What does fractional recruiting mean?

An experienced recruiting team that works for your practice when you need it, without becoming another full-time hire.

Which roles does DDS Recruit fill?

Every role on a dental team, with a focus on doctors: associates, specialists, office managers, hygienists and key team members.

Should a dental practice hire an in-house recruiter?

If you hire steadily all year, often yes, because the salary spreads across many hires. If you hire a few times a year, the seat sits idle between searches.

What does a fractional recruiter cost compared with an in-house one?

An in-house recruiter is a full salary and benefits. A fractional team costs a nominal monthly fee while a search runs plus a success fee, and nothing between searches; figures are quoted on the discovery call.

Can a fractional recruiter work alongside my HR team?

Yes. A common split is HR on team roles and us on associates and specialists.

Where does DDS Recruit work?

Across the United States, concentrated in the suburbs and select metros, in private, PPO-based practices.

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A recruiting team for the practice, without another full-time hire.

Published October 14, 2026

A practice that hires often eventually asks whether it should employ someone to do it. Sometimes the answer is yes. For most private practices, the seat would sit idle between searches.

Key takeaways

An in-house recruiter is a full salary and benefits, paid whether or not a seat is open.
A fractional team costs nothing between searches: a nominal monthly fee while a search runs, then a success fee when a placement sticks.
An in-house recruiter knows your culture from inside it. A fractional team has to learn it, which is why we start every search by learning the role and the practice.
A large group hiring every week can keep a full-time recruiter busy. Most single and two-location practices hire a few times a year and cannot.
Every DDS Recruit placement is backed for a year. With an in-house recruiter, replacing a hire who leaves happens on your payroll.

How we compared them

Each option is judged on the same 5 criteria, the rows of the table below: fixed cost, focus, coverage, knowing your culture, if a hire leaves. We describe how each model is structured, not any named provider, and every claim about DDS Recruit matches our pricing and how-it-works pages.

Side by side

Fractional Recruiting Team vs an In-House Recruiter, compared side by side.
Dimension	In-house recruiter	DDS Recruit, fractional
Fixed cost	A full salary and benefits, whether or not a seat is open.	Nothing between searches. A nominal monthly fee while a search runs, then a success fee.
Focus	Your practice only, but often shared with HR, onboarding and admin.	Dentistry only. Recruiting is the whole job.
Coverage	One person, one network, one set of working hours.	A team running the search end to end, across every role, with a focus on doctors.
Knowing your culture	Lives inside it every day.	Learned on purpose: we start every search by listening to the practice, the team and what the role actually needs.
If a hire leaves	Your recruiter starts again, on your payroll.	Within the first year, we run the search again at best effort, at no additional charge.

Which one, by situation

A large group hiring every week of the year
In-house recruiter
Constant volume keeps a full-time recruiter busy, and their salary is spread across many hires.
A single or two-location private practice
DDS Recruit
You hire a few times a year. Paying for recruiting only when a search runs is the cheaper shape.
A group that already has HR but struggles with doctor hires
Both
Keep HR on team roles and bring us in for associates and specialists.
A practice opening a new location
DDS Recruit
A burst of hiring that ends once the office is staffed does not justify a permanent role.

Verdict

Hire in-house when recruiting volume is steady enough to fill a full-time job. Until then, a fractional team gives you the same expertise without a salary that runs between searches, and a year of accountability behind each placement.

Questions

What does fractional recruiting mean?: An experienced recruiting team that works for your practice when you need it, without becoming another full-time hire.
Which roles does DDS Recruit fill?: Every role on a dental team, with a focus on doctors: associates, specialists, office managers, hygienists and key team members.
Should a dental practice hire an in-house recruiter?: If you hire steadily all year, often yes, because the salary spreads across many hires. If you hire a few times a year, the seat sits idle between searches.
What does a fractional recruiter cost compared with an in-house one?: An in-house recruiter is a full salary and benefits. A fractional team costs a nominal monthly fee while a search runs plus a success fee, and nothing between searches; figures are quoted on the discovery call.
Can a fractional recruiter work alongside my HR team?: Yes. A common split is HR on team roles and us on associates and specialists.
Where does DDS Recruit work?: Across the United States, concentrated in the suburbs and select metros, in private, PPO-based practices.

Not sure which fits your seat?

Tell us about the role and we will talk through the options on the discovery call.

Schedule the discovery call