Skip to content
DDS RecruitDDS Recruit
Powered by Clinsight

Free template

Associate Dentist job description

An associate posting has to answer what a candidate will actually ask: how full the schedule is, how pay is calculated, and who decides the treatment plan.

Quick answer

Associate pay is usually a percentage of collections or production with a daily guarantee. For reference, BLS puts the median employed general dentist at $170,955 a year (May 2025).

Data updated: October 2026; pay data BLS May 2025

Sample posting

We are a general dental practice in our area seeing a mix of PPO and fee-for-service patients. We are hiring an associate dentist to take a full schedule of their own, work alongside the owner, and grow with the practice.

What you will do

  • Diagnose and treatment-plan your own patients, and present treatment chairside
  • Deliver restorative, endodontic and extraction care within your training
  • Complete hygiene exams across the hygiene columns on your days
  • Keep notes and coding accurate and same-day
  • Work with the front desk on scheduling so your columns stay productive

What you need

  • DDS or DMD, and an active dental licence in our state (or eligibility before start)
  • Current DEA registration and CPR certification
  • Comfortable with a full restorative schedule
  • Clear chairside communication with patients and assistants

Nice to have

  • Experience placing implants or doing molar endo
  • Sedation permit
  • Bilingual

Associate Dentist interview questions

  1. Walk me through how you present a treatment plan with three or more teeth involved.
  2. What procedures do you refer out today, and which would you like to start doing?
  3. Tell me about a case that did not go the way you planned. What did you do next?
  4. How many patients do you see on a typical day, and what does your production look like?
  5. How do you prefer to work with your assistant during a long appointment?
  6. What would make you leave a practice within the first year?
  7. How do you handle a patient who disagrees with your diagnosis?
  8. Where do you want to be in five years: associate, partner, owner?
  9. What did your last practice do well that you want here too?
  10. How do you keep your notes and coding accurate on a busy day?

Scoring rubric

  • Clinical range: Handles the procedures this schedule needs without referring them out. Score 1–5.
  • Case presentation: Explains treatment plainly; acceptance numbers to back it up. Score 1–5.
  • Pace and production: Comfortable at the daily volume this practice runs. Score 1–5.
  • Team fit: Describes assistants and front desk as partners. Score 1–5.
  • Long-term intent: Goals line up with what the practice can offer in 2–5 years. Score 1–5.

Make it yours

%
%

For reference, employed general dentists earn a median of $162,365 a year (BLS). Enter the percentage your contract offers.

Benefits

Job description

Associate Dentist – TX

We are a general dental practice in TX seeing a mix of PPO and fee-for-service patients. We are hiring an associate dentist to take a full schedule of their own, work alongside the owner, and grow with the practice.

What you will do
- Diagnose and treatment-plan your own patients, and present treatment chairside
- Deliver restorative, endodontic and extraction care within your training
- Complete hygiene exams across the hygiene columns on your days
- Keep notes and coding accurate and same-day
- Work with the front desk on scheduling so your columns stay productive

What you need
- DDS or DMD, and an active dental licence in TX (or eligibility before start)
- Current DEA registration and CPR certification
- Comfortable with a full restorative schedule
- Clear chairside communication with patients and assistants

Nice to have
- Experience placing implants or doing molar endo
- Sedation permit
- Bilingual

Schedule
Monday to Thursday, 7:30am to 4:30pm

Benefits
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- CE allowance

Interview questions and scorecard

Interview scorecard: Associate Dentist

Questions
1. Walk me through how you present a treatment plan with three or more teeth involved.
2. What procedures do you refer out today, and which would you like to start doing?
3. Tell me about a case that did not go the way you planned. What did you do next?
4. How many patients do you see on a typical day, and what does your production look like?
5. How do you prefer to work with your assistant during a long appointment?
6. What would make you leave a practice within the first year?
7. How do you handle a patient who disagrees with your diagnosis?
8. Where do you want to be in five years: associate, partner, owner?
9. What did your last practice do well that you want here too?
10. How do you keep your notes and coding accurate on a busy day?

Score each area 1–5 (1 = clear concern, 3 = meets the bar, 5 = strongest candidate you have seen)
- Clinical range (Handles the procedures this schedule needs without referring them out): __ / 5
- Case presentation (Explains treatment plainly; acceptance numbers to back it up): __ / 5
- Pace and production (Comfortable at the daily volume this practice runs): __ / 5
- Team fit (Describes assistants and front desk as partners): __ / 5
- Long-term intent (Goals line up with what the practice can offer in 2–5 years): __ / 5

Total: __ / 25

Ready to publish? Paste it into a listing on the DDS Recruit job board, which is built for dental roles only.

Post this job on DDS Recruit

Other roles

Method and sources

A fixed template written for this role, not AI-generated. Pay guidance uses the BLS national 25th to 75th percentile; the generator switches to your state’s figures.

For information only. Not legal, tax or financial advice.

More free tools