. Restrictive covenant law, employment classification rules, and dental practice acts are state specific, and an attorney who reviews dental contracts weekly will spot patterns that a generalist will not.
Contract review is usually a flat-fee or a few hours of work, and it is inexpensive relative to the size of the deal. Send the completed checklist with the contract so the attorney is not starting from zero, and tell them what matters most to you. An attorney who knows your priorities can tell you where to spend your negotiating capital instead of returning thirty redlines you will never win.
Talk to a CPA too if you are being offered an independent contractor arrangement. Worker classification is not up to the parties, and being paid on a 1099 changes your tax picture, your benefits, and sometimes your liability. Misclassification creates exposure for the practice and headaches for you.
What "good" looks like
A good associate agreement is specific and symmetric. Specific means every number is written down: percentage, basis, lab share, notice period, PTO days, CE dollars. Symmetric means the notice periods are the same in both directions and the obligations run both ways. You do not need a contract that favors you. You need one where you can predict what happens in every ordinary situation.
A good review process ends with you understanding the three or four clauses that carry the most risk for you personally. For most new associates those are the compensation definition, the malpractice and tail coverage arrangement, the termination and notice provisions, and the restrictive covenant. If you understand those four cold, you are ahead of most people signing this week.
Good also means you have a written answer for the things you were told in the interview. Mentorship, a promised procedure mix, an eventual buy-in, a specific schedule. None of those are terms until they are in the document. Put them in the missing terms table and ask for them in writing. A practice that says yes verbally but will not write it down has answered your question.
Common mistakes
Focusing only on the percentage. A 32 percent of adjusted production offer and a 35 percent of net collections offer can pay very differently depending on the practice's insurance mix and collection rate. The basis and the deductions matter as much as the number.
Missing the recoverable draw. A guarantee that is really an advance against future production can leave you owing money back if your production ramps slowly. Find the word "recoverable" or its equivalent and understand exactly what happens if you fall short.
Ignoring tail coverage. If the practice provides claims-made malpractice coverage, someone has to buy tail coverage when you leave, and it can be a significant one-time cost. Settle who pays for it before you sign. See malpractice insurance for dentists.
Assuming a non-compete is unenforceable. Enforceability varies widely by state and the law has been changing in recent years, with some states restricting or banning these clauses for certain workers and others enforcing reasonable ones. Do not guess, and do not rely on internet forum consensus. Ask an attorney in your state, and read non-compete agreements for dentists for background.
Negotiating everything at once. Pick your two or three priorities. A list of twenty requested changes reads as difficult rather than thorough, and it dilutes the items you actually care about.
Not asking about credentialing. If insurance credentialing takes two or three months, and your pay depends on collections billed under your name, you need to know how you are paid during that period. This is one of the most common surprises in a first associate job.
Related ChairsideSource resources
- Associate contract red flags every new dentist should catch
- How to negotiate an associate dentist offer
- The new dentist guide: first job, contracts, and compensation
- Associate pay calculator: production vs. collections
- The first-year associate checklist
This template is educational and is not legal advice. Employment and restrictive covenant law varies by state and changes. Have any employment agreement reviewed by a dental-specific attorney licensed in the state where you will work.
This guide is educational content and does not constitute legal, financial, tax, or clinical advice. Laws and regulations vary by state and change over time. Consult your own dental-specific attorney, CPA, and state dental board before acting.